Pdoc Male or Female ?

[Tiffany 1953]

Many of us have used the services of a psychologist. I have used both a male and a female. The truth is I can relate to and accept the guidance of the female much easier than the male. He seemed almost as uncomfortable as I did in discussing my GID. She understands my “estrogen based” responses and we have a good relationship.

Now on to the reason for the question. While doing research for the book I discovered that many GG’s will not have another female as a GYN for varying reasons, the chief one being that they don’t want another woman messing around down there.

So how do us CD’ers feel about which sex messes around with our head??

[tekla west]

Of the GGs I know all have female doctors feeing that men can hardly understand some of those "female problems."

[Jasmine Ellis]

my wife and kids have a female doctor

[CaptLex]

While doing research for the book I discovered that many GG’s will not have another female as a GYN for varying reasons, the chief one being that they don’t want another woman messing around down there.

Really?! I've never heard this before. All the women I know (and I know lots) prefer female Gyns to males and some won't go to the Gyn if they don't find a female one. Usually they feel that the female docs understand them better and that the male docs are a little "rougher" in their examination techniques.

Regarding the shrink, I've only had one and he's male. I think it's the right choice for me because I'm FtM, but if I were MtF, then a female shrink might be best. Just generally speaking, I tend to get a better (more understanding) reaction to my transitioning from men than from women - even doctors and other professionals. Whatever works for you, I think.

[Tamara Croft]

Of the GGs I know all have female doctors feeing that men can hardly understand some of those "female problems."

I have a female doctor.... her answer to everything is 'take paracetamol'.... well ok then...... however, I almost ended up in hospital from dehydration.... dimwit. I also asked her about a contraceptive for my daughter, her answer...... 'oh you don't want that...... has the same side affects as taking the pill'.......... ok then, you mean you don't actually know bugger all about it...... dimwit again........

If I phone for an appointment.... I see if she is on for surgery.... if she is, I'll wait for another day I prefer a male doctor and preferably one who 'isn't' British..... why you ask? because you have to literally beg the British doctors for medication, even though we have to pay for it. I saw a nice doctor last week, a young Indian guy, was standing in for the dumbass doctor I normally have. He was great, had all my notes ready, spoke to me like a normal person

I could go on...... but the resident doctors at my surgery are all idiots...... there answer to everything is either 'I don't know' or 'take paracetamol'.... good eh?

When I had my non cancerous cells removed a couple of years ago, an older male doctor did it. He was the nicest man you could of ever had doing the surgery. He kinda slipped a bit with the needle..... which hurt like hell...... but he was almost in tears himself I thought it a bit odd at first a guy doing the treatment, but I do think I prefer male doctors.

[cindianna_jones]

My shrinks were men.
My therapists were women.

I hate shrinks. Shrinks are therapists that do everything for the wrong reason. Therapists actually helped me.

I prefer female doctors. Generally, I can talk to them about my health issues. My current doc is a man. I can't finish a sentence with him. I don't have much choice unless I drive an hour to the next nearest city. I live in the boonies.

Cindi

[CaptLex]

I hate shrinks. Shrinks are therapists that do everything for the wrong reason. Therapists actually helped me.

Good point, Cindi. Actually, mine is a therapist, not a shrink. I just use the terms interchangeably (though I know it's not the same). I just like saying "the shrink". So yeah, my therapist is a guy and he's great.

[Stephenie S]

I think this whole question stinks of predjudice and gender stereotyping.

How can you attribute such definative behavior to a whole sex? Some female therapists will be compatable with you. Some not. Some male therapists will be compatable with you and some not. The same is true for doctors.

Aren't we trying to move past gender stereotypes here? Isn't that what we are all about? Just a question.

Most of the women I know go to a female GYN, and a male GP. This may be just that there are more male doctors available. I have been to both. Never saw much difference in the good ones. I wouldn't want see one bad one and then decide all others of that sex were equaly bad.

I think that it is our right to go to the doctor or therapist of our choice, but to rule out one whole sex seems predjudicial in the extreme.

JMHO,
Steph

[JenniferMint]

I feel more comfortable talking about my gender issues with a female than a male---this is generally true when it comes to talking to friends, too.

I kind of feel like girls would react "oh cool, you want to become one of us" while guys would be like "I'm a guy and I'm fine with it, why can't you be".

[flatlander_48]

For a number of years, I have participated in a peer-to-peer couseling methodology. Among other things, you could call it attentive listening. The goal is to help the other person under their lives, their actions, their motivations, etc. Often there is some issue from the past (as far back as childhood) that never got resolved and future actions are based on (in part) trying to "fix" the past. Time is shared between the two people. In other words, if the agreed upon time is 30 minutes, one person is client and the other is the counselor for the 30 minutes. For the next 30 minutes, the roles are reversed.

Anyway, with that as background, I have spent counseling time with men and women. While nearly all the time has been useful, the tendency is that I have had better clienting experiences with women. The flip side also seems to be true: I tend to be a better counselor for women than for men. Over time, the main topics for me have been sexism and coming to grips with being a bisexual male. Never did get around to working on crossdressing (Hmmmm...).

Whydo things usually work out better and more productive with women? Sounds like the topic of another counseling session...

[Rachel Ann]

My shrinks were men. My therapists were women. ... I hate shrinks. Shrinks are therapists that do everything for the wrong reason. Therapists actually helped me.

