Gender is often a central component of who you are, but it is complicated and nuanced.
Society likes to think of gender as binary: all people assigned male at birth “should” feel and identify as men and “should” be masculine, while all people assigned female at birth “should” feel and identify as women and “should” be feminine.
From before you are born, like everyone, you have been inundated with messages about how your sex assigned at birth should determine your gender identity, gender expression, and sexuality. But people are more complex than that! Some people identify with the “ends” of the gender spectrum (i.e., man or woman), and others identify as a combination of man and woman, neither, or something else. Some people may identify more fluidly, while others are more constant. The diversity of gender is immense.
In addition, gender is different from sex.
Sex is a construct based on biology (anatomy, chromosomes, genetics, hormones, and hormone receptors, etc.).
Gender has three interrelated components: core gender, gender identity, and gender expression.
Core gender is an innate, essential part of who you are; it cannot be labeled since language cannot begin to describe something so complicated.
Gender identity is the label you use to describe your core gender in ways that are more concrete and understandable to yourself and others.
Gender expression includes all the socially constructed ways that gender is expressed, from clothing to hair to vocal expressions.
Psychoanalytic psychotherapy can help you unpack and explore these ideas to grow into a more authentic and fulfilling life.
Gender Affirming Care
You may identify as a gender other than the one they were assigned at birth transition. Transition is a process by which transgender and gender non-conforming people find the best way to express their authentic selves. What transition looks like is different for everyone. Transition can be social, legal, or medical.
Social transition may include using a new name, requesting different pronouns, getting a new haircut, wearing different clothes, or using a different bathroom.
Medical transition may include hormones and/or surgery(ies). Gender affirming surgeries may include facial, voice, chest/breast, body contouring, or genital surgeries. There are many different procedures and even different techniques for each of them!
There is no one right way to transition; there is just the right way for you. Psychoanalytic psychotherapy can be helpful in finding the right path for you to feel congruent within your body and how you relate to yourself and others.
Access to surgical treatment
Letters are often required for surgery by the surgeon and/or the insurance company. We write letters for gender affirming surgeries from an informed consent model rather than a gatekeeping one. You have a right to make decisions about your body.
Psychotherapy can be helpful in preparation for surgery. Surgery (any surgery) can be difficult as it includes anesthesia, the operation, and recovery. Recovery can sometimes be challenging due to post-operative weakness, unmet expectations, pain, and/or complications. Our goal is to help you psychologically through the process by assisting you in preparing for gender affirming surgery and supporting you in recovery.