Dr Michelle Telfer, Associate Professor and Paediatrician at The Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne, joins Dr Helen and Marianne to talk about Australia’s approach to the treatment of trans youth.

Together they discuss the vital importance of affirmative treatment in achieving positive outcomes for this group of individuals, as well as the groundbreaking work that went into the production of the world’s first set of clinical guidelines for the treatment of transgender adolescence: The Australian Standards of Care in 2018.

If you have been affected by any of the topics discussed in our podcast, and would like to get in touch, please get in touch via the Help Centre. You can also contact us on social media where you will find us at @GenderGP on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

We are always happy to accept ideas for future shows, so if there is something in particular you would like us to discuss, or a specific guest you would love to hear from, let us know. Your feedback is really important to us. If you could take a minute or two to leave us a review and rating for the podcast on your favourite podcast app, it will help others to discover us.

 

Links:

Twitter: @michelle_telfer

Australian Standards of Care and Treatment Guidelines for Trans and Gender Diverse Children and Adolescents

The Lancet - Michelle Telfer Article

 

The GenderGP Podcast

Redefining the treatment of Trans Youth - Michelle Telfer: The GenderGP Podcast S5 E7

 

Hello, this is Dr Helen Webberley. Welcome to our GenderGP Podcast, where we will be discussing some of the issues affecting the trans and non-binary community in the world today, together with my co-host Marianne Oakes, a trans woman herself, and our head of therapy.

 

Dr Helen Webberley:

So good morning, everybody, well, it’s early morning for us, and it's a bit late afternoon for our guest today. So, I'm really excited. I'm with Marianne today. I'm always really excited, but today we have Michelle Telfer with us. Michelle is a paediatrician and doctor in Australia, and she does a lot of work with trans children. And as always, I'll hand over to you Michelle, to introduce yourself and tell us who you are, what you do, how you ended up doing this line of work everything about you, so over to you to introduce yourself.

Dr Michelle Telfer:

Thanks, Helen. I don’t think you want to know everything about me, but I am Michelle Telfer. I'm a paediatrician and adolescent physician, and I work at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, in Australia. And I'm the director of the department of adolescent medicine. And within that department, I’m also the director of the RCH gender service, which is a service that's grown over the last 17 years to now be a team of approximately 16 people that look after trans, gender diverse, and nonbinary young people from about the age of three up until—we accept referrals up to the age of 17, but we do provide care until we can transition young people into adult help service services around early adulthood. Gosh, talking about everything that everything about me—I was actually born in Perth, which is across the other side of the country in Western Australia, it's actually the most isolated, one of the most isolated cities in the world, and moved to Melbourne after I finished university in 2001. Actually, moved in 2002, but around a long time ago anyway, and have been at the Royal Children’s Hospital here since 2003. So, I am a, what they call a Melburnian, but also claim to be West Australian as well. I have shoes in both camps, so to speak.

Dr Helen Webberley:

Thank you. Brilliant. So, and so, so you, you said 17 years ago and that's when you joined,

Facial Feminisation Surgery Special - Part 3 Stephanie Hirst and Dr David Simon

Radio and TV presenter Stephanie Hirst is joined by her surgeon, Dr Simon, co-founder of the FacialTeam in Marbella, Spain. In this third and final part of our Facial Feminisation Special, Stephanie shares her experiences of FFS and how it changed her life, while Dr Simon talks about the guidelines, research and best practice which have been instrumental in forcing the re-evaluation of FFS and the transformative role it can play in the lives of trans women.

 

Dr Daniel Simon talks to Stephanie Hirst for the GenderGP Podcast

 

As work continues on the updated WPATH Standards of Care, it is anticipated that the transformative role that Facial Feminisation Surgery can play in the lives of trans feminine individuals, will be given more prominence than ever before. This is largely thanks to the groundbreaking work being carried out by experts in the field, including the specialist surgeons at FacialTeam in Malaga, Spain.

If you have been affected by any of the topics discussed in our podcast, and would like to get in touch, please visit our Help Centre and reach out. You can also contact us on social media where you will find us at @GenderGP on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

We are always happy to accept ideas for future shows, so if there is something in particular you would like us to discuss, or a specific guest you would love to hear from, let us know. Your feedback is really important to us. If you could take a minute or two to leave us a review and rating for the podcast on your favourite podcast app, it will help others to discover us.

