Gender-Affirming Services
I provide both gender-affirming therapy and gender-affirming medical care assessments. While these services often overlap, they have different purposes.
Gender-affirming therapy
Therapy provides a supportive, collaborative space to explore your gender, identity, relationships, transition, minority stress, wellbeing, other intersecting identities and aspects of your life.
Learn more about Therapy or book a therapy appointment here.
Gender-affirming medical care assessment
Some medical pathways require psychological documentation to support access to gender-affirming care within current clinical and legal frameworks. These assessments are sometimes referred to as WPATH assessments or WPATH letters, although they are informed by a range of professional standards including WPATH Standards of Care Version 8 (SOC8), AusPATH guidance, Australian Standards of Care, and relevant Australian legislation.
You deserve care that respects your identity, autonomy, and lived experience. My role is to support you through these pathways and prepare documentation that meets relevant requirements in a collaborative, transparent, and non-gatekeeping way.
What this can support
Assessments may support access to:
Puberty blockers (puberty suppressing medications)
Gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT)
Informed consent review (if requested by a prescriber)
Surgical letters prepared in accordance with WPATH Standards of Care Version 8 (SOC8), including chest, genital, facial, and other gender-affirming procedures
This work is informed by:
WPATH Standards of Care Version 8 (SOC8)
AusPATH guidance
Australian Standards of Care for Trans and Gender Diverse Children and Adolescents
Relevant Australian legislation and professional standards
Who seeks assessment?
People may seek an assessment if they:
have been asked by a GP, endocrinologist, surgeon, or other medical practitioner to obtain a psychological assessment or letter
require documentation as part of a medical or legal pathway
would like support understanding and navigating available gender-affirming healthcare pathways
have experienced uncertainty or inconsistent information about assessment requirements
What to expect
Before your first appointment
You will be asked to complete intake forms and questionnaires relevant to your assessment. With your consent, previous reports, letters, or other relevant documentation may also be reviewed where appropriate.
Assessment Appointment (90 minutes)
The assessment is collaborative and tailored to your individual goals.
This may include discussion of:
your gender history and lived experience
your goals for care
relevant psychosocial history
informed decision-making
supports and protective factors
any documentation requirements relevant to your medical pathway
Additional assessment (if clinically indicated)
Assessments are tailored to your individual circumstances and the documentation required. Some people require only one appointment, while others benefit from a more comprehensive assessment depending on their goals and the complexity of their circumstances.
Where additional information, clarification, or further exploration is clinically indicated, a further assessment appointment may be recommended. This will always be discussed collaboratively with you.
No more appointments than are clinically necessary will be recommended.
Reports
Reports are prepared in line with current professional guidance and tailored to the requirements of your treating medical practitioner or surgeon.
If your provider has specific documentation requirements, these can be discussed throughout the assessment process.
Timeframes
Many assessments are completed within one appointment and report preparation. Others may involve additional appointments depending on the assessment goals and documentation required.
Reports are generally provided within three weeks of the final assessment appointment.
No more appointments or professional time will be recommended than is clinically necessary to meet the goals of the assessment.
Approach
The purpose of the assessment is not to determine whether someone is "trans enough" or gender diverse enough.
Rather, the assessment aims to:
support access to care within existing clinical and legal frameworks
centre your lived experience, autonomy, and informed decision-making
provide documentation that meets the requirements of your treating medical practitioner or surgeon
Assessments are:
gender-affirming and autonomy-focused
collaborative and transparent
neuroaffirming and culturally responsive
focused on facilitating access to care rather than gatekeeping
Within Australia, pathways can sometimes be complex. My role is to help you understand these requirements and navigate them as clearly and collaboratively as possible.
For young people
For children and adolescents, the assessment process is guided by current Australian Standards of Care, WPATH SOC8, and relevant legal requirements.
This may include:
time with a parent or caregiver
time with the young person individually
liaison with other treating professionals where appropriate and with consent
The assessment process is tailored to the young person's developmental stage, goals, and individual circumstances.
Fees
Gender-affirming medical care assessments are tailored to the purpose of the assessment, the documentation required, and your individual circumstances.
Some assessments, such as a straightforward surgical letter, may involve one 90-minute assessment appointment and approximately one hour of clinical review and report preparation.
Other assessments may require additional appointments or professional time where there are more complex clinical, developmental, family, legal, or documentation requirements.
Assessment Appointment (90 minutes): $420
Report preparation: $280/hour (typically around 1 hour for straightforward assessments)
Many straightforward surgical letter assessments are approximately $700, based on one 90-minute assessment appointment and approximately one hour of clinical review and report preparation.
Where additional appointments or professional time are clinically indicated, these will always be discussed with you beforehand.
Where clinically appropriate or requested, additional services may also be available, including:
additional reports or letters
case conferences
review of extensive external documentation
Additional professional services are charged at the standard hourly rate and will always be discussed with you in advance.
Assessment fees reflect both direct appointment time and professional time spent reviewing intake information, questionnaires, collateral information, assessment findings, clinical formulation, and preparing documentation that meets current clinical and legal requirements.
Important information
Assessments are provided via secure telehealth across Australia
Psychologists do not prescribe medication or provide medical advice
Final treatment decisions remain with your treating medical provider
Medicare
Being transgender or gender diverse is not a mental health condition and does not, in itself, make someone eligible for Medicare-funded psychological treatment under the Better Access initiative.
However, trans and gender-diverse people experience significantly higher rates of mental health challenges, minority stress, trauma, and other intersecting experiences. These are often influenced or exacerbated by discrimination, stigma, barriers to healthcare, and systems that have not always been designed to support gender diversity.
Where psychological support forms part of the assessment or treatment of an eligible mental health condition, and you have a valid Mental Health Treatment Plan (MHTP) or other eligible referral, some assessment appointments may attract a Medicare rebate.
Not all gender-affirming medical care assessments are eligible for Medicare rebates, and eligibility depends on the purpose of the appointment and Medicare requirements.
If you're unsure whether Medicare rebates may apply to your circumstances, you're welcome to get in touch before booking.
Not sure if this is right for you?
If you're unsure whether a gender-affirming assessment is required for your situation, or what type of documentation your treating practitioner needs, we can discuss this together and determine the most appropriate pathway.