Hello all!

I live in Hamilton, Ontario and have been on hormones for about 14 months now. During my previous visit with my endocrinologist a month ago, he asked me if I was in contact with CAMH and then told me that I should really get in touch with them sooner than later. So I took the advice and said I would.

Being the clever little google-ite that I am, I figured it would be a piece of cake. I am utterly lost. I'm not sure if it is just me, but their website seems completely useless. At least for transgender related materials.

I'm hoping maybe I could get some help at figuring this out as it has been a month and I'm no closer to doing so on my own.
1) I assume getting in touch with CAMH has to do with getting SRS (possibly a requirement?) or is there more to it?
2) How do I bloody get in touch with them?
I should have asked my endo these questions, but I just kind of blindly agreed with him thinking it would be easy to do.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

CAMH is generally known as a loonie bin run by transphobic homosexual loonies dedicated to proving that you are just a homosexual ->-bleeped-<-.

There are other therapists in Toronto who live in the 21st century so have a surf around for those and get on their books or ask your doctor to refer you to them.

That's what I've always heard but my endo was insistant that they just recently went completely under new management and are saner now. Whether or not that is true I have no idea.

What would I even need CAMH for? The way he talked about it right after talking to me about my SRS plans I got the impression that I had to go to them in order to get the surgery approved or covered.

I already have a psychiatrist if that is all, but my endo knows that since she refered me to him. So it seems like something else is going on here. o.0

Wish it didn't take weeks for him to get back to me.

http://www.camh.net/Care_Treatment/Program_Descriptions/Mental_Health_Programs/Gender_Identity_Clinic/gender_identity_criteriasurgery.html

they aren't in any hurry to get into the 21st century.
good luck.

In my experience with the CAMH GIC for adults, they've been quite good to me thus far. Don't let the fear-mongers dissuade you. I've had an appointment with Drs. Brown and Hucker. The assessing doctors (one psychologist, and one psychiatrist) didn't try any dumb stuff with me, and basically said they were just going to rubber-stamp me. The issue for me is they don't give much notice before you have an appointment. Also, there have been some clerical mixups with my paperwork, which I resolved fairly quickly. As long as you have documentation galore, you should have no issues. Also, OHIP and the CAMH GIC are slow, and lack funding to do anything about it (the clinicians are well aware they lack the resources to actually help), so get into the system ASAP as not to delay your physical transition any more. Sure, CAMH and OHIP are painfully slow, but if you wait, you can have provincially funded SRS (unfortunately CAMH is the only option at the moment).

CAMH isn't what people make it out to be. Prior to my intake appointment, I had heard good things about Dr. Brown, so the only concern was Dr. S. Hucker (not any more) since he co-authored many studies with Dr. Blanchard. My real concern was/is just timing, and how long it will take to finally get my approval/funding for surgery. The only reason I say this is because I work in an environment where SRS will only reduce my anxieties (I'm a swim instructor/lifeguard), so it's very trying. Skin-tight neoprene and/or lycra doesn't leave much to the imagination.

To get in touch with CAMH Adult GIC (I assume you want to get on the wait list), get your GP or endocrinologist to send in a referral for you.

AweSAM, you're AWESOME! 

That is exactly what I was looking for! Although now I'm a little perplexed by my endocrinologist. Why tell me to get in touch with CAMH when I need a doctor's referral. If I didn't know any better I'd suspect he was trolling me.

Guess I'll have to setup an appointment with my GP and get the ball rolling. I wish I had done so sooner. Ever since I got my first prescription things didn't seem as urgent as they used to. Although to be honest I'm also kind of petrified of seeing them.

Sorry to hear about the skin tight uniform. That has got to be really hard on you. =\ I'm thankful that I get to wear scrubs-pants, they're pretty loose.

Thank you so much for the info!  n_n

Not a problem, Jenne.

Chances are your endocrinologist knows little or nothing about CAMH and the referral process... It's okay, most GPs and specialists are completely clueless when it comes to trans issues. I can pretty much guarantee your endo isn't trolling you. You need to know your info inside and out so you can be the one leading your doctor, instead of your doctor leading you around in circles.

It's okay with work. Actually, it isn't, but it does make victory that much sweeter.

It's never really a chore to help when truly needed.

CAMH is still the only way to get SRS publicly funded, and that's pretty much the only reason you'd ever want to contact them.

You should get your doctor to fill out this: http://www.camh.net/About_CAMH/Guide_to_CAMH/Mental_Health_Programs/General_Psychiatry_Program/F010220101021_adult_referral.pdf

It should be faxed directly to the CAMH Gender Identity Clinic (GIC) at 416-583-1360.

Funding is definitely something I'm interested, or rather need as I couldn't afford it on my own for a long time to come. So hoops I will jump through as needed with a grin.

I will print out a copy of that form to bring with me to my GP just in case. Seems like it's going to be mostly blank.

Thanks again!

I'm very close to contacting CAMH to get into their system, working towards SRS. I've already started living full-time as female, and my GP is about to prescribe HRT (as soon as one or two lingering test results are resolved). The plan was to contact CAMH after HRT and RLE, so as to avoid any bull->-bleeped-<-. So, we'll see. Having a "Dr." in front of my name sure helps.

Goodness.. I'd marry a canadian just for the access to NHS and CAMH!