Choosing a Therapist or Counsellor
the Presdental Report
At our last meeting Cindy and Mickey told me that they were not going to be a major part in the A Rose group. This was due to them taking some flack from members of our group. They both will sorely missed and the support that they contributed will be hard to pick up on. Cindy was a member of A Rose before allot of us even thought of coming out of the closet. And even though Mickey was only a SO she was voted in as president and picked the group up when it was nothing. Some of the many accomplishments which they have done for the A Rose group include: They have placed advertisements for the groups in many locations, and have brought the A Rose from out of the gay bars and into the main stream of the couminty. They have open their home on servial occasions so we could have a meeting place. There was the speakers from the Phoenix Police Dept. and PFLAG which they have brought to us. Mickey & Cindy have answered all the E-Mail inquires and did the interviewing for A Rose. During Mickey�s Presidentcy the memembership doubled and the was treasury started, when Mickey was voted in the treasurey was nothing and now we have some money in the bank. Cindy started the news letter, she edited it, got articles of the InterNet, even wrote some of the articles for it. She paid for the news letter and mailing out of her own pocket. She keep the membership records and the mailing list. Both of them will be hard to replace.
Denise S.
President
the A Rose Meeting
Date : June 7th, 1998
Location : the Gay and Lesbian Center
The June meeting was held at the "NEW" G&L Center, 24 West Camelback, Phoenix. Due to a conflict the two attorneys did not come. Instead the ladies discussed what was going on in their lives and how each was handling the situa-tions. It was very informative and a good night. Afterwards the ladies went to Manuels for a late dinner.
Denise S.
President
President ..................... Denise S.
Vice-President ..................Neil Lynn
Secretary / Treasure .......Michelle B.
Our NEW
P. O. Box
Before Cindy stepped out of the A Rose picture, both her and I discussed that A Rose should get their own mail box. The mail coming to A Rose plus to Alpha Zeta was over powering the Alpha Zeta P. O. Box.
I discussed this with Michelle ( our Treasurer) and we decided that the finances were well enough to get a Postal Box. We also discussed the location, sense she picked up the mail for the Alpha Zeta group. She suggested to get a P. O. Box close to me so I could pick up the mail on my way home at night. I went to the Glendale Post Office and applied for a box. On June 19th the post offoce notified us we had a P. O. Box, number 8108.
Now I will be notifying every place that we have a advertisement to change our address. I will ask you, that if you see any place that our address is still the old P. O. Box please let me know so I can change it. This will take time and allot of EFFORT!
Choosing a Therapist or Counsellor
Trust, respect, understanding, and communication are the essential elements of good patient therapist relationship.
Your rights as a consumer
Therapy should be thought of as a consumer product. You are paying for a service, either directly, through your tax dollars, or your insurance plan. As a wise consumer, you have a right to get high quality, respectful safe service. You are entitled to shop around, to ask questions for the best service you can get.
In selecting a therapist to work with, it is important to consider the value of a therapist who has specific training you need as opposed to choosing someone simply because s/he is covered by an insurance group.
As a client you have the right to expect that your therapist will follow certain ethics or rules of conduct. S/he will respect your privacy and confidentiality in terms of all information obtained in the course of professional services.
Questions you might ask:
In your initial contact with a therapist you may wish to ask some questions. The following questions are intended as a guide, and not all of them may be suitable for your particular situation. please feel free to use these questions or to develop some of your own which are more appropriate.
Training:
What is your formal training? Are you a legally regulated (registered or licensed) professional? Which organization or college? What has been your participation in related workshops, seminars, or other training programs since completing your formal training? How long have you been a counsellor or therapist?
Fees Hours:
What hours do you have available? Think of the maximum amount that you feel you are able to pay on a per session basis, and ask your therapist whether s/he can see you for that fee. If the fee can be reviewed or renegotiated if your financial situation changes? If there a charge for the initial consultation session and what that is. How much notice do you expect if you have to change an appointment? Do you charge for missed appointments? If you smoke, or if smoking bothers you, ask the therapist about whether s/he smokes during the session, and whether or not you may smoke.
Think about what issues you would like to work on (e.g. depression, stress, sexual orientation, sexual abuse, relationships, career, etc.). Ask the therapist whether s/he has had any ex-perience working with these issues, and how s/he would work with someone with these difficulties. Ask about the style, techniques, or approaches s/he uses and how you might benefit from these.
Feel free to ask questions of a personal nature. The therapist does not have to answer them if s/he chooses not to.
For example:
How old are you? Do you have any children? Are you involved in an ongoing relationship? Have you had any personal experience with the issues I want to work on? Are you gay / lesbian / bisexual transsexual/ transgender/ transvestite/ positive? Have you any experience working with gay/ lesbian /bisexual/ transsexual/ transgender/ transvestites? o you define yourself as a feminist?
Do you incorporate your feminist perspective into your therapy? How? If you are from a different background than your therapist, ask the therapist if s/he has had any experience with your own particular culture.
Your well being / safety
It is your right as a client to have an ongoing "evaluation" of the therapy. You are entitled to check with your therapist about the progress and process of work you are doing. It is also your right to question or refuse to participate in any part of the therapy that makes you feel uncomfortable.
