Your Transgender Vancouver Therapist’s Tips for Your Hormone Readiness Assessment
HEY YOU, yes you :)
If you’ve been thinking about starting hormone therapy and wondering how to prepare for your hormone readiness assessment, I’ve got you covered.
As a transgender therapist in Vancouver who’s walked alongside so many folks on their gender journeys, I know how this part of the process can feel huge.
Exciting, empowering, and maybe a little overwhelming too.
So whether you're questioning your gender or personally identify as transgender, I want to offer some down-to-earth tips to help you feel grounded and prepared for what’s ahead on your gender identity journey.
Your Transgender Vancouver Therapist Tip #1: Lean Into Community Wisdom
Let's start with the basics — harness the power of community.
For many transgender Vancouver folks I work with, talking to others who’ve gone through a hormone readiness assessment was a total game-changer. There’s something deeply affirming about hearing someone say, “Yep, been there, done that, and here’s what helped me.”
As a transgender therapist with lived experience, I know how important it is to talk to people who just get it. People who’ve navigated similar systems, emotions, and experiences.
If you’ve got friends, peers, or online connections who’ve already done their hormone readiness assessment, reach out to them. Ask how the process felt, what surprised them, and if they’ve got any recommendations for gender-affirming providers or transgender therapists in your area. Their insight could save you time and make you feel more prepared.
Your Transgender Vancouver Therapist Tip #2: Talk to the Right Healthcare Provider
Next up: finding a healthcare provider who is genuinely transgender competent.
I cannot stress this enough.
Whether you're in Vancouver or elsewhere, make sure you connect with someone who understands transgender health. They’ll be the ones walking you through the hormone readiness assessment and helping you feel prepared for hormone therapy.
While your transgender therapist may not be the one prescribing your hormones, they should be someone you can talk to about your hormone options, side effects, and ways to manage them. A good therapist listens to your story and needs with empathy and expertise.
Your Transgender Vancouver Therapist Tip #3: Nerd Out on Hormone Readiness Assessment Info
Do as much research as you can so you can make the most informed decisions
for your gender identity journey!
If you're anything like me (hi, fellow Virgo), you probably like to know everything before making a big decision. Fortunately, there’s no shortage of information out there on the hormone readiness assessment.
From understanding the process to exploring who conducts it and what questions might come up, it's all online. And reading personal stories from other transgender Vancouver folks can be super comforting. It reminds you that you’re not alone, and this is a path many have already walked.
Your Transgender Vancouver Therapist Tip #4:Brain dump before Your Appointment
This one seems simple but is actually a game-changer.
After you’ve done your reading or talked to others, take a moment to jot down your questions.
Whether it’s about timelines, hormone effects, fertility stuff, or just “how awkward is this going to be?”
Make sure to put your thoughts on paper!
As someone who’s helped many transgender folx in Vancouver prep for their hormone readiness assessment, I promise: your future self will thank you.
Your Transgender Vancouver Therapist Tip #5: Some Transgender Folks Find Therapy Helpful (though It’s Not Required, by any means)
**Heads up: you don’t have to see a therapist to qualify for a hormone readiness assessment in most cases. But, it can be really supportive.
Sometimes you need space to unpack what’s coming up.
Or maybe you’re not 100% sure what you want yet and that’s okay, too.
I’ve worked with so many transgender folks in Vancouver (and all across Canada) who found therapy helpful as a place to feel seen, validated, and grounded.
Whether it’s working through internalized stuff, navigating family convos, or just making space for your feelings.
Therapy can hold you through it all.
Your Transgender Vancouver Therapist Tip #6:
Find Support Groups and Undo the Aloneness
If you’re feeling isolated in your journey, remember that you’re not alone.
There are SO many transgender folx out there, with similar lived experience as you are.
Transitioning (and even thinking about transitioning) can bring up big feelings and sometimes make you feel like you’re the only one going through it.
This is where community spaces like Qmunity and Transcare BC (seriously, check them out!) can be magical.
As someone plugged into the transgender Vancouver scene, I’ve seen firsthand how healing it can be to sit in a circle with others who just get it.
You get to hear real stories. Share your own. Maybe even laugh or cry a bit.
It’s the kind of connection that helps put all the pieces back together.
Your Transgender Vancouver Therapist Tip #7:
Build Your People—Before or After Your Hormone Readiness Assessment
This one is essential, and rings true in the lives of the many transgender folx I’ve met: build your support system.
Surrounding yourself with other transgender folx isn’t just a one-time thing. It’s something you can start before your hormone readiness assessment, or after. Or both!
This might look like:
Meeting with a transgender competent therapist
Having a friend who comes with you to appointments
A family member who’s starting to understand
A trusted healthcare provider or community org
Your network doesn’t have to be huge. It just needs to feel safe.
Final Words From Your Friendly Transgender Vancouver Therapist
So there you go—seven solid tips to help you feel more ready, less alone, and more confident walking into your hormone readiness assessment.
This moment in your transition journey is big. It’s brave. It’s valid.
If your path leads you to hormones, to therapy, surgery, or just to asking questions
Know that you’re not alone.
You’ve got a whole community rooting for you! (including this transgender Vancouver therapist! :)
And hey—if you’re looking for a gender-affirming therapist to support you through this, you’re always welcome to reach out to me. I’d be honoured to walk alongside you.
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.
