Gender-Affirming Surgery Assessments

Born and raised in San Francisco, I was fortunate to grow up surrounded by members of the LGBTQ community long before I identified as a member myself.

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Whether you feel confident in who you are and whom you love or are still exploring your gender identity or sexual orientation, I have worked with many others like you.  The majority of my clinical experience was spent in a primary care clinic that began 40 years ago to serve lesbians and bisexual women before becoming a world-leader in transgender health services: Lyon-Martin Health Services (LMHS).  Starting as a part-time therapist, I worked my way up to Mental Health Director overseeing the entire department and expanding services given community feedback.

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I was thrilled when colleagues at LMHS were instrumental in changing Medi-Cal's stance on covering gender-affirming surgeries.* Since 2014, I have provided hundreds of assessments, always viewing my role in the process as a guide rather than a gate-keeper. I am well versed in the details that are helpful when insurance companies and/or surgeons are reviewing each client's readiness for surgery.  Now licensed in California, Oregon and Washington, I am able to provide assessments to clients living in any of those states. 

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*[You can read more about the launch of those services here: 

https://www.kqed.org/stateofhealth/17490/medi-cal-expansion-opens-doors-to-care-for-transgender-patients.] 

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