For Providers

Gender-Affirming Care

If you are looking to become a gender-affirming provider, I highly recommend A Clinician's Guide to Gender-Affirming Care Working with Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Clients by Sand C. Chang, Anneliese A. Singh and lore m. dickey. The book is written by gender-diverse clinicians and provides comprehensive information that serves as a solid foundation for any provider seeking to be affirming in their work.

I also highly recommend the Gender Diverse Cultural Awareness Training Series created by Andi Tilmann, MA and Jessie Smith, PhD. This series is currently (as of July 2023) available free of charge online and in-person in Western Colorado. For more information, contact Andi at lovingbeyondunderstanding@gmail.com or Jessie at drjessiensmith@gmail.com.

I have lived experience as a nonbinary person and have been working with trans and gender-diverse clients since July of 2020. It is worth noting that I myself have not sought gender-affirming medical care, and therefore have not experienced the gatekeeping that many of our clients experience during their transition journey. I received training and consultation in gender-affirming mental health care from Devin Pinkston, LPC at Identity Insights and Joie DeRitis, LCSW. I have also completed World Professional Association of Transgender Health (WPATH) courses as well as Gender Diverse Cultural Awareness Training Series courses. Consultation with me may involve a discussion of cases you would like support with, assistance with writing referral letters for gender-affirming medical care, information regarding what it means to be an affirming and supportive provider, or anything that you feel you need support with and is within my scope of practice.

Regardless of whether you consult with me or another experienced professional, it is always recommended that you seek paid consultation from someone with lived experience.

Referrals

If you believe I would be a good fit for someone you know, feel free to send me a referral. These can be faxed to (970) 773-9002. If you do not have access to a faxing service, you may send a secure email to megan@desertsandllc.com. Please make sure that potential clients are aware that I accept only RMHP Medicaid and self-pay, and that I generally do not meet with clients before 11am or after 4pm. I do offer limited pro-bono services for clients seeking letters of referral for gender-affirming medical care.

Supervision

If you are in a graduate program or are accruing hours toward licensure in the state of Colorado for LCSW, LPC, LMFT, or other mental health professional license, and are interested in receiving supervision from me, please contact me at megan@desertsandllc.com.