NMSU Counseling Center
Client Information
Date: 01/16/2001
------------------------PERSONAL DATA
Name: ********
SS#: ***-**-****
Local address: ********
Las Cruces, NM 88001
Email address: ********
Contact by email: yes
Current phone number: Home: (505)***-****
Work: (505)***-****
Preferred contact: email, and then home number
Date of birth: 06/14/1978
Current age: 22
Sex: M
Emergency contact: ********
Address: ********
********
Phone: (***)***-****
Relationship: Parents
Marital status: Single
Ethnicity: White
Student status: Full-time, graduate student
Semester credit hours: 9
Current GPA: 3.85
Major/College: Computer Science
------------------------CURRENT CONCERNS
1. Crisis? no
2. Can wait? yes
3. No immediate need? yes
4. Depressed? medium
5. Suicidal? low
Counselor preference? Someone familiar with gender issues
------------------------REFERRAL INFORMATION
Previously a client? no
Who referred me? friend
How did I become aware
of the services? NMSU website
What brings me here? I have issues with my gender identity, in that I
believe I am a MTF transsexual. I have pretty much
come to terms with this, but would like to at least
try to follow the treatment methodologies as
prescribed by the Harry Benjamin Standards.
Group counseling okay? yes
------------------------DEGREE OF CONCERN
1. Academic Mild
2. Alcohol/drugs None
3. Anger Mild
4. Anxiety Mild
5. Career concerns None
6. Family relationships None
7. Death/grief/loss None
8. Depression Mild
9. Divorce None
10. Eating/weight Moderate
11. Family violence None
12. Financial matters Mild
13. Health problems Mild
14. Legal problems None
*15. Life transition Moderate
16. Parenting concerns None
17. Past family probs None
18. Peer relationships Moderate
19. Pregnancy None
20. Rape None
21. Childhood abuse None
22. Relationships None
*23. Self-esteem Severe
24. Sexual concerns Mild
25. Sleep difficulties None
26. Stress management Mild
27. Suicidal ideas Mild
*28. Other Severe (gender identity)
* indicates "circling"
What have I already
done? Self-identification, communicating with transgendered
friends online, deep introspection, meditation
Applicable words: cowardly, unassertive, misunderstood, bored,
in conflict, full of regrets, worthwhile, intelligent,
considerate
------------------------RELATIONSHIPS
Mother: In the past it was somewhat tumultuous, but nowadays
we get along very well and definitely enjoy each
others' company.
Father: I don't feel as close to him as I'd like to, but we
definitely have always gotten along, and I have a lot
of respect for him.
Siblings: Brother (17) - highly competitive, but overall we
get along very well.
Sister (25) - we don't understand each others' points
of view, and we get on each others' nerves easily,
but we're okay otherwise.
Home atmosphere: Very intellectual, as both of my parents are PhDs.
As the middle kid I always got picked on by both of
my siblings, but we've all grown up since then.
There have never been any real family difficulties,
and home life was always very good.
------------------------OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION
I've pretty much always felt that I should/would be female, though it
never really manifested itself as anything being wrong until after
puberty. After years of introspection, I can find no other cause for
my feelings, and my self-image is always feminine even though my
interests are't "typical" female things (but societal gender roles are
highly inaccurate anyway). In my dreams, if gender is an issue I am
either female and it's correct or I'm male and it's horribly wrong. I
have had dreams about becoming or being validated as female, and I
always wake up incredibly happy from those. There is no sexual or
fetishistic basis to my desires - I don't get any 'rise' out of the
thought of being or dressing as female (though both are things I
desire very much). Whenver I am referred to as "ma'am" it feels a lot
more correct than being referred to as "sir." Being female simply
seems much more correct to me than being male. Additionally, although
I hate my genitals, it's not surgery which is a driving factor for me,
but simply being accepted as a woman in society.
------------------------HEALTH BACKGROUND
Prior health problems: Asthma (still being treated, though no longer severe)
Carpal tunnel syndrome (self-treated, currently
under control)
Current medications: Cromlyn sodium, albuterol sulfate (for asthma)
Individual counseling: Saw a clinical social worker in March 1999 for
my gender issues, was completely unhelpful (and
following the "advice" he gave me only ended up
hurting back my relationship with my family)
Group counseling: In late 1999, I was living in the Washington
DC area, and I attended a transgender support
group. It was very positive and uplifting.
Unfortunately, I could only attend one such
meeting, as my life got interesting soon after
that and I ended up moving back to New Mexico
soon after.
Alcohol/drug use: Once or twice a week I'll drink an "adult
beverage" with a mild amount of alcohol, where
the alcohol is simply there as an enhancement
to the flavor. I have no dependency on the
alcohol or the need to relax or the like, and
to me, alcohol is just something which helps
to bring out the flavor in certain foods and
drinks. I also use wine (usually sake) in cooking
on occasion. I take acetaminophen for migraines,
which I usually have 1-3 a month, and even
then I only take the acetaminophen as a
placebo since it doesn't actually work. I'm
weird that way. I also briefly took St. John's
Wort, but it ended up just making me anxious and
I found that self-acceptance was better for
depression than SSRIs anyway.