First initial therapy?

[Alicew]

Ok some people have seen my other posts and so on so may understand my question ,im searching for answers to ME basicly and approached my GP for help on the path so its all gone ahead and ive got an appointment to see some one the big suprise came when i looked up the doctor i would see.

It turns out its the local areas mental health clinics general psychriatric consultant ,is this normal or does my doctor see something else wrong with me than just what i think is wrong.

Ive alluded to previous possible brain damage in childhood but would this effect the process this much,could it explain all this repressed feelings and pain ive lived with seemingly forever,after the initial gp meeting hes put me on Mirtazapine antidepressent which to be honest is knocking me sideways even less energy and tired all the time and feeling numb and not caring about my issues as much which while nice i supose is worrying.

[Sandra]

It is normal in the UK to be sent to see general psychiatric consultant first, they will then write back to your dr.

[Nigella]

Alice, as Sandra has said, this is the normal route for the NHS to follow. All they are doing is screening out any other potential Mental Health issues, they are not doubting your word on where you feel you belong, but starting on the TS route is very demanding on you.

If you have other Mental Health issues, then this can exacerbate the difficulties that lie ahead by going down the TS road.

[Alicew]

Thanks for replies i was more curious as my gp said id be seeing the local one in house not the local consultant for the entire region,had me worried.

I guess hes going to have his work cut out sorting my head out ,i wish him luck took me 20 years to fathom just bits.=)

[kimdl93]

No it's not the least bit unusual. Often, here in the states at least, one will have both a therapist and a psychiatrist. It's actually a good practice, assuming the two coordinate care.

[Saffron]

I think in the UK it's very similar to Spain. The psychiatrist is going to make sure you don't have any mental disorder and is the one who dictates if you have GID. The therapist is the one who will offer you support during your transition.

[Rianna Humble]

In the UK, the initial psychiatric consultation is not to diagnose whether you have GID, but to screen for complicating mental health problems that may need to be addressed at the same time as transition. The official diagnosis is done by two gender specialists (although they may well be psychiatrists or psychologists)

[Alicew]

So any basic pointers on whats going to happen in my first appointment .
Its hard for me to talk to strangers at the best of times without having to bare my soul wide open with it,i realise now i have self assteem issues,self confidence ( complete lack of)besides my sexuality confusion,but the sense of just being plain wrong in my own skin jumbles it all up into a huge white noise thats getting worse.

Ive since come out to my mom about everything the feelings i have and being a CD and to be honest nothings changed in my life other than another person knows about it its quite like DADT tho she doesnt want to know about it tbh she keeps saying i want this and its cause of my accident as if its not real and it made me spiral out of control ,got real dark for a while had to ask my gp for help ,so now on anti depressents too.
The problem i have is i dont seem to be able to work out if its real or not in my head can you lie to your self to the point of breaking your exsistance,to decide on a whim your not happy and live as something else instead thinking its somehow better. you see im scared im wrong and its just nonscence but im even more terrified that im right and i cant see a way to cope with it right now.

[Rianna Humble]

I don't know how typical my appointment with the local Mental Health specialist was, but I began by telling her that I was looking for a referral to the Gender Identity Clinic.

She asked me if I preferred to tell her about myself or to answer questions, so I took both options. I said that I would begin by telling her about myself then would answer any questions she had after that.

She was a good, active, listener and made some notes whilst I was talking then asked me to clarify a few points.

Afterwards, she took me through some standard questions about whether I had had mental health problems or whether anyone in my family suffered from any kind of mental health problem.

At the end, she promised to write to my GP "right away" and I made the mistake of thinking that she meant that in normal English not in NHS-speak where "right away" means "in about 7 weeks time" :eek:

[SamanthaC]

Alice, I can relate to the terrified and scared feeling you're having, same thing I've been going though while trying to sort out my own GID issues. While I'm one step behind you ( going to see the GP today ), and don't have the benefit of hindsight yet, I'd suggest being as open and honest as possible.

[Nigella]

My experience was a mirror image of Rianna's. The first thing to do is to let them know the reason why you have been referred to them, if you told your GP that you feel you are TS, then let the psychiatrist know that, they will only work with what you tell them, they are not mind readers.