Finding a Therapist

[hypnoticmalaise.livejournal.com]

Crossposted from genderqueer.

I have been thinking a lot lately about seeking therapy, both for gender issues and a bunch of unrelated stuff. But I need some advice on how to find a therapist that will fit what I need.

The first thing I want to address with therapy is a bunch of mostly unrelated emotional garbage. So I need a therapist who can handle these sorts of issues well.

Then I want to address gender issues and try to untie all the mental knots I have surrounding gender stereotypes, my history, where I feel I fit, and how I can feel more confident in my identity. I'll probably also eventually want to pursue some sort of non-traditional transition (such as a low dose of T to see how I react to it, and to somewhat masculinize).

The problem then is how to seek therapy. Should I seek a general therapist for the first, then find a more GLBT therapist for the second set of issues? Or could I find a GLBT therapist who could help me through the first set of issues before we even touch my gender issues? (I don't know if most GLBT therapists work exclusively with GLBT issues and would be uncomfortable or less happy handling other completely unrelated stuff).

I don't even know how to begin to go about this. I just know that I don't want to have to educate my therapist in gender issues. I am very uncertain with where I land in the mix, and I want them to be able to use their knowledge and experience to help guide somewhat me through finding a stable and workable gender identity.

I would appreciate any help or advice. Also personal experience can be useful too, so if you could tell me more how you navigated finding a good genderqueer-friendly therapist, that may help too. It is literally impossible to bore me with personal experience stories, so don't worry about rambling on or anything!

Also a couple of other less pressing considerations... If I got a therapist who didn't want to write me a prescription for T or something because I didn't fit into their idea of trans well enough, would I be required to report their feelings to any subsequent therapists I got? Would my following therapists have access to their notes, or to some sort of medical history that would reflect my first therapists reservations? I don't want my discussion of gender issues with a therapist to get in the way of possibly transitioning if I decide that is what I want.

Second, I have two possibilities for seeking therapy. I can go for just a therapist in town and cover it through my parent's health insurance (I am still covered and will be for at least a couple more years, luckily), or I can try to go through my college and find a therapist that way. Any ideas about which might be better? Would campus counseling have reduced operations in the summer, or have limitations on how long I could seek help? Then again, would they be more likely to be genderqueer-friendly? (I'm in North Dakota, so it is not like the place overfloweth with GLBT folk, but at the same time, I am in a bigger city with a big college so it isn't like I couldn't possibly find something off-campus that would be accepting). Any thoughts on the issue are welcome.

And thanks in advance for any help, advice, or anything you can give. I am at a complete loss here.