The Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital is now open in Town and Country!
As stated on their website they offer the only multidisciplinary care available to children and adolescents in the St. Louis region who identify as a gender different from the sex they were assigned at birth. The Center’s physicians, nurses, therapists and support staff are dedicated to providing a safe, supportive and welcoming environment in which transgender people may receive the education, medical assistance and mental-health counseling they need to make decisions that will impact their well-being throughout their lives.
Their services include:
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Mental health counseling to assess for gender dysphoria and to determine if any other issues exist, such as depression, low self-esteem, anxiety or substance abuse.
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Education regarding gender dysphoria and its possible treatments. Gender dysphoria refers to the distress that may accompany the incongruence between one’s gender identity and one’s assigned sex at birth.
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Administering pubertal blockers, which delay puberty and suppress unwanted and irreversible secondary sexual characteristics; for example, deepening of the voice and facial hair for transgender females and breast development for transgender males.
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Administering cross sex (gender-affirming) hormones that make a person’s physical body match their gender identity. These may begin between the ages of 14 and 16 after patients meet readiness and eligibility criteria.
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Voice therapy to achieve gender-consistent speech, including pitch, intonation and quality.
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Counseling to determine the best transitional plan for each person. For some, adjustments in gender expression—preferred name and pronouns, makeup, hair, voice, clothing and/or behavior—are enough. Some may want only hormonal therapy, while others want both hormonal and surgical interventions.
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Referral for parents to community resources and support groups that enable them to support their children.
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Referral to surgeons with particular expertise in gender affirmation surgery.
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Support letters for gender marker and name change and referral to appropriate legal advisors.
