for those of you having had any face to face contact with professionals about your gender problems: what is the highest number of times the professional - counsellor/shrink/clinician - said mentally unstable/mental instability to you in one 60 minute session?
Last December I had what I thought was a meeting to discuss my progress towards srs but which I find is being referred to and called an initial assessment of my mental state. During this seesion with the head shrink and a male nurse the shrink repeated the mentally unstable or variations on it so many times I was getting sick of hearing it.
Now admittedly I had gotten depressed at lack of progress at actually getting seen by the clinic desoite me having done over 2 years of RLE and getting my GRC and expecting my new birth certificate any day.
I think my depression was justified and in any case it was so mild that my doctor, neighbours, workmates were not concerned as all knew I was being delayed on the srs path.
So am I right inthinking th eshrink was displaying serious professional misconduct in that session or was it acceptabel for him to repeat his belief so much?

In Canada it can be borderline hate crime because we are no longer a disease and so we can be considered normal people with a condition. Well except for Zucker at the Clarke Institute. But other then that. I would look into human rights laws because it does not sound right to call someone with a gender problem a mental case.


Stephenie

Hi Stephenie
thanks, I wasn't aware that Canada has joined with France and separating transsexualism from mental problems.

I am going ot write a long letter to the lawyer looking into the human rights aspects of my treatmnet saga and will ensurre they are aware of the French, Canadian attitude...

rose

So over Sunday I was mulling over what to say in my letter when suddenly everything clicked into place - EUREKA! - now I know why they labelled be crazy and held back my srs for 18 months.
IT IS BECAUSE THEY THINK ANNOYANCE IS MENTAL ILLNESS! Visibly displaying annoyance at a shrink repeated questioning got me labelled crazy.
What revealed this crazy line of shrinkthink was the letter I just got on Saturday from head of local health (my regional NHS) which said 'during meeting of 8 April 2009 when the shrink had asked how you were and you said you were feeling fine but when he tried to explore this further you became quite agitated but became calmer as the meeting progressed.' LOL What a load of cobblers!
He asked me how I was feeling and I said 'I'm fine.' End of story? or Not? No, shrink must have gone on further but I don't remmeber at all except I was annoyed at him wasting time when this was the meeting which I was expecting would have him referring me to second opinion shrink. So of course I was annoyed at his time wasting. And what was really annoying was that just two days before I'd had a session with my towns shrink who was mysytified why Iw as wasting his and NHS time sas he said rthere is nothing wrong with me and would write to clinic shrink stating that. I asked him if he could get his report to the clinic for them to read before my meeting but I think they disbelieve anything from outside shrinks and specialists. So knowing that the town shrink had said I was perfectly normal of corurse I was a little annoyed when the clinic shrink prattled on about 'how' fine I was.
When he tried to get me to quantify 'fine' ..fine is fine? (...though I was a couple of weeks away from the ankle op that kept me house bound for almost 4 months so I was a bit apprehensive about that...) I let him know I was annoyed by taking a deep brreath and starting tapping my right fintertips on my knee. he instantly stopped the kline of questioning and we moved on. happily I thought but now I see he took my action to mean that I was showing 'quite agitation' which is shrinkspeak for mental instability.
My bit of finger tapping is sufficient to label me crazy and hold my treatmnet back 18 months? I will see what the Euro Court of Human Rights says about that.

Hi Rose,

Your situation reminds me a little of Joseph Heller's novel, Catch 22:

There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one's safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. 'Orr' was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn't, but if he was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn't have to; but if he didn't want to he was sane and had to. Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle.
"That's some catch, that Catch-22," Yossarian observed.
"It's the best there is," Doc Daneeka agreed.

Hoping it gets better for you,
Melody

8 October I went to see local shrink as part of my transition and had just five minutes with him when I updateed him on what has happeend tome since six months ago...I said do need to come again...he said yes come back in 12 months as we'd better foloow the protocol...so I'm still stigmatised with a mental illness label for another year..

We're all just "Bozos on this bus" to quote from a Firesign Theater skit from the early 70s...

Labels, labels, labels....gawd, if it weren't for labels, who would we hate? Who could we pick on? Who could we diminish to ensure that we're sane? I mean, we'd actually have to stoop as low as learning about someone, digging deep into them for understanding, unlocking their mysteries and cares and concerns! Who has time for that? Wait, I just got a "tweet!

Byeeee!

Traci

PS: Rose, you're cool, it's the rest of the world who is missing out....hang in girl...