A Therapist’s Beginner’s Guide to MTF and FTM Transgender Transitioning
I’ve worked with transgender clients for ten years. Here are 10 steps to transitioning.
My years of providing therapy to transgender clients has taught me as much as I’ve taught them. Moreover, I’ve seen the changes to medical-field rules and practices for transition care.
My first transgender client, Male To Female, or MTF, came to me ten years ago. Jessica L. was and is a joy and an inspiration. I had some information on transgender transitioning, having worked in a practice with an M.D. who was herself transitioning. I also remember becoming intrigued and an ally of the process decades ago, reading about transgender people in Sweden when I was a teen.
But it took Jessica L,. as my first transgender client, to take me on the journey to greater understanding. I learned as much from her as she learned from me.
Since then, I continue to work with her on issues not related to transitioning, such as career, education, communication, anxiety, and relationships. I’ve worked with her and others in all stages of transitioning on the issues surrounding transition, but with all their other issues as well.
