TL;DR: I offer assessments for letters of support for gender affirming surgery for binary and non-binary transgender adult clients in OR & IL. As a trans psychologist, I’m happy to be a knowledgeable and affirming advocate who can help support you as you move through the process of obtaining gender affirming care.

My Approach to Writing Letters of Support

‍As a trans psychologist and member of WPATH (the World Professional Organization for Transgender Health), I think it is vital that trans people (including non-binary folks) have access to gender affirming medical care, including surgical options. I use the WPATH Standards of Care as flexible clinical guidelines in addition to your surgeon’s and your insurance company’s policies to make sure you meet criteria for surgery. This includes making sure you understand the specific procedure you are interested in and how to care for yourself during the recovery process, as well as doing a mental health diagnostic assessment. While I definitely don’t believe being trans is a mental illness, a diagnosis of gender dysphoria is a requirement for surgery. I understand how systemic and individual transphobia has created widespread fear and trauma for our community, and impacted trans’ folks trust in the mental health field. That can make it difficult to want to talk to a psychologist about gender. I aim to make this experience as affirming and trauma informed as possible, with the goal of supporting your transition.

We’ll start with a brief free phone consultation to talk about your goals and I’ll ask a few questions to make sure you meet the basic requirements for your particular surgery. If you don’t, I’ll let you know and we won’t schedule anything further at that time and I’ll help connect you with resources if you need them. If we do schedule, we’ll meet for an assessment (usually between 1-3 meetings) in order for me to gather enough information to provide a diagnosis and evaluate your preparedness for surgery. After I complete the assessment, I’ll let you know if you qualify for a letter of support. Once completed, I’ll send you a copy of the letter, and submit a copy to your surgeon on your behalf. Once the surgeon’s office approves the letter, they’ll submit it to insurance along with their pre-authorization request.

I believe in the power of collaboration and community, and am happy to consult with other folks in your life (primary care, HRT providers, surgeons, support people for aftercare and surgical recovery, mental health therapists, physical therapists, pelvic floor therapists, etc.) in order to make sure everyone on your team is on the same page and can best care for you before surgery and as you recover. I am also happy to help connect you with other trans community resources to build your support network. If you are also interested in gender affirming ongoing therapy after our assessment, please let me know. Note: you do not have to be in therapy with me in order for me to do an assessment.

Please be aware: I only work with adults (18+) and am only able to see clients physically located in Oregon or Illinois due to state licensing restrictions. 

Insurance and Fees

I am in network with PacificSource and Aetna. For clients who do not have insurance I’m in network with, I offer a T4T Pay What You Can Community Care model for these assessments. All funds collected from this payment model go to ensuring I can continue to offer this assessment service for all trans clients regardless of their ability to pay, while making sure that I am being paid fairly for my labor as a trans person doing this work.

Systemic Work on Gender Affirming Care

I believe that I can best support the trans community by using my privilege as a mental health professional to conduct assessments for letters necessary for surgery. However, I also think we need to work systemically towards reducing barriers to accessing care, and training more medical and mental health professionals to be trans knowledgeable and gender affirming. I present at conferences on trans mental health and provide workshops, trainings, and consultation for professionals. I provide education on why the politicization of trans identities is harmful, and use my clinical expertise as a psychologist to speak on why gender affirming care is lifesaving mental health care.