Originally Posted by tiffanyfisher
I totally agree with this. If you are going to see a counselor, for any Transgender issues (I use transgender as the umbrella term that covers CD's, TS's and many others) it is important that your comfortable with them. Some counselors will be good for some people and not others. A few years ago, I was seeing a counselor through the university's counseling center. She was great, she made me feel comfortable to talk about anything. I could relate to her, and she was genuinely interested in my problems that I was having. I came out to her about my gender issues, and while she had no experience with anyone that's transgender, she thoroughly did her homework and found out a lot of information for me. She also looked for local support groups where I could meet other people and talk to them as well. I even went to see her dressed, which helped a lot!
Since it was in a university setting, it was totally free and as a result of that they had many clients they needed to see. I went back to the center a year later because I went back into depression mode, and I started to see another counselor. She was really nice as well, but didn't really click. So it really depends on the dynamics between you and the person you are seeing.
I don't see why a crossdresser should feel as if they couldn't go see a counselor if they think it would help. People go to counselors for all sorts of reasons, marriage, depression, worries, grief. If you're struggling with accepting your crossdressing and need someone to talk to, why not go see a counselor. I'd make a recommendation of seeing someone who is knowledgeable of LGBTQ issues, or even general gender issues. Yes some people here that crossdress might not need to, or want to see a counselor, but for other people it can be helpful. I would say if you can and you want to, then by all means go ahead.
Psychology is a science, a social science though and not a hard science. Sociology, Economics, and Communication Studies are all very similar in that they are all considered a social science. They do research, make hypothesis, test those hypothesis, study statistics, generate statistics. They are able to determine generalizations, and trends. However in Psychology it is possible to work your way to Psychiatry which is more of a hard science. Psychiatrists are able to prescribe medicine, and they need to know chemicals and how the brain and neuroscience works among other things.