 

Links:

Twitter: @stephaniehirst

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stephaniehirsty/

Website: http://facialteam.eu/

https://facialteam.eu/facial-feminisation-surgeons/facial-feminization-surgeons/

 

The GenderGP Podcast

Stephanie Hirst - How Facial Feminisation Surgery Changed my Life: The GenderGP Podcast S5 E6

 

Hello, this is Dr Helen Webberley. Welcome to our GenderGP Podcast, where we will be discussing some of the issues affecting the trans and non-binary community in the world today, together with my co-host Marianne Oakes, a trans woman herself, and our head of therapy.

 

Dr Helen Webberley:

Okay, hi everybody, welcome to this edition of our podcast. I am not with Marianne today, but I have two other guests with me. I have Stephanie Hirst, who is a radio and TV presenter, who also has a trans history. We’re really excited to hear about all that she has to say about being trans, about her journey, about what it’s like to be such a celebrity, and making that journey. And then we have Dr Simon, who’s our third guest from the Facial Team, who I think has some input into how beautiful Stephanie looks today, and how feminine she looks. So, I am really excited to welcome both of you. Thank you for joining us. Stephanie, can I pass over to you first and let you introduce yourself in a much better way than I could ever do? Tell us all about you and over to you.

Stephanie Hirst:

I guess my story is quite classic because I think from a very early age, I knew that something wasn't right. And when you are at school, especially like nursery school and they put the girls and the boys into different groups, I would always go and stick with the girls, because that was my natural state of comfortable. And they would go and put me back with the boys. Now you sit over there with the boys. And this happened several times, they raised it to my mum. Back then, there was no google or anything like that. There was nothing. You know, my mum couldn't look this kind of stuff up. So, I think she just went with her gut instinct and just i...

Facial Feminisation Surgery Special - Part 2 Dr Raul Bellinga

FacialTeam in Marbella is leading the charge in Facial Feminisation Surgery (FFS). In this episode, Dr Raul Bellinga, facial plastic surgery director and rhinoplasty specialist, joins Dr Helen and Marianne. Together they talk about the research and some of the groundbreaking techniques being carried out by the FacialTeam surgeons, as well as how this work is influencing developments in facial feminisation surgery globally. 

As work continues on the updated WPATH Standards of Care, it is anticipated that the transformative role that Facial Feminisation Surgery can play in the lives of trans feminine individuals, will be given more prominence than ever before. This is largely thanks to the groundbreaking work being carried out by experts in the field, including the specialist surgeons at FacialTeam in Malaga, Spain.

In this three-part special, we explore all things FFS; from the theory, with Alexandra Hamer, to the practice with Dr Raul Bellinga and finally the impact, with radio and TV presenter, Stephanie Hirst and her surgeon, Dr Simon.

If you have been affected by any of the topics discussed in our podcast, and would like to get in touch, please visit our Help Centre. You can also contact us on social media where you will find us at @GenderGP on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

We are always happy to accept ideas for future shows, so if there is something in particular you would like us to discuss, or a specific guest you would love to hear from, let us know. Your feedback is really important to us. If you could take a minute or two to leave us a review and rating for the podcast on your favourite podcast app, it will help others to discover us.

 

Links:

http://facialteam.eu/

https://facialteam.eu/blog/ffs-surgery/raul-jimenez-bellinga-md-feboms/

 

The GenderGP Podcast

A Surgeons take on Facial Feminisation: The GenderGP Podcast S5 E5

 

Hello, this is Dr Helen Webberley. Welcome to our GenderGP Podcast, where we will be discussing some of the issues affecting the trans and non-binary community in the world today, together with my co-host Marianne Oakes, a trans woman herself, and our head of therapy.

 

Dr Helen Webberley:

So, welcome everybody to our podcast. I am here with Marianne, as usual. And today, we are really excited to welcome Dr Bellinga from the Facial Team in Marbella. Dr Bellinga, thank you for joining us. I’m going to let you come in and just tell us who you are, what you do, what your lovely and amazing team do. So, I’ll hand it over to you.

