Anxiety over setting up first therapist visit

I know how you feel. I also get really anxious when it comes to setting up appointments, making phone calls and writing official emails.
What made me do it in the end was the fact that I got angry at myself once I realized that I was the only one holding myself back. Thinking that I was never going to reach my goals gave my more anxiety than setting up the appointment would. So I just did it and it turned out fine. Most therapists will be used to people being nervous when setting up appointments and in the end they're there to help you and won't judge you for being nervous.

 

I went through a similar thing when I first got into gender therapy. Number one was that I felt like making that first appointment and actually talking to someone about it would make everything real, and particularly talking about it with a professional. I told my therapist before I told anyone else including my fiancee, though I had hinted at it to her in the past.

Number two, I was also, and still am, very nervous about setting up appointments and making phone calls, but especially about something like that. Fortunately I was able to set up my appointments over email. You might try and email the office first and see if they can set you up that way.

Third, I was also skeptical that my insurance would cover those appointments, and tbh, I didn't even try, though I did print out the forms. My gender therapist didn't accept insurance but was willing to fill out any paperwork to get out of network care covered. I didn't even give them to her. I also read carefully through the fine print of my insurance plan and saw that they covered therapy but not sex therapy and was worried they would try to say that is what it was. I have read a lot of Grisham novels and know all about the evils of the insurance companies haha. In the end, I decided not to try because I was worried that if they denied it they would red flag me and try to deny any future claims saying that they were related to transsexual surgeries some how since my plan explicitly denies any claims related to transsexual surgeries and "testosterone for females". This way I was confident I could get bloodwork and clinic visits covered and that perhaps I could get a hysterectomy covered in the future.

Not that I'm saying you shouldn't try, just that I didn't. Really you should talk to someone who knows a lot about insurance and particularly your insurance.

So yeah, all I can say is that aside from being honest and open about your feelings, gender therapy is not that scary. They are there to help you. And most people from our generation are scared of talking on the phone. But these people get dozens of phone calls every day and you shouldn't worry too much about it.