Cheshire transgender counselling support services launched

The service is provided by Cheshire Merseyside Adult Gender Identity Collaborative (CMAGIC) and commissioned by NHS Cheshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).

It provides access to experienced gender incongruence counsellors who patients can access for weekly one-hour appointments. The service is by self-referral and patients will be placed on a short waiting list before being introduced to a gender counsellor.

The service went live on 1 July. Anyone wishing to access the service should visit www.cmagic.org.uk/counselling  and answer some questions.  A convenient appointment will then be made. Counselling appointments take place using Zoom technology.

Anthony Griffin, chair of CMAGIC, said: “Although Cheshire is such a beautiful, largely rural area, it means that trans and non-binary people (especially young people) can feel isolated and don’t always know who to turn to for help and support if they are considering or starting their social and/or medical journey.

“We recognised from the number of people asking for help that we needed to establish a service that we know works well - and very often saves people from a deeper crisis - by simply having someone who is a trained therapist to support them. Thankfully, NHS Cheshire CCG has understood the situation and enabled us to work in a partnership approach to launch this quality new service.”