Dr Raúl Bellinga:

Alright, good morning to everyone. Thank you so much for your kind words. And let me introduce myself. I am Dr Bellinga, Raúl Bellinga, from Facial Team, Spain. We are placed in Marbella, in the south of Spain, the lovely Costa del Sol. And I am part of a surgical group and whose name is Facial Team. Facial Team is a surgical group which started in 2008, and we are just dedicated to facial feminisation surgery. So, we are pretty experienced about what we are doing now. At Facial Team, we are now six surgeons, and we are all dedicated to one specific feature in the face. In my case, for instance, I am the one who is dedicated one hundred per cent to rhinoplasty, to feminisation rhinoplasty, which is slightly different from cosmetic rhinoplasty.

Dr Helen Webberley:

Okay, wow, brilliant. So, the rhinoplasty being the surgery on the nose, the feminisation surgery on the nose. Just broadly, you've got six surgeons. Do you all do something different? Or how does it work if someone needs a little bit of attention on their nose as well as their forehead?

The GenderGP Podcast: Facial Feminisation Surgery Special

As work continues on the updated WPATH Standards of Care, it is anticipated that the transformative role that Facial Feminisation Surgery can play in the lives of trans feminine individuals, will be given more prominence than ever before. This is largely thanks to the groundbreaking work being carried out by experts in the field, including the specialist surgeons at FacialTeam in Malaga, Spain.

In this three-part special, we explore all things FFS; from the theory, with Alexandra Hamer, to the practice with Dr Raul Bellinga and finally the impact, with radio and TV presenter, Stephanie Hirst and her surgeon, Dr Simon.

Part 1. Alexandra Hamer - The Principals of Facial Feminisation Surgery

Alexandra Hamer has been studying facial gender differences for 18 years. She specialises in understanding what makes a face look feminine or masculine. In this episode she talks to Dr Helen and Marianne about her work in facial feminisation simulation. Using photoshop, Alex helps individuals considering surgery to understand the impact which FFS might have and how to use the minimum number of surgical techniques, to achieve the maximum feminising results.

If you have been affected by any of the topics discussed in our podcast, and would like to get in touch, please visit our Help Centre and get in touch. You can also contact us on social media where you will find us at @GenderGP on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

We are always happy to accept ideas for future shows, so if there is something in particular you would like us to discuss, or a specific guest you would love to hear from, let us know. Your feedback is really important to us. If you could take a minute or two to leave us a review and rating for the podcast on your favourite podcast app, it will help others to discover us.

 

Links:

Website: http://www.virtualffs.co.uk

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VirtualFFS

https://facialteam.eu/ffs-cost-consultations/virtual-ffs/

 

The GenderGP Podcast

What is Facial Feminisation Surgery? The GenderGP Podcast S5 E4

 

Hello, this is Dr Helen Webberley. Welcome to our GenderGP Podcast, where we will be discussing some of the issues affecting the trans and non-binary community in the world today, together with my co-host Marianne Oakes, a trans woman herself, and our head of therapy.

 

Dr Helen Webberley:

Welcome, everybody, to this edition of our podcast. I am here with Marianne as usual, and we have a lovely guest today as well. I'd like to welcome Alex, who I think is very exciting because her specialty is virtual facial feminisation. I love the fact that it's facial feminisation because this is going to help a lot of people, but also the fact that this virtual thing is very much what GenderGP is all about. So Alex, let me allow you to introduce yourself and tell us all that you do. Take the floor.

Alexandra Hamer:

Right. Do you know what I feel? It's really difficult because I have one of those jobs that doesn't have a proper name. People say what do you do? And depending on how much time I've got, the answer can be very long or very short. Anyway, I am Alexandra Hamer, and, so, essentially, I advise people on facial feminisation surgery. I am not a surgeon, I am not a doctor, so it's not that I advise them on the surgery, but I explain what makes their face masculine, and what techniques there are available that can feminise it. And I also simulate the changes in photoshop so that they can get a sense of how those different procedures will look in real life. By doing that, they get a sense of what's important and what isn't important. The thing is, if you go to a surgeon,

Author and campaigner Mia Violet talks to Dr Helen and Marianne about her book: Yes You Are Trans Enough. Together they explore the implications of some of the hoops which trans people are made to jump through in order to prove themselves.

If you have been affected by any of the topics discussed in our podcast, and would like to get in touch, please visit our Help Centre. You can also contact us on social media where you will find us at @GenderGP on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

We are always happy to accept ideas for future shows, so if there is something in particular you would like us to discuss or a specific guest you would love to hear from, let us know. Your feedback is really important to us. If you could take a minute or two to leave us a review and rating for the podcast on your favourite podcast app, it will help others to discover us.

