Writing letters for trans-affirming care is something that both Brett and I (Jen) care about deeply. We are both licensed to practice in Utah and Colorado and I am also licensed in Washington. I don’t mean to sound hyperbolic when I say, the war on trans people is not just disgusting and cowardly, it’s terrifying and life-threatening. Brett and I got licensed in Colorado specifically to support trans lives and to be resources for those folks trying to get letters of support for trans-affirming care. The system is currently designed to put mental health providers in a position of “gatekeeper” to decide if a trans person is worthy of receiving life-saving trans-affirming care to treat or manage their gender dysphoria. We take a firm stance that we will do everything in our power to reduce those barriers and we never see ourselves as a “decider.” Doctors and insurance companies want to see a letter of support before scheduling or approving a claim for most gender-affirming procedures.
Side note: A letter of support is no longer recommended by WPATH for hormone-replacement therapy, so if your HRT provider is requesting one, I suggest you seek another provider who is more aligned with WPATH.
If you need a letter of support, we will prioritize this need on our schedules, getting you in as soon as possible, but never more than 2 weeks out (unless our schedules conflict with yours of course). We also vow to keep the assessment to one hour and we never charge additional fees for the letter itself.
I have pledged with GALAP to do everything in my control to reduce barriers to these letters and to offer 3 free-assessments per year. These are on a first-come first-serve basis and are reserved for folks who do not have the means to pay the full price of the assessment.