this is me whining

[sqwrlydoom]

so when i went to the dmv to get my license about a month ago, i was informed that if i wanted to have a male gender marker on my license that i would have to find a psychologist and have them fill out the dl 329 gender change form. my mom said she knew a shrink lady from our church so i went to her and had her fill it out. but the dmv just sent

Comments

[stray17]

i dislike this deee ehm vee,

they say im 230lbs...

i say i lost weight.....

i think a counsler is closer to a therapist, you would go to them and talk out your problems and though they are required to have a phd they do not take all the same medical courses a psychologist would take and cannot prescribe medication.

a psychologist will charge you outrageous prices and then send you home with meds.

i think shamans should be an option but i might be the minority on that.

[sqwrlydoom]

yeah my license also says that i have blue eyes but i totally don't. the dmv just doesn't have an option for gray, apparently.

[supresmooth]

You don't need a PHD to be a counselor.

Oh, and psychologists cannot prescribe medication, either.

[stray17]

i suppose this means i may not have lost any weight either.

[knastymike]

As far as it matters for me (and maybe you), the only difference between a licensed counselor, psychologist and psychiatrist is the amount of schooling they have and whether or not they can prescribe drugs.

Good luck getting through the DMV's hoops.

[sqwrlydoom]

thanks. i appreciate it. effing dmv.

[trenchcoatedson]

A counselor generally has a Master's degree.

A psychologist has a PhD and went to grad school.

A psychiatrist went to med school.

- Spoken as a psychology major with a dad who is a Psych PhD. :)

[sqwrlydoom]

hmmm interesting. i don't see why they won't accept something from someone with a master's. i guess it has to be a phd or something? i don't know. i hate the dmv.

[trenchcoatedson]

As far as I know, those with PhDs are generally more accepted and their word taken more seriously, as they DID have more schooling and experience than a counselor/social worker/etc. I've seen plenty of both in a therapy type setting in my life and I can say there is definitely a difference between the two in terms of knowledge.

I also wouldn't be surprised if you also need a PhD licensed therapist to write the letter for hormones. They're just way more well equipped to handle and understand these types of issues than someone with a master's- which is why the DMV probably will only accept a form from a licensed psychologist.

[sqwrlydoom]

for the hormones letter i went and saw someone at the ywca in portland. i have no idea what degree they had. i saw her twice, once to determine i was sane enough to go on t and once to get the actual letter. i do not remember her name or have any contact info for her. i kind of have always avoided psychologists and counselors because talking to strangers about my problems kind of freaks me out. i feel like they are only listening because they get paid to (which i'm sure is a totally unfair assessment and i know they are good people, i just am weird like that).

[sinnamongirl]

Dude, that sucks. I heard awhile back that the FAA is considering instituting random security measures where some passengers would be required to give their gender and date of birth, which just sounds arbitrary and discriminatory, not helpful at all.

Anyway, are you in San Jose? Does that count as the Bay Area? There's a PFLAG chapter (now with more trans!) for San Jose- I wonder if you could email them and explain your situation and ask for a referral to a provider? I'm pretty sure the DMV wants the PhD because that person has been through medical school- an MD or DO might also possibly work (they count in Washington for this process). LSWs and other masters' holding counselor's haven't been through medical school, so their knowledge level isn't considered as high. Good luck :-/ This is dumb.

[sqwrlydoom]

oh hell, i didn't even think of pflag. sometimes i have teh dumb. i will do that. thank you.
also, lol "now with more trans!". i <3 you so much.

[sinnamongirl]

I'm glad I could help :) I was hoping to swoop in with an actual phone number or something really concrete, but at least it's a start. <3<3<3

[sqwrlydoom]

no, it's totally helpful. maybe they can also help me determine whether or not i can find testosterone in the south bay as well. it sure would be nice to not have to trek up to the city.

[parmonster]

Didn't you have your CA license sorted out back in the 90s? I did mine in '96 (DL327 at the time, and the requirements were more lax) and haven't had to refile or anything since.

Maybe you fail for having moved out of the state. The California Gods are angry at your infidelity!

[sqwrlydoom]

no, i didn't transition or change my name until i moved to oregon.

[parmonster]

Seriously? You could have fooled me.

[sqwrlydoom]

and i did! bwahahaha!