Telephone Therapists

[Rayne1]

I found a site that indicated that 12 sessions(once a week) for 50-55 minutes session with the therapist would give you access to a letter for your doctor to start HRT. The sessions were $35.00 per session or $100.00 per month for three months. You don't have to go anywhere just talk over the telephone.
This was appealing to me since I do not live near any transgender therapists.
Has anyone else used this type of therapy for obtaining the letter needed for HRT.

[AKAMichelle]

So where is the site???

[cd_britney_426]

I would be careful about this as it could be a scam. I do think the telephone therapist would be a great idea in general especially for people who are quite a distance from TG-experienced therapists. However, any therapist that "promises" to give you a letter after so much money has been paid or so many sessions done is potentially a scam. I don't believe that therapists can legally make promises like that. How can they promise something to someone they don't know? There is a saying, "If it sounds too good to be true..." So, it may be a great idea but my advice is buyer beware. Britney

[GypsyKaren]

I have to agree with Britney, and I would rather see a therapist in person, even if they're not experienced in gender issues.

Karen Starlene :star:

[Rayne1]

So where is the site???

www.gendertherapist.com
click on let us call or send info
Dr. Graham L Peveller

[Lisa Golightly]

I like to look them in the eyes... besides I'm telephobic... So it wouldn't have been an option... Unless they did text.

[StaceyJane]

I would be careful of any therapist that has a link to the coagnti test on their website.
I am using a phone therapist that I really like. It's convient for me since I am still in the closet. She had helped me with the cost and she has made no promises other than to do the best job possible helping me.

[Sharon]

www.gendertherapist.com
click on let us call or send info
Dr. Graham L Peveller

With all the spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors on just the front page, I would be curious to know what university that doctor received his license from. And then I wonder about all the quack ads on the site.

[Karen564]

I'm not to sure how a telephone theripist letter of recommendation coming from overseas would fly with any respectable doctor here in the US.

The whole thing sounds fishy to me, IMO.

Karen

[~Kelly~]

OMG run away from that site as fast as you can. I am not in any way trying to poo-poo the idea of a phone therapist but going to that site I was afraid that somehow they had already gotten a hold of my bank account number and my bank account was being depleted as I read it.

Seriously, I would be wary of ANY site, person, institution, etc. that makes any kind of promises about guaranteeing ANYTHING. Think about the character of an individual who is willing to sell his signature with a blatant disregard for how that can affect the individual he is supposedly "helping"

[GypsyKaren]

I'll give you a letter for free, I guarantee it will carry as much weight as this quack's.

Karen Starlene :star:

[Stephanie-L]

I see pros and cons with this site. The idea itself is useful, I would have gone that way if I had not been able to find a good local therapist. It is also much less expensive, though I doubt it would be covered by any insurance. From a quick reading of the website it seems that the Dr. says many of the correct things that we would expect from a therapist, and he seems to know quite a bit about gender issues. Some of the issues I have with this site are that I have no idea where the Dr. is based, thus I have no idea what laws regarding patient confidentiality apply. One of the payment options is to an address in the Phillipines, another is to a bank in Spain. I also tend to distrust payment via Western Union as they are often used by scam artists, not saying this is the case here, just historical fact, paypal might be a better option. There is a mention of the Dr. practicing in Sonoma, is this the town in California, USA, or is there another Sonoma in another country? The english on the website seems correct and appropriate, with an American flavor to it, I noticed a few misspellings, but not excessively many. As is the case with any therapy, a certain bond needs to develop between patient and therapist, this may be more difficult for this type of therapy, then again for some it may be easier. I did not see a promise to provide a letter for hormones/surgery, just a limitation on the number of sessions before the Dr. will make up his mind one way or the other, i.e. 3 months of sessions is the max before he will either send the letter or say he can't help, at least that was my reading of the site. Anyway, these are my thoughts on the site, I am interested to hear more and to know how things work out for anyone who uses the site.....Stephanie

[Karen564]

Telephone theripist,
I see it as a scam to lure in the desperate that want to avoid the system to get a letter of recommendation.
Pretty much defeats the whole purpose for the Standards of Care.

Karen

[cd_britney_426]

This is definitely a scam. It is obvious that this "Dr." is based outside of the U.S. and because so many countries are listed, you can't even tell what continent the person is from. There is a lot of irrelevant stuff on the site as well. The fact that they ask for payment via Western Union or a bank transfer makes it obvious that this is fraud. Any reputable company will take payment through a credit card. Even most third world countries can still take payment with credit cards. Chances are if you enter your routing and account number and give these people your information such as your name/address, etc. the first thing they will do is wipe out your entire bank account and then commit identity theft by using your information for other fraud purposes such as opening credit card accounts under your name. Additionally, the people who are drawn to such a site are generally going to be the closeted TGs who will be afraid to go to the police and these people could then in turn blackmail you by threatening to out you and then extort more money from you. If they are outside of the U.S. there is nothing authorites here can do to help you including the FBI because it is not domestic. Stay away from such nonsense. :Angry3: Britney

[~Kelly~]

Additionally, the people who are drawn to such a site are generally going to be the closeted TGs who will be afraid to go to the police and these people could then in turn blackmail you by threatening to out you and then extort more money from you.

I had never thought of the blackmail angle before.....I wonder if this type of thing is common with all kinds of things that people may not want to get out into the public. We obviously see it here (even though if they were to ever try and extort me over this then I say "good luck!" as I don't really care who knows LOL) I wonder if maybe there are services like, oh, I don't know, certain porn sites that cater to married men (just as an example) that could use the same premise. Very interesting concept and definitely something to keep in mind while out and about doing my nefarious activities :P LOL (if only you knew how bland and boring my life actually was you would find that last statement hilarious! )

[dianarg]

I've always like to check things on my own, so I had a little online chat with Dr. Graham. From what I can tell he does know a lot about transgender issues, also I couldn't find any bad reviews about him but I also couldn't find any good. When I asked him about references he copied+paste some feedback from his clients in the chat window, but this doesn't really carry any weight for me as I tend to look for this things offsite. He mentioned he's a member of a Virginia counseling association (don't remember the entire name, but after a search I found the site and it looks reputable) he told me to find his name in the directory, but in order to do so you have to signup and pay $$$
Apparently this Dr. is located in the Phillipines, and his degree is from the UK. I did found many references about his studies in a university website.
After reading the disclaimer of www.gendertherapist.com it sounds like they are not responsible anything and they don't guarantee anything. My opinion is that it's not bogus, but it doesn't really help the transsexual in any other way than counseling, as for the letter of recommendation, I don't think many American Doctors would accept it. Just my two cents, I could be wrong.

[GypsyKaren]

You have to pay in order to see who's in a counseling service? That would be enough for me to run from him and his little "association", which is in Virginia, though he's in the Phillipines, after going to school in the U.K...yeah right.

Karen Starlene :star:

[Rayne1]

What is the therapist you are using. Telephone therapy seems to be my only option in the rural area I live in, but I want to have someone that can be trusted. What are her fees?


I would be careful of any therapist that has a link to the coagnti test on their website.
I am using a phone therapist that I really like. It's convient for me since I am still in the closet. She had helped me with the cost and she has made no promises other than to do the best job possible helping me.