As big a reason as any and just one of two reasons I moved from Utah to the Los Angeles area? I ran into issues of accessing mental healthcare in Utah. For instance, in Utah, I wasn’t granted insurance coverage of a fairly basic hormone to treat a mental health condition called gender dysphoria. In California, I will be granted insurance coverage for body contouring.

However, that is all the extent of ease there has been for me in accessing mental healthcare in the City of Angels.

That has been a major letdown.

And I’ve been even more surprised.

Even a gender clinic doesn’t take Medi-Cal, a state of California government program that covers healthcare for folks. And a pricing option beyond that is hardly affordable.

There have been problems regarding UCLA Health as well in terms of seeking mental health through receiving gender-affirming care.

Also, four therapists in the Los Angeles area have been difficult. It’s left me without the ability to access mental healthcare in a way that many seem to regard as a silver bullet.

• One, a Cristina Rodriguez, didn’t want to meet any often for more than 2.5 weeks and would not talk about me having gender dysphoria. I also had to wait for six weeks to get into talk therapy with her. She also violated a boundary. And is that terribly ironic for a therapist to do?
• Another, a Katy Hammer, didn’t attend work twice two weeks apart. And I learned about her not being there only when I arrived there once and was just a couple of blocks away another time. (Both times, I drove 30 minutes one way.) I’ve seen many therapists over the past eight years. None have even canceled twice. And only a few canceled even once.
• Another, whose name I don’t know— we never met — asked to reschedule to the next day, only to then cancel the morning of that day.
• Another, a Renato Perez, seemed to have deleted a message thread after I sent him the following message 12.5 hours after he sent a message at 2 p.m.:

“I am sorry — I just got your reply. (Usually, I check my email at the start and end of my work day, which ends at midnight PST.) I welcome the telehealth options!”

Perez claimed that “I don’t have the capacity to delete messages.” The problem with his claim is that I could see that the messages were deleted. Also, he ignored the thread and replied only after I asked in another email if he had blocked me. It seemed like he was not going to respond to my message quoted above. Especially since he replied fast to other messages.

I don’t know how much quality of work is in the Los Angeles area other than in entertainment and media.

Medical transition care is 100% essential to treat gender dysphoria.

Ironically, difficulties in accessing such care have negatively impacted my mental health.

After all, not only could I not be treated, but I couldn’t when I was seeking the care.

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