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Therapy
The way that insurance works is that doctors are either in your plan or not in your plan. When they’re not in your plan, that means that they’re out of network. A lot of therapists are out of network, so that leads to their sessions being more expensive because, typically, you will have to pay for those sessions out of pocket until you meet your out of network deductible. Your deductible is the amount of money you have to pay before your insurance will cover things.
LMFT therapists are life, marriage, and family therapists and are often able to help with transitional needs. If you have a gender specialist in your network, great!
LPCCs are Licensed Professional Clinical Counselors and are able to help with more specialized mental health needs.
Psychiatrists are doctors who prescribe medication with the intention of treated psychological disorders.
Psychologists are people who have professional training and clinical skills to help people learn to cope more effectively with life issues and mental health problems. These individuals may conduct psychological evaluations or provide psychotherapy.
PFLAG has a chapter in the South Bay. PFLAG meets on the first Tuesday of every month in the Fireside Room at the church next to Mira Costa. The way that meetings roll is that they usually start with an introduction about a few concepts about how to support your kid and then they have little group sessions where people share their experiences with their kid. In these little group sessions, parents are able to bounce ideas back and forth about how to support their kids and how to cope with some of the struggles they’re dealing with as the parent of an LGBT+ child.
The South Bay LGBTQ Center is also a phenomenal resource for teens. They have several group sessions that people can attend, but I, personally, recommend the teen group that meets on Wednesdays from 5:00pm-7:00pm. There is another group that meets from 7:00pm-9:00pm for transgender and gender non-conforming people, but I didn’t enjoy that group as much as the teen group. On the date that I went, I found that the teen group was really lively while the trans and gender non-conforming group felt far more solemn.
Children's Hospital Los Angeles is able to help you connect with therapists that are close to you or take your insurance. Their adolescent division that specializes in transgender youth is incredibly helpful and can provide you with a plethora of resources for you and your family.
Los Angeles LGBT Center features a broad variety of resources as well. Their resources are intersectional and combat specific issues in addition to having general resources available.
OpenPath Collective is an amazing resource for affordable therapy. You pay a one-time membership fee of $59 and then therapists will work with you on a sliding scale of $30-$60