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About Dr.
Bushong
Much
of the following are excerpts from the Transgender Magazine interview
with Dr. Bushong.
Could
you please tell us a bit about your philosophy?
I'm not a
gatekeeper, I can’t begin to tell you how much I dislike the thought
of psychological and medical professionals requiring transgendered men
and women to prove themselves. One’s gender identity is really
immeasurable. I can’t measure, nor can anyone, one’s feeling of
maleness or femaleness. One's gender identity is like pain --
one feels it with certainty but can't prove it to anyone.
What is your
role in the community?
My role is to be a helper, a
teacher, and a guide. As a helper, I aid clients to resolve conflicts resulting from a lifetime
of living a double life, one inside or hidden from others, one out in public. As a teacher,
I help make available all the accumulated
knowledge, skills and choices one has as well as clearing away the myths, lies
and misinformation. And as a guide, I aid trans men and women through the
social, legal, medical and emotional mine fields towards discovering one’s true
self.
How did you
become involved with transsexual and transgender issues?
I went
through a traditional graduate program in psychology followed by an internship. But shortly afterwards, my life took a very untraditional
course. I had been given an opportunity to pursue a second internship
in child and adolescent psychotherapy in Chipstead, Surrey, England,
which is just outside of London. While my second internship is
unremarkable in the context of transgender issues, I continued to live
in London for about the next ten years. During much of this period,
London was a remarkable place, setting fire to a lot of the cultural
change that later spread worldwide--including transsexualism. It was
during this period that I became acquainted with several transsexual
women and became their mentor during their transition. Later, of
course, I formed the first gender program to throw the "gatekeeper"
concept out the window and allowed hundreds of transgender men and
women to transition in a nurturing, proactive way.
What
do you see as your most important job in helping the community?
My main
job is to help each person to first "be themselves," not just the
product of society’s or others’ expectations. I call this shift in
thinking "finding the natural you," as compared to the "normal" you
(what you are supposed to be or do). Keep in mind that normal is only
the state of being that others expect you to be. And seeking a normal
existence instead of a natural one can be a big mistake. Those of us
who try to meet other peoples’ expectations instead of our own needs
may miss out on true happiness.
My
second and equally important job is to help trans people to transition
as completely as they desire. It is for them to decide how far,
how fast, and in what way to change. Unfortunately, as people rely more and more on
the Internet, I am regularly contacted by people who just don't get
good results -- results from hormone therapies, surgeries,
and electrolysis that are less than expected or desired.
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