 

Links:

Website: https://www.miaviolet.love/about-mia/

Twitter: @ohmiagod

Instagram: oh.mia.god

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Yes-You-Trans-Enough-Self-Loathing/dp/1785923153/

 

The GenderGP Podcast

Mia Violet – Yes You Are Trans Enough: The GenderGP Podcast S5 E3

 

Hello, this is Dr Helen Webberley. Welcome to our GenderGP Podcast, where we will be discussing some of the issues affecting the trans and non-binary community in the world today, together with my co-host Marianne Oakes, a trans woman herself, and our head of therapy.

 

Dr. Helen Webberley:

Hello, welcome to GenderGP Podcast. Today, I am really happy to welcome Mia Violet. And, as always, I’m going to let Mia introduce herself, tell you a little bit about her, and what she does, and why we are really excited to talk to her today. Hi, Mia.

Mia Violet:

Hello. Oh, gosh, I never know how to introduce myself.

Dr. Helen Webberley:

I’ve put you on the spot.

Mia Violet:

Yeah, it’s like, how do you—there’s no real way to say, “I’ve written a book” and not come across like you are just really arrogant, like, “Oh, I’ve written a book by the way. I’m an author.” I’ve got a book right here as well. Yeah, I am a trans woman, an author, I wrote Yes You Are Trans Enough, which is like part memoir, part primer on trans issues. I use Twitter a lot, more than I probably should, where I am @ohmiagod. I also use Instagram a bit, where I am @oh.mia.god, I talk about trans issues and self-love.

Dr. Helen Webberley:

So, Yes You Are Trans Enough is your book. Why did you feel the need to tell the world that you need to be trans enough to be anything?

Mia Violet:

Sure. Yeah, sure. I was at an event recently, and someone said, "What was the emotion behind why you wrote the book?" And I answered and said, honestly, rage. Like, anger. Because what happened, the genesis of the book is a really long story. I won’t bore everyone with it. But the short version is that I read an article by someone that quoted another trans woman, can’t remember who it was, and she was talking about another trans woman, and she said, “Oh, she’s not trans enough.” Like she’s not trans enough to have gotten this title or this award or whatever. And as a trans person that really, really annoyed me, because I am someone who’s dealt with, “Oh, am I trans enough?” feelings basically my entire life. So, I wrote an article, just off the top of my head, where I was, there is no such thing as trans enough. Yes, you are trans enough. You don’t have to be stereotyped. You don’t have to have gone through these milestones. I was thinking a lot about the stereotypes—like I always say, I don’t fit into that. I didn’t play with dolls as a child.

Sara Phillips is the chair of the Transgender Equality Network Ireland (TENI), she has been a trans rights activist for the past 26 years and played an instrumental role in developing Ireland’s progressive GRA legislation in 2015, and the review of the act in 2018.

In this episode of the GenderGP podcast, Sara joins Dr Helen and Marianne to discuss the ways in which Ireland has forged its own very progressive path for trans rights and what other countries can learn from the steps they have already taken.

If you have been affected by any of the topics discussed in our podcast, and would like to get in touch, please visit our Help Centre. You can also contact us on social media where you will find us at @GenderGP on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

We are always happy to accept ideas for future shows, so if there is something in particular you would like us to discuss or a specific guest you would love to hear from, let us know. Your feedback is really important to us. If you could take a minute or two to leave us a review and rating for the podcast on your favourite podcast app, it will help others to discover us.

 

Links:

Twitter: @sararphillips

Website: https://www.teni.ie/

www.belongto.org - Response to the Gender Recognition Act

 

The GenderGP Podcast

TENI's Sara Phillips talks trans rights in Ireland - The GenderGP Podcast S5 E2

 

Hello, this is Dr Helen Webberley. Welcome to our GenderGP Podcast, where we will be discussing some of the issues affecting the trans and non-binary community in the world today, together with my co-host Marianne Oakes, a trans woman herself, and our head of therapy.

 

Dr. Helen Webberley:

So, hi everybody. I am very happy to be here with Marianne on our today’s edition of our podcast with Sara Phillips. And as usual, I’m going to pass over to Sara to let her introduce herself and tell us all about the work that she does and her ambitions for today, tomorrow, and for the future. So, Sara, welcome to our podcast.

