have been more than a bit busy. In an attempt to obtain a surgery letter from a psychiatrist, I have gone through three hours of shrink, therapist, and social worker. The upshot? No dice. The shrink doesn't feel she has enough expertise to diagnose me, so no joy there. I also found out that the V.A. doesn't even HAVE a psychiatrist in my area who is qualified in T matters! The therapist was more than helpful, but I already have a letter from a therapist.

In other matters. I have registered our local T support group with Social services Mental Health, AND with the V.A. Mental Health divisions, since learning of a couple of patients who may be Trans. Hopefully, they'll be given the info on how to contact our support group, and we might be able to help them. Additionally, we have made arrangements to set up a meet with some therapists and try to educate them as to our particular issues so they can more effectively diagnose and treat T patients.

We are beginning to grow, and reach out to the mental health community in a sincere effort to be of assistance, since NONE of the therapists or Psychiatrists here have ANY training or knowledge of how to treat T patients. None of our support group are therapists or shrinks, but we CAn and WILL offer support and whatever help we can, that the patients will accept, so we will never attempt to TREAT them. Only help, if we can, them deal with the fear of discovery or exposure, and learn about what being T is all about.

It's time to start, folks. If your area is like mine, there are probably many T girls and guys who have no clue about what to do or how to deal with it, and no one qualified to treat them. If you're in a support group, touch base with your local mental health/therapy,psychiatric centers and let them know that there IS a support group, ready and willing to help! The only way to combat ignorance is through education.

Cathy