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LBGTIQA+ Community

Gender Affirming Therapy

We are committed to assisting all students to meet their mental health needs, whether those needs can be best met at CAPS or by helping students to make connections in the community. We are further committed to addressing the needs of transgender, gender diverse and gender expansive students. We are here to support you and provide an affirming space to discuss whatever concerns you are experiencing.

We understand there is a problematic history between the transgender and gender non-binary community and mental health professionals, especially related to gatekeeping practices. As an agency, we follow an informed consent model in that we do not believe that you need a therapist to make decisions around your gender identity. We also recognize that many medical providers require letters of support from mental health professionals in order for transgender and gender non-binary individuals to receive appropriate care. When needed, we are able to write letters of support to those medical providers.

Please see our FAQs about Gender Affirming Therapy below for more information about our processes for letter writing and referrals.

CAPS offers a Transgender and Gender Non-Binary Support Group. For a description of the group and information about offerings, please see our group listings.

Gender Affirming Therapy FAQs

How do I seek services for Hormone Therapy?

Members of CAPS' staff are happy to assist students who might be seeking hormone therapy as part of their gender affirmation journey. Some medical providers require a letter from a mental health provider to begin hormone therapy. If this is the case, one of our staff therapists will meet with you to assess your mental health needs (if any) and determine what information your medical provider requires for the letter. If you do not need mental health care, this process will typically occur over the course of a few sessions. The therapist might recommend ongoing mental health care at CAPS or through a community provider based on your needs. There are some presenting mental health concerns for which beginning hormone treatment is clinically contraindicated. If this is the case, your provider will discuss this with you and assist you in forming a treatment plan (at CAPS or through a community provider) that will best address your needs. This treatment plan would likely work towards the possibility of beginning hormone therapy in the future.

How do I access these services?

  • Schedule a brief phone screen appointment by calling CAPS at 765-494-6995.
  • Discuss your needs with the brief phone screen therapist, who will connect you with services to address your individual needs.
  • If you are referred to services at CAPS, you will be scheduled for an initial consultation with a therapist.
  • The therapist will discuss the contents of the letter and review letter with you before sending it to your medical provider.
  • You will sign a release of information for your medical provider to allow your therapist to communicate necessary information with them.
  • The therapist will discuss what you can expect if you choose to begin hormone therapy.
  • If mental health concerns need to be addressed, the therapist will collaborate with you to develop a treatment plan.
How do I go about seeking a letter for surgery?

Members of CAPS staff are happy to assist students who might be seeking gender-affirming surgeries as part of their gender-affirmation journey. Many medical providers require a letter from a mental health provider before surgical procedures. If this is the case, one of our staff therapists will meet with you to assess your mental health needs (if any) and determine what information your medical provider requires for the letter. If you are not in need of mental health care, this process will typically occur over the course of a few sessions. The therapist might recommend ongoing mental health care, at CAPS or through a community provider, based on your needs. There are some presenting mental health concerns for which surgery is clinically contraindicated at this time. If this is the case, your provider will discuss this with you and assist you in forming a treatment plan (at CAPS or through a community provider) that will best address your needs. This treatment plan would likely work towards the possibility of surgery in the future.

How do I access these services?

  • Schedule a brief screening appointment by calling CAPS at 765-494-6995.
  • Discuss your needs with the brief screen therapist, who will connect you with services to address your individual needs.
  • If you are referred to services at CAPS, you will be scheduled for an initial consultation with a therapist.
  • Therapist will discuss contents of the letter and review letter with you before sending it to your medical provider.
  • You will sign a release of information for your medical provider to allow your therapist to communicate necessary information with them.
  • Therapist will discuss what you can expect if you choose to have a surgery.
  • If mental health concerns need to be addressed, therapist will collaborate with you to develop a treatment plan.

We understand that many surgeons require two letters of support from mental health professionals for gender affirming genital surgeries (“bottom surgery”). If you are currently engaged in therapy at CAPS, please speak with your therapist about this as your therapist can refer you to another staff member at CAPS who can provide a second letter consultation, as needed.  If you are engaged in therapy outside of CAPS, we are not able to provide the second letter consultation.