Sara Phillips:

Thank you. It’s a pleasure to be with you this morning. As you said, I am Sara Phillips. I am the chair of Trans Equality Network Ireland. I’ve been in that position now for the past seven years. I have been out as an activist in trans rights for the past twenty-six years here in Ireland. I suppose most recently, I've been working quite a lot on gender recognition. I was one of the lead negotiators for our very progressive gender recognition legislation in 2015. And more recently I was on the government review group of that act in 2018, which provided some very progressive recommendations which have yet to be legislated for. I suppose as chair of our national organisation, I work across all areas of trans life, whether it's healthcare, whether it’s gender recognition, whether it's support. And there is still a huge amount of work to be done over here in Ireland. Currently, I am also a member of the steering committee of the International Trans Fund, which is an organisation providing funding to small trans organisations specifically in the global south but also in Asia, who work to try and support trans communities in different ways.

Dr. Helen Webberley:

Oh, wow. That is one introduction. I’m so excited to quiz you on some of this. So, just going back to the beginning, you say that you have been an activist for twenty-six years. How have things progressed, changed, developed, reverted in that twenty-six years?

Sara Phillips:

Well, it’s changed quite a lot. I think when I came out first was 1992. And I suppose trans people in Ireland were few. In fact, for most of us who were around at that point,

Shay Robertson talks to Helen and Marianne about his journey as a trans man, from the very first meeting with his GP, through surgeries and on, into his role as a trans advocate.

Together they explore some of the key questions around surgeries for masculinisation as well as providing guidance on how to work with your GP, and where you can go to get the support you need.

If you have been affected by any of the topics discussed in our podcast, and would like to get in touch, please visit our Help Centre and get in touch. You can also contact us on social media where you will find us at @GenderGP on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

We are always happy to accept ideas for future shows, so if there is something in particular you would like us to discuss or a specific guest you would love to hear from, let us know. Your feedback is really important to us. If you could take a minute or two to leave us a review and rating for the podcast on your favourite podcast app, it will help others to discover us.

 

Links:

From Sally to Shay by Shay Robertson: Purchase on Amazon here

For more information: Visit Shay's website here

Advice and support: Visit Shay's Facebook Page here

 

The GenderGP Podcast

From Sally to Shay: Shay Robertson – the GenderGP Podcast S5 E1

 

Hello, this is Dr Helen Webberley. Welcome to our GenderGP Podcast, where we will be discussing some of the issues affecting the trans and non-binary community in the world today, together with my co-host Marianne Oakes, a trans woman herself, and our head of therapy.

 

Dr. Helen Webberley:

Hi everyone, I’m here today with Shay Robertson and Marianne Oakes. Hi Shane. Hi Marianne. Lovely to have you both here. Really excited to have you, Shay. I'm just going to hand over to you so you can tell everybody who you are, why you’re here, the work that you do, the inspiration that you give, the journey that made you arrive at the beginning of that inspiration. So over to you, and tell us all about you.

Shay Robertson:

Well, first of all, good morning, Helen and Marianne. Thank you for having me here. My name is Shay Robertson. I am an FtM female to male. I have been transitioning since 2011. What I've done over my journey is when I first started looking out, actually, I did struggle to find information for my journey. I found a lot of information male to female but not really my way around. I did struggle. It was kind of a bit like I was in the dark. I knew what I wanted to do but didn’t really know the process. So really from going to see the GP going through consultants, I was completely really unawares. So what I decided to do was during my journey I noted everything down so I could help others in the future. And then what I did was I managed to create all that and make a book about my journey, which on my part, I think is actually doing really well, and I'm getting so much positive feedback from it. You see a lot of things online. You see a lot of things in books where doctors can tell you things, surgeons can tell you things, but they can't actually tell you the feelings of what the actual person going through that journey is actually feeling. I put everything down into this book, so it doesn't just help the person transitioning; it can help partners and friends that can support as well. What I also did was document everything from the meeting from the first doctor to what they said to the surgeon, to the consultant. All the worries. It’s doing really well. I’m really proud of that. I also went on to create a Facebook page which I call “Transpirational,” and that’s been quite a big hit as well. It’s not just your everyday Facebook page. It is people that are generally asking questions and where others can jump in.

In this episode of the GenderGP podcast, author, speaker and LGBTQ advocate, Amanda Jetté Knox (aka Maven of Mayhem), shares her family’s story with Dr Helen and Marianne. Together they discuss the importance of love in navigating the family dynamic, when life as you know it changes.

