A gender therapist, is a person who is trained in handling questions such as srs, coming out to family, friends. Also to determine wither you are truly transgender or there might be something else going on that is causing this internal gender conflict. We have pointed you in the right direction of who to speak with, now its up to you to make that phone call. So what is holding you back?

http://therapists.psychologytoday.com/rms/prof_results.php?state=IN&spec=187
there is a link that will give you a list of therapists in Indiana that deal with Transgender related issues. There are probably others out there, but this is a list that should get you started. Do your research on each one and decide which you might like to see. You will be dealing with them for a long time. Getting to the point of SRS is not as simple as just doing it. You have lots of checks and rechecks that will be done over time. All the hormones, electrolysis, Coming out, Real life tests, Identity changes, therapist and health care professional appointments. It takes a while and everyone has their own speed at which they can handle moving forward. I know some who have gon through everything in a year, and others it took 10+ years. A therapist is just the starting point in all of that. So again, do your research, select one and go. All therapists are licensed to handle just about any issue people deal with. That being said, in the case of transgender issues, you want someone who has more than just a text book understanding. So any of those ones on that list will be able to help you with it and a mixture of others. So if as Rhonda said there was something else, they can help you with it. if its transgender issues, they can help you with that. coming out, that too, so on. Good luck to you on the path :D

Thanks to both of you. I have actually been on that psychologytoday site. The thing that is holding me back is getting a reply. I emailed one on there to seek out advice or counseling but haven't gotten a response back yet. So I'm going to wait just a little while longer for a reply, otherwise I'll try another. I don't want to run into a point where I'm talking with multiple therapists who would all like to schedule appointments.

But thanks I didn't really know who I should be seeking out, but now I have a good idea of what kind of therapist to look for. So thank you both :)

well unfortunatelly I don't think most will give you much more than a cost or so on in an e-mail until you are a patient. It usually takes any mental health professional a session or 4 to really get a grasp on what you are going through. So you may just try to find one you think you might be comfortable with (this is extremely important) and make an appointment to go see them. The first one will likely be indoc paperwork, but you will get a feel for them, them for you. If you decide you don't like them, you dont have to go back to them :P As far as issues though, if they respond they will likely only respond with "we should make an appointment to discuss" kinda thing.

That's what I asked for in my email to her. I basically just asked for an email reply and possibly an appointment. I'm going to try her again tomorrow around noon. I emailed her last time at like 9pm, so maybe it was just late and she never got it. Otherwise by tuesday I'm going to try another therapist. That psychology today site gives their rates at the bottom so I don't see why they would just send an email back with their rates.

The reason I want to get this therapist is she's 25. Only a few years older than me. So I think I could relate more with her you know? Plus her rates show she charges $20 and up, which is fairly inexpensive for me. Everyone else on there is about $80-$140. I can't afford that.

well all you can do is see what she says when and if she replys. I don't know if the age thing will be that much of a concern. My theapist is likely quite a bit older than me, but he still has some idea of what is faced through working with it so much. Some how i am thinking her rates are based on if you have insurance that will pay for the appointments. $20 would be a normal copay. I don't know how well they could keep a practice going on that though. you will have to let us know.

Well the therapist I was originally seeking told me she couldn't take on any new clients, so she recommended me to another. I talked with her for a bit and asked to possibly set up an appointment. This was tuesday when I asked her, and she told me she is in her office monday, tuesday, thursday. So I figured she would get back at me thursday, but haven't gotten an email since. I hate to sound pushy and email her again. So I figure I'll just wait a few more days and see what happens. But thanks for the advice

i would say if she hasn't e-mailed by friday, then mail her again. due to the holiday she may have had to push her monday patients to thursday which may have overloaded her on that day. So that would mean she should be able to get back to you by the end of thursday provided she remembers. She also may have expected you to call her to set it up. I am not sure.

I was going to email her tomorrow since it'll have been one week since we last exchanged emails. But you make sense about the holiday and everything. Maybe I should it off. But since she doesn't work Fridays she might not get that email either. So maybe I should email her tomorrow if she'll be as busy as you believe on Thursday. So I'll probably just stick with my plan and email her again tomorrow. Hopefully she gets it and we can get something together next week

Got confirmation from the therapist I have been talking to on Friday. Just waiting for her to email me again with intake forms and the address. Got my first appointment on March 7th.

woohoo, congrats :D the first appointment will be very routine in that it will be a general intake appointment, it usually takes 3-5 meetings before they really get into anything to deep, they have to get to know you a bit first. so if it seems like you arent getting anywhere with them in the first few meetings, its pretty normal. Good luck :D

Thanks! Gee I didn't know it would take so many meetings though. Hope I can afford them. But yeah I'm pretty anxious for it!

therapy takes a long time, its really something that you do through the whole process in transition, so if like me it takes you years and years to transition, you will be seeing the therapist for years and years, though how often will change, i am right now at about 1 time ever 6 months or as needed due to needing to wait at this point for passage of time :P so yeah, you will be with this person for some time, but the appointments will be spaced apart. so that might help

Well that's great to know. Right now, at most I can only afford 2 sessions. But as long as their spaced I should be fine. I was talking with a friend of mine who went through therapy for different reasons years ago. She said that often times, they will offer assistance to those who are financially strapped. Is that true?

depends on the therapist. If they have an independant practice then they might have places that will help offset the fee, usually in the shape of medical loan ideas, and others will set up a discounted rate for low income or things like that. Some will even accept payments. If it is a clinician (working out of a hospital) they tend to be a bit less flexible as their billing is done through the hospitals business office. It really is variable, but yes some will.