GENDER AFFIRMING CARE ASSESSMENTS

Are you one of the many transgender or nonbinary people seeking surgery to support your identity & mental health? I can help with that! Many trans & nonbinary people experience gender dysphoria around particular parts of their body, and surgery can be medically necessary to alleviate that pain and live a full and fulfilling life. 

I offer two services around this care - take a look and see which fits you! 

Letter-writing assessment sessions are appropriate for trans/nonbinary people who have already explored their gender identity, learned about different surgical options, have clarity about their gender dysphoria and how surgery will help with that, and are seeking to jump through the bureaucratic "hoop" of confirming all this. This service is typically 1-2 sessions where we will confirm a gender dysphoria diagnosis & medical necessity for your procedure, informed consent for the procedure, address possible mental health needs, and refine your pre- and post-op plans. These sessions will always result in you receiving a letter from me.

Gender insight sessions are appropriate for clients who are curious but undecided about hormones or surgeries, or clients who are fairly confident (in the realms mentioned above) but want additional space to process their experience seeking medical transition care. This service can range from 2 - 6 sessions, clients seeking longer care should seek individual psychotherapy services. These sessions will result in you receiving a letter from me if you choose to pursue surgical intervention.

Please note - as a transgender person myself, I do not believe it is ethical or possible for me to confirm or deny another person's trans-ness. These services are never investigating if you are "trans enough" for surgery. Instead, I am seeking to provide you with information so you can make a fully informed decision, confirm medical necessity for the procedure, address how any mental health challenges may impact your surgery experience, and ensure you have a safe & realistic plan to recover.

I currently offer these assessments on Fridays only 

Much of what was previously assumed about Autism is now being re-evaluated in the mental health field. You may have seen articles or videos about undiagnosed autistic women, people of color, and transgender/nonbinary people who did not fit the stereotype guiding professionals in the 1990's and 2000's. Many autistic people who presented more as "gifted," developed skills at social masking, had special interests that conformed to gender or cultural expectations, or simply lacked access to mental health care may have gone undiagnosed. 

I offer autism diagnostic assessments for people aged 18 and up, who are able to use verbal communication. This process is typically 4-6 sessions long and includes an initial intake, discussion of any other mental health diagnoses, research-based assessments, processing the results of the assessments, and discussing next steps for your journey. 

I approach this work from a lens of the social model of disability, a neurodiversity-affirming paradigm, and affirming autistic people's right to exist as they are rather than seeing autistic people as deficient or needing to change. If these terms are new, no worries! We will talk more about them in our meetings!