Starting therapy

[Anna Lorree]

So I have been waffling about therapy now for about 3 years. Today, I made an appointment with a local therapist who claims to offer therapy to LGBT clients. I will see her next Wednesday. I am both thrilled and nervous.

Anna

[taís]

I am both thrilled and nervous.

you should! ^ ^ I believe this will be an exciting ride — and it will shake your foundations so you can rise wiser and stronger. but no worries, you'll be fine and safe.
congrats on your decision and good luck next wed, I hope you can work a good chemistry with your therapist. keep us posted! ;x

[Melody1985]

Congratulations on making that important decision for you. Im sure it will be nothing shy of a positive experience. Good luck in all you do okay..!!

[KellyJameson]

I hope you have a positive experience Anna. They are people just like us with their own problems, failures and questions and often they are in therapy themselves so nothing to fear from them.

[Barbara Joanne74]

I too recently started some counseling. What a ride it has been so far. But it has been a wonderful journey so far, and I am thankful for a close friend that all but dragged me in the door. For me, having someone that is not connected to my life and non judgemental is great. Just relax and be honest and see where it leads.

Barbara

[DebbieL]

So I have been waffling about therapy now for about 3 years. Today, I made an appointment with a local therapist who claims to offer therapy to LGBT clients. I will see her next Wednesday. I am both thrilled and nervous.

Anna

Anna, congratulations on starting therapy. You may be graduating from cross-dresser to transsexual soon?

I know that for me, therapy was incredibly helpful. I just wish I hadn't stopped mid-stream. The main reason I did was because my ex-wife was threatening to have my visitation rights revoked completely or at least reduced to a few hours of supervised visitation - where I would HAVE to be passable as a man. She had connections within a right-wing fundamentalist church who would have made sure that her case was routed through homophobic judges, and at the time, there were no protections of GLBT -in fact, Colorado had officially revoked any such "special protections". Even if my visitation rights were completely revoked because I was in transition, I would STILL have been forced to pay over 1/2 my after-tax income to my ex and her husband. Ironically, because they were both on disability, in addition to child support, their total after-tax income was about 50% higher than mine before paying child support at one point.

Had I known that I would only be able to see my kids a few days every 2-3 years until they were in high school, I would have gone ahead with the transition.

Today, there are much better legal protections in nearly all states, and I now live in a state where transgender rights are protected.

Your therapist will help you sort out whether or not you would be a good candidate for transition, and you will be much more able to make a valid and informed choice.

Good luck, and enjoy the ride.

[Eve II]

Best of luck !! You are a few steps ahead of me & I hope you enjoy your mind & body becoming free.

[Anna Lorree]

Thanks all for the encouragement, ladies.

I'm not hoping to graduate to transsexual, but rather hope to graduate to a better understanding of my self and how I can live with that in happiness. I fully understand, however, that I may be told I am transsexual. Then it is a matter of trying to figure out how my life will be.

Also, I hope to find help for my wife with regard to dealing with me being TG. It has been a struggle for her, and I care for her very deeply.

Anna