Does gender affirming care for youth in BC have to include surgery?
“I never really feel like I ever measured up to a stereotype everyone expects me to be. There’s like an invisible box where everyone seems to just fit in and I just don’t belong in it.”
Meet Jordan, a 15-year-old, who’s been feeling more and more disconnected from their sex assigned at birth. The sentence above is Jordan’s thoughts on repeat.
For as long as they can remember, deep down they always felt like something did not quite fit in. Something was DIFFERENT.
They were born with a penis, though they recounted all their life feeling more drawn to try out their sister’s dresses and experiment with their mom’s makeup and nail polish.
After months poring on information on the whole web world and talking to a few queer questioning friends, Jordan clued in that they might actually be…transgender or non-binary.
“I guess getting a sense that I am not as cis- as I was led to believe…”
This was a step towards the right direction. But then now what?
What if my parents freaked out?
What if my friends looked at me differently and ostracized me?
What if I don’t have this whole transgender thing figured out?!?
What if it’s just a phase and I am just plain confused?”
Jordan decided to talk to their gender fluid friend, who suggested Jordan talk to someone who will get it. This convo made Jordan realize that gender affirming care is available in BC.
If you see yourself in Jordan’s story, know that you’re not alone!
There are tons more Jordan out there!
Well, I’m a Jordan too and totally get the isolating and confusing piece
of this whole gender identity exploration experience.
So, follow along and continue reading so that you can find out for yourself what is gender affirming care in BC and how gender affirming care can be incredibly helpful for you and the many Jordans out there.
First thing first, what the heck is gender affirming care in BC?
“Gender-affirming care in BC” has been such a buzz word that I think this topic deserves having its own post.
Gender affirming care in BC is a wide range of support within our healthcare system, including medical, surgical, mental health, and non-medical services for transgender and nonbinary people residing in the province of BC.
Gender affirming care is a wrap-around support to affirm individuals’ gender identity, especially if they do not personally identify with the sex assigned at birth.
In what ways gender affirming care BC can help someone’s gender identity?
Our personal identity is complex, a lot of elements may intertwine and exist on a continuum.
Gender identity is no exception, so it can run on a spectrum from a man, a woman, neither, or can also be fluid where someone may closely identify with one gender some days and shift some other days.
In my practice as a gender therapist, my goal in providing gender affirming care in BC is to listen and get to know my clients’ story. I want to create a safe and inviting environment where we can explore how they feel about the way they show up in the world.
Do they feel good in their body? Or, is there any parts of their body that make them feel uncomfortable?
Someone said having early access to gender affirming care in BC is important, is that so?
That is super true!
Having early access to gender affirming care is incredibly helpful because early intervention allows folx to focus on their social transitions.
There are so many moving pieces that gender expansive individuals go through on their quest to find alignment.
So, having a head start on their exploration journey can increase their confidence and give them a sense of groundedness on what would bring alignment for them.
How ‘early’ is early enough for youth to access gender affirming care BC?
Do you know that some children as young as 3 y.o
may experience discomfort between their assigned gender and their gender identity?
They may sense that something is not quite right and share it with their parents.
In my experience walking with gender expansive and questioning teens and youth in my practice, by the time my youth clients meet with me, they have typically been thinking about this discomfort FOR A WHILE.
Most youth decided to access gender affirming care to find a way
to be more in alliance between their assigned sex and gender identity.
All sounds good, how does gender affirming care in BC looks like in practice?
Gender affirming care is an umbrella term meant to express the many ways we can support someone’s gender expression.
From my experience providing gender affirming care in BC, some ideas of how it may look like in practice:
Using preferred pronouns when referring to someone
Calling folx by their preferred or chosen name
Getting into hormone therapy
In some cases, it may involve surgical procedures
No matter what step someone takes, the goal of gender affirming care is to support someone to feel better about their personal identity.
What they feel on the inside MATCHES how they look on the outside.
Hold on, does it mean gender affirming care in BC for youth always includes surgery?
Heck, NO!
This is one of the most common misconceptions about gender affirming care..
Bringing about alignment doesn’t always mean only focusing on the external.
Well, for some folx, they feel so much more themselves if they can either ADD or LOSE or MODIFY certain body parts.
Though, for some, having someone refer to them with their chosen pronouns and name is ENOUGH.
All in all, you get to define how feeling good in your body, in your chosen gender identity look like.
That’s why gender affirming care matters :)
How can I know if gender affirming care in BC is legit or not?
The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) is the gold standard for providing gender affirming care for practitioners in Canada and around the world supporting transgender folx. WPATH recommends qualified healthcare professionals to meet with folx to get a sense of where they are at before starting puberty blockers or hormone therapy.
That’s why I offer hormone readiness assessment in my practice.
How can I find a legit gender affirming care provider in BC near me?
A family physician can diagnose and treat youth with gender dysphoria – when someone feels distressed because their perceived gender identity does not match with the sex assigned at birth.
A doctor, nurse practitioner, pediatrician, or endocrinologist are all able to prescribe hormone therapy. Once a client got on hormone therapy, they need to do follow up meeting with their prescriber.
WPATH does NOT recommend doing surgery or any medical gender affirming care until puberty.
For the most part, parents should be involved in the decision making process of what treatment to take and how to move ahead with the process. The exception is in cases where youth are in protective services or foster care.
Medical providers (or prescribers) may prescribe trans youth puberty blockers or hormone therapy (estrogen, testosterone, or any medications in conjunction with). Though for the most part, doctors don’t necessarily perform gender affirming surgery to minors or adolescents in Canada.
Making gender affirming care BC more accessible for youth with virtual appointment
Some folks find the experience of getting out of the house quite anxiety inducing.
Little things like the possibility of being misgendered, mis-named, or finding gender neutral washroom are real!
That’s where doing a VIRTUAL appointment would be incredibly HELPFUL.
I personally believe that providing gender affirming care means meeting my clients wherever they are today..
So, if you feel like gender affirming care might be for you, I so welcome you to book an appointment to meet with this gender therapist.
Hello, I’m Nita Agustin
Registered Clinical Counsellor based in Burnaby, BC
My jam is helping curious and questioning queer youth and young adults move from confusion to clarity.
Most of my clients shared feeling overwhelmed by the messages the world told them how they’re supposed to be. They do not want to be defined by what society told them about themselves.
In our work together, I guide clients in figuring out who they are, who they want to be, and how to get there. We do this by processing how their past impacted the way they live out their life today. From our work together, I noticed clients develop better self-awareness and experience improved quality of life as they can show up differently in their relationships.
I offer virtual and in-person sessions in Brentwood, North Burnaby. In the summer I also offer walk-and-walk in Confederation Park.
I am licensed to practise in BC, as well as all across Canada, so I support clients all over BC, all the way from Vancouver to Kitimat. Other than working with clients who reside in BC, I also can support clients who reside in Yukon Territories, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Newfoundland.
Check out my About me page to learn more about what I do and have to offer for you. Also, explore my Services page to see how I can guide you in making shifts in your life today. If you feel ready to discover ways to live life on your own terms, I welcome you to book an initial intake session. I am so stoked to meet you and start figuring out how you can show up as your best self!
Throughout this pandemic, I witnessed telehealth virtual sessions become more of a norm, and it has been super transformative seeing clients can access mental health services from the comfort of their home.
There are lots of different stereotypes out there, and society tells us who we are supposed to be and what we are supposed to do in the world. It can feel very overwhelming and confusing to compare our personal experience against those ideas. The thing is, you no longer have to be defined by what society tells you. It is your life to live, and you get to decide who get a say about your life.
