"Therapy Letter" for Top Surgery: Question(s)

[joeybrogue]

I have been on hormones for about 3 years, and finally have the courage and money saved for top surgery.  I have found Dr. McGinn to have nice results and she's one of the closer doctors.  So right now I'm looking into getting my letter ready for a consultation.  I used the services of Dr. Graham L Peveller (sexchange.us) for my hormones and that went fine.  Sadly, he's receiving a lot of scrutiny, and although I found him helpful, real, and professional, I'm pretty sure many doctors will be suspicious.  The Mazzoni Clinic (Philly, PA) was fine with his letter and contacted him for reassurance.

Question 1:
Does a "gender therapist" have to write this letter?  Or can a therapist, psychiatrist, psychologist who is well aware of the situation also write it?  <Implying they are following the SoC information, etc.>

Question 2:
Has anyone used Dr. Peveller for their top surgery letter?  If so, how was your experience?

Question 3:
If you used traditional therapy, where did you go in PA and what was the fee?  I live in a stereotypical PA town, in the middle of no where with the closest "city" being 30 minutes away.  Mind you, it's not really a city, just the largest town!  Plus, I don't drive, that is why I opted the services of online therapy.

Thanks for any input.  I'm a little rusty on the SoC and how it goes with surgery as I've just been living life as is for a while and realize things do seem to slightly change over time or vary from state to state.  And for some reason the helpful SoC links I used to rely on have disappeared from Google and I'm getting technical stuff which is burning my brain!

(I had this posted originally in FTM Talk, but realized it was incorrectly placed, so here it is.)

[mann]

I'm wanting to know the same thing. I need a "letter" from a therapist, and I have no clue where to begin. Can a local therapist/psychiatrist do this, or are there certain people?

I'm 100% positive I'll pass any test.. lol  .. How many visits does it take? 1 visit?

I'm in east Tennessee, if anyone knows someone in this area.

Thanks alot.

[Flan]

any therapist/psych of masters or phd level education (not a requirement but most surgeons seek those qualifications) can make a letter of recommendation.

ps: there is no such thing as a gender therapist, just ones versed in the needs of transgender clients.

[mann]

Thanks Flan! Answered what I needed to know!!

I checked out the doctor in the original post, Dr. GRAHAM L PEVELLER , what scrutiny is he under? I can't find anything. His letter is only $100 , is that too good to be true?

[joeybrogue]

BTW: I had used Dr. Peveller and it worked out just great.  It was professional as always and went over well with my surgeon.  I was confident in him, but the online thing kind of makes me worry many won't take it as professional.  I highly suggest his services if you are stuck in a dead zone and do not drive. =)