 

If you have been affected by any of the topics discussed in our podcast, and would like to get in touch, please visit our Help Centre and get in touch. You can also contact us on social media where you will find us at @GenderGP on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

We are always happy to accept ideas for future shows, so if there is something in particular you would like us to discuss or a specific guest you would love to hear from, let us know. Your feedback is really important to us so, if you could take a minute or two to leave us a review and rating for the podcast on your favourite podcast app, it will help others to discover us.

 

Links:

Find out more: www.amandajetteknox.com

Love Lives Here by Amanda Jette Knox: Visit the Penguin Random House Website

On Twitter: @MavenOfMayhem

 

The GenderGP Podcast

Evolving as a Family with Amanda Jette Knox – The GenderGP Podcast S4 E6

 

Hello, this is Dr Helen Webberley. Welcome to our GenderGP Podcast, where we will be discussing some of the issues affecting the trans and non-binary community in the world today, together with my co-host Marianne Oakes, a trans woman herself, and our head of therapy.

 

Dr. Helen Webberley:

I’m really, really delighted to welcome you, Amanda. Amanda Knox is joining us from Ottawa in Canada. And she is a writer, a speaker, and a human rights advocate. You can see that I’ve read that off a piece of paper, but actually, what I would really like you to do, Amanda, is introduce yourself. We are a group of transgender advocates in the UK. We’ve been working with trans people for a long time. And what we would love to do is capture some of your experiences and the advocacy work that you have done over where you are, and see if we can learn, share ideas, you know, join hands, get enthusiastic about new avenues ahead. So please, introduce yourself. Tell us all about you and the work that you do and the experiences that you’ve had.

Amanda Jette Knox:

Wonderful. Well, first of all, thanks for having me. It’s great. So, my name is Amanda. My pronouns are she and her. And I do live in very cold Ottawa. Our family is a fairly special one. We are a family of six, and one of our children came out as trans in 2014. She told us in an email. And a year and a half later, my spouse of then-eighteen years came out as well, and let me know that she was also a woman. And the work I do as a result of all these changes in our family is to help people understand that in a lot of ways, we are just like everybody else. That is my work in a nutshell. It is how can we be inclusive of the differences while also recognizing that the differences aren’t that big of a deal in the end. That we are still the same family on the same street with the same friends, more or less, and the same life. I now speak all over the country, sometimes with my family members, sometimes on my own. And I write about our experiences just to sort of bridge the gap and bring people in.

Dr. Helen Webberley:

Brilliant.

Marianne Oakes:

Wow. The thing that just stuck in my mind when you were talking there is how ordinary you kind of perceive your life. It's special, but ordinary at the same time that nothing's changed in the street, except maybe there are two extra females. And I spend all my time talking to people and saying whatever they've read in the newspaper when they me...

Aydin Olson Kennedy is a clinical social worker and executive director of the Los Angeles Gender Center.  He specialises in working with the parents and families of trans individuals.

In this episode of the GenderGP podcast he joins Dr Helen and Marianne to discuss what it means to be a trans man in the world today and the importance of listening and allowing people to talk and explore their feelings around their gender, wherever they might lead.

 

Links

Website: https://www.lagendercenter.org

 

If you have been affected by any of the topics discussed in our podcast and would like to get in touch please visit our Help Centre and let us know.

You can also contact us on social media where you will find us at @GenderGP on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

We are always happy to accept ideas for future shows, so if there is something in particular you would like us to discuss or a specific guest you would love to hear from, let us know. Your feedback is really important to us so if you could take a minute or two to leave us a review and rating for the podcast on your favourite podcast app it will help others to discover us.

 

The GenderGP Podcast

Aydin Olson-Kennedy - The GenderGP Podcast S4 E5

 

Hello, this is Dr Helen Webberley. Welcome to our GenderGP Podcast, where we will be discussing some of the issues affecting the trans and non-binary community in the world today, together with my co-host Marianne Oakes, a trans woman herself, and our head of therapy.

