Transition process in the UK?

1) Are there gender therapists in the UK? If not, does one just go to your regular GP?
We have 6 (i think) in England. Northampton, Sheffield, West London, Exeter, Leeds, Nottingham. Scotland has one I think and Wales has none. I don't know about northern Ireland - I know people that have transitioned there though so there's definitely something. There are only 2 GICs (gender identity clinics) that take under 18s, Tavistock in London and then one in Scotland too (don't quote me on that though). You'd first go to your GP to get a referral to a GIC, so at 15 it would probably be The Tavi. (There are also private clinics - transhealth and gender care).

2) Are hormones such as T covered on the NHS?
Im actually not sure about hormones, I'm pretty sure there's a fee for T but I don't know prices or anything seeing as I'm pre-everything right now.

3) Is surgery covered on the NHS?
Surgery you can get on the NHS and there are multiple surgeons in the UK that do top surgery for transguys.

4) Can one get hormones/surgery/etc if you're on medical records as having a high-functioning mental disorder?
Yeah they assess you first so mental health doesn't have an impact on you. They just make sure that your gender identity distress isn't stemming from a mental health problem so there are multiple on depth assessments.

5) I assume after 18 you don't need parental consent, but younger than that you do?
Yeah, younger than 18 and you often need parental consent to see your GP and I'm pretty sure a referral to The Tavi would have to go through parents too. I didnt go to my GP until I turned 18 for that reason because I could choose how involved my parents would be.

---------- Post added 19th Apr 2016 at 07:40 PM ----------

If you have specific questions at any time I've found that the tumblr blog ukftm.tumblr.com is very helpful and you can just scroll through or search for previous posts about things you want to know.

 

Hello!

1, There are gender therapists in the UK, both NHS and private*. To see an NHS therapist, you have to go to your GP because they're the ones who refer you. Some GPs say you need a evaluation of sorts with a regular therapist first, but I've recently heard that they shouldn't need to do that. So make sure you have all the research you can find and know what to say to the GP. They will likely refer you to the nearest one to where you live. With a private gender therapist, I think you can book an appointment with their practice directly. Both have waiting lists.

2/3, Both hormones and surgery are covered by the NHS (I think). I know you need letters from the gender therapist first (for the hormones, I'm not so sure about surgery, I'll have to recheck that, but some surgeons require you to be on hormones for a while).

Actually, since hormones are prescriptions, they might cost the same as others. Which is about £8.40. There are ways of saving money and even getting prescriptions for free, but that's something to talk to your GP and/or therapist about. I'm now more sure that surgery is covered, though.

4, There is very little that can stop you from going on hormones unless it's a danger to your health. Mental disorders shouldn't stop you. For example, I have G.A.D., Depression and (high functioning) Asperger's, and I should still be able to go on T.

5, I think most of the gender therapists/clinics won't see you until you're seventeen, because it still takes months of waiting and appointments before you can go on hormones, so you will be eighteen by the time you can. There is a children's clinic somewhere on the NHS website that will see you earlier, but I think you still can't have hormones until you're eighteen. This I don't know, since I was already an adult when I realized I was trans, so never looked into them. They might talk about blockers, though, depending on your age.

This is just what I found from my own research and talks with my cognitive therapist. But I hope this helps with what you can google specifically and find the answers you're looking for.

*Since you've only put your location as UK, I'll come back with links to each clinic:
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Transhealth/Pages/local-gender-identity-clinics.aspx

 

Its no problem. Just keep in mind that the waiting lists are extremely long at the moment (between 8 months-4 years for first appointments and 6 months to a year on top of that until you can start hormones) and unfortunately they'll probably only get longer.

I know what you mean about Americans forking out but its not like we even have the option to do that here. Private clinics still have waiting lists of 6 months for first appointments. So whilst I appreciate the NHS because it's free, sometimes the waiting times aren't worth it. I wish there was a way we could just pay and be able to get hormones or surgery without going through the clinics.

 

£8.40 is around the price for a prescription. From my understanding, the prescription is a small bottle of T and you take a shot every so often if/when you do it yourself from home. Some people have their T shot every week, some every month or so. So if you pay for a prescription, it'll be when your bottle is empty, so maybe £8.40 every month or so. Unless you have a card that allows you to save money or get free prescriptions.

Of course, I'm not on T yet and in the beginning a nurse does it, so things might go differently than how I imagine.

I know what you mean about talking to someone else with something you have. My cousin was diagnosed before me and I've spent years not talking about it because I was kind of taught to believe something was wrong with him and something is wrong wrong with me. But it's nice to talk to people who are likely to understand.