Dealing with health professionals, therapists and the SoC.

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I have heard many complaints about the SoC - Standards of Care for the Transsexual - and the treatment that transsexuals receive at the hands of medical personnel and therapists. Many of these problems can be avoided if you approach the situation with a sure knowledge of what you want to accomplish regarding your treatment. Remember, we are consumers of their services and as such we have the legal and moral right to direct our treatment. After all, it is our bodies and our lives that are at stake, not the therapists', not the doctors' nor anyone else's we may meet along the way in our transition.

So . . . rule number one should be to know exactly what you want. Are you really ready to trade your body in for one that fits you better? Are you willing to sacrifice everything for that end. If so, you should make that plain at the outset. Any ambivalence on your part will be perceived as uncertainty in your belief that you are indeed a transsexual in need of a woman's body to match your female soul.

I have prepared a letter to present to all my care givers on the first visit to be placed in my file. I am including a modified copy here which you are welcome to use as a template for your own letter if you so desire. Just change the facts to fit your situation.

Letter to my doctors and care givers.

. From NAME, previously know as NAME

I believe myself to be a Type VI Transsexual as defined by The Harry Benjamin Sex Orientation Scale (S.O.S.)

I have been living exclusively as a female since DATE. I have adopted the feminine name NAME and plan to have my name legally changed to this at the first opportunity. I respectfully request that you use this name when referring to me and that I be referred to in the feminine gender at all times.

History:

(Give a brief history of your life as it developed in relation to the gender dysphoria. Have you attempted suicide? State what problems the gender dysphoria has presented in your life. How well did you cope with your assigned gender role.)

I have an intense desire for the feminization of my body which has increased over time. It finally culminated in my inability to cope with the gender dysphoria and as a result I have given up all pretense of trying to conform to my male gender assignment.

Concerns:

(State your present concerns about your physical and psychological well being.)

Objectives:

My intent is to feminize my body to its greatest potential. This includes hormone therapy and eventually sex reassignment surgery. I do not seek nor am I interested in mental therapy to "cure" me of my transsexuality. I believe that to be an impossible task to accomplish. I have tried to conform to the male gender role for number of years years and have utterly failed. Even if it were a plausible option, I still would not wish to change my mind to conform to my body. Should that happen, I would no longer be me. However, I can and will change my body to fit my female mind.

Urgent request:

I urgently plea for your help during this transition period. I believe it is imperative that I start on hormone therapy at the earliest possible date. Although I am more comfortable with my gender dysphoria now than at any previous time in my life, I do not feel this euphoria will be long lived. Nothing short of complete transformation to a female will bring full relief from my torment. I am convinced beyond any doubt that not only my happiness but my very life depends on the acquisition of this goal.

Thank you,

Your name

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