You have the right to feel safe during the therapy. If at any time you feel that you have been treated unfairly emotionally, physically, sexually, or financially, you have the right to do something about it. You can always refuse treatment which does not feel ok. You have the right to report this or call a resource center (i.e. Crisis Center) for more information about reporting the abuse and receiving support. They may have the resources to assist you (or refer you another source) to report to police, to complain to the therapist's professional governing body, to get legal advice, or to pursue other appropriate action.
Finally
If it is your first therapy experience, you may feel frightened or hesitant about making the first contact with the therapist. This is often due to feelings that we must be "sick" or inadequate if we need to go to a stranger for help. The reality is that we all need help at some point in dealing with life's stresses. A therapist also faces stresses and is not a special or powerful person who will give you all the answers. A good therapist will help you to discover your own strengths and help you clarify your thoughts and feelings.
Adapted from: women's counselling referral & education Center (WREC) 525 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON M5S lY4.(416) 534 7501.
Sexual Assault Service Guide' of GuelphWaterloo Ontario Sexual Assault Program (519) 822 5350.
Millenium March on Washington
Set for April 2000
Organizers Express Enthusi-astic Support for "Equality Begins at Home" State Actions WASHINGTON -- Organizers for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community's fourth March on Washington today announced the event will be held on April 30, 2000. The March aims to articulate the concerns of our community and focus our nation's attention on our quest for equality in all aspects of life.
"We expect one million of my gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered sisters and brothers and our enlightened allies to stand on the Mall and call upon our nation to live out the promise of equality under the law," said the Rev. Troy D. Perry, long-time gay activist and founder of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Commu-nity Churches.
Organizers took steps this week to begin incorporation of a non-profit entity to handle planning, production and financial arrangements. Efforts are underway to make sure this is a democratic process where all segments of our community are represented.
"The Millennium March promises to continue its bold commitment to all people of color. I am hearing from Native Americans, Asians, African Americans, Latinos and Pacific Islanders who are ecstatic about participating," said Martin Ornelas-Quintero, executive director of the Latino Latina/o, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Organization.
Organizers also expressed their support today for the Equality Begins at Home" actions on all 50 state capitals set for 1999. "The Equality Begins at Home" actions enjoy the full and enthusiastic sup-port of the organizers of the Millennium March," said Elizabeth Birch, executive director of the Human Rights Campaign. "It's imperative that we focus our ener-gies as a movement at both the state and federal level. These two events will complement each other as together we build the momentum to achieve equality in the next century."
"I am glad to see both of these events moving towards a more collaborative process," said Jubi
Headley, executive director of the National Black Lesbian and Gay Leadership Forum. "This is a posi-tive sign of progress."
"Our greatest hope as a move-ment lies in our commitment to work together for social change. Our passion for justice and our pledge to lift up every voice has the potential to transform town halls, state houses, and our nation's capitol," said Kerry Lobel, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
"I remain hopeful the the "Equality Begins at Home" actions and the Millennium March will help build our grassroots momement at the state, local and na-tional level," said Dianne Hard-Garcia, executive director of the Lesbian Gay Rights Lobby of Texas and cochair of the Federa-tion of Statewide Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered Or-ganizations. "I believe that work-ing together these actions can strengthen the state and federal organizations that fight daily to end discrimination.
Paula Ettelbrick, legislative director of the Empire State Pride Agenda and the other co-chair of the Federation added, "The Equality Begins At Home actions will fortify our strength at the statewide level and set the stage for the mil-lennium march event in Washing-ton in 2000."
For further information regard-ing accommodations, travel agents and groups please call the March on Washington, (818) 891-1748 or E-mail [email protected]. Additional contacts:
Donna Red Wing
Human Rights Campaign
Tel: (202) 628-4160
Fax: (202) 347-5323
or
James N. Birkitt, Jr.
UFMCC Communications De-partment
Tel: (310) 360-8640
Fax: (310) 360-8680
E-mail: [email protected]
website: http://www.ufmcc.com
An April 30 press release from the United Federation of Metropolitan
Community Churches (UFMCC).
Rebirth
Some years ago mother bore a boy
a child�s mind as you may know
is always society�s toy.
I tried in vain to fit their mold
to my true self I was blind.
A few of us can be so bold
to make gender self-define.
A struggling woman�s spirit
was desperate to be free.
I tried so hard not to hear it
but I knew that she was me.
I no longer lay my head sedated
on a pillow damp from crying.
I have been reincarnated
without ever really trying.
I don�t know where I got this poem, But sure fits.
Love and Huggs
Denise S.
NEWSLETTER STAFF
Editor..................................... Denise S
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Mailing.................................. Denise S.
PUBLICATION NOTICE
The A Rose a monthly publication of the A Rose, a Transgender support group in Phoenix, Arizona. All material is copyright c by the A Rose Chapter. The opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of the individual authors and do not represent the opinions of A Rose . Articles may be published in similar periodicals, provided credit is given to The A Rose, and the entire article is reproduced. Subscriptions are $20 per year, full membership is $20 per year. Send inquiries and other mail to:
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