My psychologist is a woman and I love her to bits and pieces. She is totally supportive of me.

My psychiatrist just writes my prescriptions but I have to pay him an obscene amount of money to see him every other month to get them renewed.

It is the job of a psychiatrist to convince you that you are sicker than you thought you were. It is the job of a psychologist to convince you that you are more well than you thought you were.

Rachel xxx

[Clare]

[SIZE=3]For a long time now, I have had female Doctors by choice. I feel they understand me better and offer more empathy as professionals in general. That said, I have nothing against male Doctors in the general sense.

As for therapists, over the past year I have suffered from severe depression and had lots of emotional issues to deal with. ALL the professionals who cared for me in that time were females - from Pyschologists through to anonymouse telephone counsellors (Lifeline here in Oz). They were so good and gave me great strength at times when I needed it. The women who cared for me just seemed to have a better understanding of my emotional requirements.

I guess I just have a better affinity with female medical/allied health professionals.[/SIZE]

[Toyah]

Its really very simple dont let anyone play with your head all they are doing is taking a lot of money for listening and diagnosing what you always knew, go figure its your money!!!!!

[CaptLex]

I kind of feel like girls would react "oh cool, you want to become one of us" while guys would be like "I'm a guy and I'm fine with it, why can't you be".

Yup, it's the same with me, only in reverse. The guys' attitude is "Welcome to the Club", while the women seem to see it as a betrayal.

[ToyGirl]

I initially found it difficult to talk about my gender issues with any males. It get easier , but i still find females are generally more understanding.

These days i don't much mind , male doctors treat me as a female , most of them are happy to see me ,as im sure i change the pace of seeing old ladys with the flu and boys with sprains all day. I also find the indian doctors quite good.

[mollytyler]

Shrink Female
internist Female
have just felt more comfortable over the years discussing my issues with a female as my life has been female dominated (in the nice sense). The key also is to get physiciand that have some training and inderstanding of gender issues. Have had great support from my Docs!!! Now if I can just find a female that does SRS-LOL Seems to be a male dominated practice

[Tiffany 1953]

I think this whole question stinks of predjudice and gender stereotyping.

How can you attribute such definative behavior to a whole sex? Some female therapists will be compatable with you. Some not. Some male therapists will be compatable with you and some not. The same is true for doctors.

Aren't we trying to move past gender stereotypes here? Isn't that what we are all about? Just a question.

Most of the women I know go to a female GYN, and a male GP. This may be just that there are more male doctors available. I have been to both. Never saw much difference in the good ones. I wouldn't want see one bad one and then decide all others of that sex were equaly bad.

I think that it is our right to go to the doctor or therapist of our choice, but to rule out one whole sex seems predjudicial in the extreme.

JMHO,
Steph

To say that a males views and a females views and how they interact are the same is just not so. Both brains are wired differently and that is a proven fact. Ask anybody that has made the change from a testosterone based brain to an estrogen based brain.

[vbcdgrl]

I don't respond to "the couch" very well. Neither male psychologist that I've seen in the past helped me figure myself out. Guess I just continue to be a mystery.

Vikki

[Stephenie S]

To say that a males views and a females views and how they interact are the same is just not so. Both brains are wired differently and that is a proven fact. Ask anybody that has made the change from a testosterone based brain to an estrogen based brain.

Dear Tiffany,

Please reread my post. I did not say all females and all males are the same. I said there will be some male therapists with whom you are compatable and some female therapists with whom you will be compatable. This compatability has far more to do with theraputic approach and training than with the differences between male and female brain. Take an anatomy and physiology course and discover how similar male and female brains actually are. To say that they are "wired" differently is a simplistic aproach to a complex phenomenon. Differences in therapists, psycologists, and doctors, abound, but to say an entire sex is incompatable with you is to speak from an unexperienced perspective. As I mentioned above, I have visited good and bad doctors of both sexes in my life. To judge all doctors on that basis would be foolish in the extreme.

Some of us will be more comfortable talking with one sex or the other. For instance, most GGs I know prefer a woman GYN for obvious reasons. Women feel more comfortable dealing with intimate issues with another woman. I had a male therapist with whom I felt perfectly comfortable. However, I can certainly imagine being unable to discuss the same issues with a different sort of male, like the kind I see and talk to at work.

I was taking issue with the blanket rejection of an entire sex based on a perceived but erronious interpretation of their ability to provide empathetic therapy. There are many capable and caring therapists of both sexes. I thought that we who are working so hard to avoid gender stereotyping in our own lives should have some ability to see that.

That's all.

Steph

[michelle19845]

i prefer women as ones to talk to.women understand and respect things more than men do in most cases.as for a reg doctor,i'd say it don't matter.statistics say that transsexuals don't tend to go to any doctor cause of fear of how they'll handle it.

[avawho]

I have always found that females are more focused on providing "service" than making a profit in the medical profession and make far better doctors... I currently have a doctor, dentist and naturalpath who treat me just fine...

In our extended family there are two psychiatrists, one is a very understanding soul and the other is a totally opinionated JERK... while this is by no means a scientific survey, I have always been a wee bit doubtful of their profession... its not that they are guys, its just they seem so off the mark, how can they help people when they are so screwed up?

Hopefully there are those out there that do know their stuff and help people
I'll just keep plugging along and like me just the way I am...

Cheers
Ava