MaineHealth Specialty Care Portland is dedicated to supporting the health and well-being of transgender, gender diverse and questioning people across Northern New England. We offer treatment to patients of all ages with both pediatric and adult services.
Our team is focused on the entire well-being of each patient. We focus on medical care (endocrinology and adolescent medicine) and mental health (clinical social work). We also work closely with the MaineHealth clinical ethics team.
Different patients benefit from different services. We work with each person to decide on the services they may need. If a patient is already working with a therapist, we will talk with that therapist about treatment.
- Mental health evaluation
- Brief individual & family therapy
- Consultation with a clinical social workers
- Ongoing consultation between mental health and medical providers (related to gender)
- Menstrual suppression (stopping unwanted periods)
- Puberty blockers (ways to stop puberty hormones)
- Gender affirming hormone therapy (estrogen or testosterone)
- Surgical consultation (mental health letter of referral for patients over the age of 18 only)
It's easy to get started:
- Ask your primary care provider to make a referral to MaineHealth Specialty Care Portland
- You will learn about our program and have the opportunity to ask questions prior to a full program evaluation appointment.
We support each individual by accepting them without judgment and letting their gender identity and expression unfold over time. We have a gender affirmative approach to treatment. We do not approve of any kind of conversion therapy. We believe that trying to change a person’s gender identity is harmful.
We work with patients of all ages and their families to build strength, gain better understanding and offer ongoing support while they are with our clinic. Our treatment is different for every person and we use evidence-based treatments.
Transgender describes people whose gender identity or expression differs from their assigned sex at birth. A transgender person may identify as male or female, or they may have a non-binary gender identity.
Non-binary describes people who do not identify (or do not exclusively identify) as “male” or “female” or “man” or “woman.” They may identify as no gender, as a gender other than male or female, or as more than one gender. Non-binary can also be an umbrella term that includes identities such as agender, bigender, genderqueer or gender fluid. Not all non-binary people identify as transgender.
Sex is based on anatomy, hormones and DNA. Sex is often assigned at birth and is usually decided based on appearance of outside genitalia as male or female. Sometimes we refer to ‘sex’ as ‘natal sex’ or ‘sex assigned at birth.’
Gender identity is a person’s internal sense of gender, or what a person feels their gender is. It may match their sex assigned at birth, or may be different. Sometimes gender identity is confused with gender expression. Gender expression is different, it is how a person looks on the outside (their clothing, hair, voice, behavior or interests).
For more information about gender:
- The Gender Unicorn explains one way to think about gender
- The American Psychological Association “Transgender People, Gender Identity and Gender Expression”
Learn More
- APA Fact Sheet: Gender Diversity and Transgender Identity in Children
- Family Acceptance Project
- The Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline: Gender Dysphoria/Gender Incongruence
- Guide to Safe Binding
- Top Surgery Guide
- How to Update Your Name and Gender Marker
- World Professional Association of Transgender Health (WPATH)