Question: How can my teen start hormone therapy?
El asks…
My teen (age 15) has expressed a strong need to begin hormone therapy, how do I help her begin this process? Do we see a doctor? If so, what kind? Or do we start with a trans-friendly therapist? I’m utterly at a loss.
Please post your response in the comments below.
» Ask Genderfork «
Posted by Merritt on June 12th, 2012 at 08:00 am
Category: questions 8 comments »
June 12th, 2012 at 9:19 am |
It depends a bit on where you are, but in most cases the first place is a therapist.
You are a wonderful parent, and I thank you.
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June 12th, 2012 at 11:31 am |
You need to do a search for gender therapists in your area. If you live in a small town you may have to travel to the nearest city to get a therapist who specializes in this topic. Depending on where you live, and the therapist, it can take some time for them to assess your child and figure out if starting HRT is appropriate for them. However, in almost all cases, the child knows best… the therapist just may drag the process out for documentation/liability purposes.
Once the therapist diagnoses your child, they will write you a letter of recommendation to see a doctor, who will then write your child the prescription for HRT. The doctors will require bloodwork beforehand to make sure your child has healthy organs, and then they will write the prescription. If you have any questions, just write me on my FaceBook (www.facebook.com/vanburnham) and I will be happy to help you as best as I can. I run a large YouTube on this topic, so I will try my hardest to help =)
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June 12th, 2012 at 7:50 pm |
El? Thank you helping your child with this!
Hormone therapy has been *such* a blessing for me: my body and soul are no longer at war; we have begun to live in harmony. Testosterone obnoxiously competed against my inner self. Oestrogen cooperates with and supports me gently and firmly: I am not so much changed as I am freed to ‘come home’ and be more me.
Hormones are something of a ‘deposit’ God has made in Their promise to make me beautiful, graceful and congruent.
Van? *Thank you* for being a great resourse for El :-)
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June 12th, 2012 at 10:43 pm |
El,
firstly, thank you so, so much for being a wonderful and supportive parent. not many trans folks get that kind of support from their families, and i literally have the biggest smile on my face b/c of you.
secondly, again, it depends on where you live, but i might ask at a planned parenthood for suggestions on therapists, and/or guidance for hormones. some planned parenthoods have trained staff and doctors who know a lot about the process of transitioning, and might be able to answer some of your questions. i would also suggest finding a physical (in town or something) or cyber (online) support group for parents/families of transgender teens. talking w/ other families may help you find a doctor or therapist – especially if you live in a smaller town. Van had a lot of good points.
good luck with everything. and thank you again for being such a supportive parent. it really does make such a difference.
**Van, thank you for all your input! and for the work you do.
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June 12th, 2012 at 11:04 pm |
I have nothing to add since everyone before me have covered pretty much all the bases but I wanted to applaud you for being an amazing and supportive parent. parents like you & my own mother give me hope & put a smile on my face.
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June 12th, 2012 at 11:07 pm |
In the UK (I don’t know where you are) the first port of call is to your family doctor, who will contact a gender clinic. If your doctor won’t do it, find another who will.
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June 13th, 2012 at 2:25 pm |
It totally depends on where you are…try a google search for lgbt community health centers or something along those lines in your area. If you’re near New York City, check out Callen-Lorde (http://callen-lorde.org/); Chicago, Howard Brown (http://www.howardbrown.org/); Philadelphia, Mazzoni Center.
To find a therapist, you could check out these links (or google for lists specific to particular areas):
http://www.drbecky.com/therapists.html
http://www.angelfire.com/extreme/transrevolution/phoenixrisingftm/transtherinfo.html
http://www.lauras-playground.com/gender_therapists.htm
Many doctors, especially when treating minors, will require that the patient get a diagnosis of Gender Identity Disorder (GID). If you get a really trans-friendly therapist, they’ll end up writing a letter that says your child has GID but not treat it like a disorder when interacting with you or your child. When you talk to a therapist before making an appointment, make sure they have experience with transgender people and not just LGB folks–they’re very different things, as you know. The point of a therapist should be just to make transitioning easier, but many people (primarily non-trans people, plenty of them therapists) believe that therapy is necessary to confirm that transitioning is actually a good idea. If you/your child end up with a therapist who thinks trans-ness is actually a disorder, says that your child has to wait until they’re 18 to start hormones, or requires your child to prove their gender identity, *find a new therapist.* There is a spectrum of expertise with trans people, and a therapist like that is at the non-expert end of it. Sometimes even allegedly “transgender friendly” therapists are not well-educated on trans issues.
A lot of therapists & doctors follow the WPATH Standards of Care, which are guidelines for treatment of trans people that cover mental and physical health. You can find the current version at http://www.wpath.org/documents/Standards%20of%20Care_FullBook_1g-1.pdf. It’s pretty long, but thankfully not much of it is relevant to you/your child.
I wish you and your child the best! Hopefully this will be helpful for you. :)
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June 25th, 2012 at 12:58 pm |
Thank you for being such a supportive parent!
i wish my parents could at least take the step you’ve taken now…
i’ve been out to them for 6 months already and they have done ans said extremely little to me about it. its very disheartning .
All the best for you and your child! :D
Love and peace*
Ettiene
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