 

Dr. Helen Webberley:

I'm really delighted to welcome you, Aydin, to our podcast. And thank you for coming to join us. I'm going to let you introduce yourself in a minute, and tell us all about the work that you do. But I just wanted to tell people how Marianne and I met you. And again, back in January this year, and I have said this before on the podcast, we came over to the United States to listen to your weekend talks. And I have to say, it was so inspiring. It has changed the way that we work. And through the podcast that we've been able to do, we're often referring back to what we learned from you and Darlene and Johanna. So, it was amazing. And it’s been inspiring for us and for all the people that listened. So, thank you so much for that. I wanted to pick your brains on some of those things today. And I sure Marianne wants to as well. But in the meantime, Aydin, introduce yourself, tell everybody who you are. And they will be as excited as I am.

Aydin Olson-Kennedy:

Yeah. So first, it was such a pleasure meeting you all. And I think that it was sort of really exciting to bridge the gap between some of the care that has been happening in the US, and what's going on over there. Prior to meeting you all in January, there was such a separation that it feels like that bridge has been gapped slightly, so it's been a real gift for us as well. My name is Aydin Olson Kennedy. In the US, I am called a licensed clinical social worker. I think that is, for context of understanding what it means here, is that I am a therapist. And I work pretty much exclusively with trans folks, parents, and families. I've been doing that for about the last 10 years. I am also trans. Having transitioned 11 years ago, so there tends to be a perspective of these experiences that is a little bit different that folks who are not trans who are providing this care or are talking about this care.

Dr. Helen Webberley:

Thank you. Marianne, I am going to put you in the driving seat. Is there anything—I’ve got so much that I want to ask and say—but I don’t want to steal the show. Marianne, I’m going to put you on the hot seat,

In this episode of the GenderGP podcast, Dr Helen chats to Marianne, about how far GenderGP has come in the last five years and what the future holds for trans healthcare. The pair also discuss the language around trans youth, fertility, GP collaboration and the importance of pronouns.

 

If you have been affected by any of the topics discussed in our podcast, and would like to get in touch, please get in touch via our Help Centre. You can also contact us on social media where you will find us at @GenderGP on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

We are always happy to accept ideas for future shows, so if there is something in particular you would like us to discuss, or a specific guest you would love to hear from, let us know. Your feedback is really important to us so if you could take a minute or two to leave us a review and rating for our podcast, it will help others to discover us.

 

Links

Annual review

https://www.gendergp.com/annual-report-2019/

Gillick Competency

https://www.gendergp.com/gillick-competency-and-body-autonomy-of-transgender-youth/

The Dad Who Gave Birth with Freddy McConnell – The GenderGP Podcast S4 E3

https://www.gendergp.com/the-dad-who-gave-birth-with-freddy-mcconnell-the-gendergp-podcast-s4-e3/"

Transgender people face NHS waiting list 'hell'

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-51006264

 

 

The GenderGP Podcast

A new decade for trans healthcare - The GenderGP Podcast S4 E4

 

Hello, this is Dr Helen Webberley. Welcome to our GenderGP Podcast, where we will be discussing some of the issues affecting the trans and non-binary community in the world today, together with my co-host Marianne Oakes, a trans woman herself, and our head of therapy.

 

Dr. Helen Webberley:

Hello and happy new year. Welcome to 2020. Dr Helen Webberley here, and I am with Marianne. Just the two of us today. Hi Marianne, how are you? Happy new year.

Marianne Oakes:

Happy new year to you as well, Helen. I’m very well, thank you. I’m looking forward to the new year, I have to say.

Dr. Helen Webberley:

So am I, actually. You sent me a text the other day and said, “Happy new year, how are you? Are you excited about 2020?” and actually, I really am. We’ve had some tough times over the last few years, as well as some really good times. And I just tend to see change, that the tougher times are getting less. It's difficult because in the media, almost in a daily basis, we see challenges for trans people and cis people still not understanding or not wanting to understand trans people. But I just feel that voices are getting louder and stronger. And I think that more people who are not trans are coming forward and saying that we can't treat people like that. So I do feel, although things sometimes feel a bit depressing, I do feel like we are moving forward. I don't know whether that's the same impression that you get?

Marianne Oakes:

Yes, I think we can get swept up sometimes in the negativity. And you know better than anyone else what we have been through at GenderGP is probably a metaphor about the place we find ourselves with trans healthcare. Almost (unclear 1:38) sometimes. Interestingly enough, coming into this new year, a little part of me thinks that we've weathered all of that. And then we look at what we've achieved last year, and it just feels, you know, wow. I think if we’d have gone and had a diagnosis people wouldn’t expect us to be thriving the way we are, if you know what I mean.

Dr. Helen Webberley:

Absolutely. And I think,