Dear Living Life as a Girl
Dear Fabulous Marc:
I was just wondering if you could give me some advice on a certain topic of mine. I’ve been struggling with who I am as a person, as in my sex. I’ve always felt more female, living life as a girl. I don’t know where to start asking for help or how to go about it? I know someone needs to see a therapist for a good year or so before they can begin transitioning. If you could lead me in the right direction with advice on how to get started or where to go for help and guidance, that would be greatly appreciated. =]
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Living Life as a Girl
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Dear Living Life as a Girl:
There is a process of psychotherapy involved in Sex Reassignment Therapy (SRT). SRT is an umbrella term for:
1. psychotherapy
2. hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to modify secondary sex characteristics
3. sex reassignment surgery to alter primary sex characteristics
4.permanent hair removal for trans women.
These standards of care are outlined by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH). WPATH is the first and foremost accepted standard for Sex Reassignment Therapy. Many individuals transitioning are not in favor of the psychotherapy component. Some people feel this step requires consenting to pathologies in order to access the SRT. There is a reported higher incident of mental health disorders among transsexual individuals than the general population. My clinical experience leads me to believe that this is more from living in a society that has very limited and rigid sex roles than from being transsexual. The rationale given for psychotherapy during transitioning is stated as the “lasting personal comfort with the gendered self in order to maximize overall psychological well-being and self-fulfillment.”
The process involves a recommendation letter from a mental health therapist that documents the individual’s psycho-social history to a medical provider before any medical interventions, another letter recommending hormonal replacement therapy and two more recommending genital surgeries. While these requirements may seem very strict, there is a very low rate for individuals with post surgerical regrets. The current revision of the WPATH standards of care have no set time frames for psychotherapy.
There are three web sights I would suggest you check out:
-Wikipedia’s Sex Reassignment Therapy site (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_reassignment_therapy)
-WPATH Standards of Care web site (http://www.wpath.org/publications_standards.cfm)
-a great site for general info (http://www.transsexual.org)
-Laura’s playground (http://www.lauras-playground.com/gender_therapists.htm) for a list of therapists that work with transgendered individuals including a listing of those in Oregon.
Finding a therapist that you can work with is a very important step, regardless of the recommendation letters. This person will be helping you make the social and emotional transition from being one sex in society to another.
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R. Marc Andrews is a counselor in Portland, Oregon specializing in gay male relationships and issues.
PLEASE READ CAREFULLY: This is an advice column. It should never take the place of therapy offered by a licensed professional. Neither R. Marc Andrews nor Fabulous PDX bears any liability for the advice given or your interpretation of it. If you need help, please contact 911.
Tags: health, SRT, trans/gender, transitioning
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