Gender Identity Clinic

Intended For

Individuals over 17 who wish to explore issues related to their gender identity, which may include any degree of transgender expression.

Community professionals looking for support and consultation to help their clients reach their goals related to gender identity and expression.

Referral Requirements:

Physician referral required. Please download the form and call your doctor.

Additional Referral Details

Ask your health care provider to fill out the CAMH adult referral form. Here is a link to the online referral form. Forms should be faxed to Access CAMH at 416 979-6815. If you have any questions about the referral process, call Access CAMH at 416 535-8501 and press 2.

 

Services Offered As:

Outpatient

Waiting Period:

Around 8 months. If you have questions about your place on the waitlist, please call the clinic at 416 535-8501 ext. 30985.

Location:

Queen Street Site - 60 White Squirrel Way

Additional Location Details:

4th floor | The clinic also provides virtual services in the context of the current Covid-19 pandemic. CAMH uses the Webex platform for virtual appointments. The clinic also uses telemedicine (you go to a local health provider, usually a local hospital, where video conferencing is available) to improve access to service for clients who live outside of Toronto. Typically, this is used for second and/or subsequent appointments.

Contact Phone Number:

Access CAMH: 416 535-8501, press 2

More Contact Details:

If you have questions about your place on the wait list or for clinicians and organizations wanting consultation by the clinic for clients currently on our wait list, please call Rachael Bubb at 416 535-8501 ext. 30985.

Types of Treatment and Services Offered

For individuals, consultation and support may include:

• diagnostic assessments in support of affirming a diagnosis of Gender Dysphoria in support of transition related surgeries. 
• individual support and treatment *Please note that our clinic does not offer long-term therapy
• surgical and hormone eligibility assessments *Please note that our clinic does not prescribe hormones
• group-based services

If you are interested in accessing LGBTQ2S affirmative psychotherapy, please check the service provider listing at Rainbow Health Ontario to find out options for psychotherapy in your region. 

For community professionals, consultations may include:

• completing a mental health assessment
• consultation with regard to completing a surgery referral assessment
• being a second assessor for surgery referrals

Program Overview

The Gender Identity Clinic at CAMH offers specialty services to both individuals and their primary care practitioners in Ontario with regard to issues related to gender identity and expression, including gender expansive, trans and non-binary identities. The program offers a comprehensive response to the variety of clinical issues experienced by clients. The clinical team is interdisciplinary and includes social work, psychiatry and psychology staff with specialized expertise in trauma-informed mental health and addiction care.

Our Services

For Community Professionals

Primary care providers can diagnose for gender dysphoria, prescribe transition-related hormones, and refer for transition-related surgeries. If you are new to the field of trans care, Rainbow Health Ontario provides education, clinical support, and mentorship to primary care providers across Ontario. All courses provided by Rainbow Health Ontario are Mainpro+ certified. Please visit learn.rainbowhealthontario.ca for more information on courses offered at this time.

Rainbow Health Ontario also hosts a free bi-monthly Trans Health Mentorship Call to support clinicians in their practices. To register for this call, please visit learn.rainbowhealthontario.ca

IMPORTANT: Rainbow Health Ontario does not accept referrals or provide direct services of any kind.

Hormone Therapy

We would encourage referring physicians and/or nurse practitioners to consider prescribing hormone therapy (HT) for their trans clients.

If you are unsure about prescribing HRT:

1. We recommend that you review the published Guidelines and Protocols for Comprehensive Primary Health Care for Trans Clients available through Sherbourne Health Centre, and review the WPATH Standards of Care
2. If, after reading this document, you feel confident in your knowledge of HT, then you can prescribe in advance of the client’s initial assessment. If HT is your client’s sole gender goal, then there is no need to access the clinic once hormones have been prescribed. 
3. If you are aware of complicating medical concerns and these medical concerns have prevented the initiation of hormone therapy, please consider making a referral to endocrinology on the client’s behalf.
4. If you are interested in training to develop further competency in health care for trans clients, please contact Rainbow Health Ontario, which will take you to various training opportunities offered by that organization throughout the province of Ontario.

*If hormone replacement therapy is the primary reason for referral, we would ask that you consider these above-mentioned recommendations, as it will help to reduce unnecessary waiting for your client in terms of further medical transition.*

Training

The clinic plays a significant role in training health professionals in culturally competent delivery of mental health assessment and treatment services to trans and gender expansive communities. We train and provide practicum and residency opportunities for social work students, psychologists and people from other health disciplines, including more than 10 PhD-level clinical psychologists over the past five years.

Consultation

Additionally, we provide support and consultations to primary care practitioners and other health care providers to help their clients reach their goals related to gender identity and expression. This may include consultations in regard to completing a mental health assessment, consultation in regard to completing a surgery readiness assessment, or being a second assessor for surgery readiness. The clinic will work collaboratively with you and your organization/practice to help you meet your client’s goals. Clinicians and organizations wanting consultation by the clinic for clients currently on our waitlist can contact our clinic at 416 535-8501 ext. 30985.

We have also launched an ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) for trans and gender diverse health care. Please consider joining us for free CME-accredited training and consultation.

For Individuals

The clinic offers consultations and support to individuals over 17 years of age who wish to explore issues related to their gender identity, which may include any degree of transgender expression. Clients are seen for an assessment with one of our team members to determine the client’s transition goals, as well as to provide any diagnostic impressions regarding mental health and substance use. Recommendations about how to assist clients in meeting their transition goals are then made. This may include individual support and treatment, group-based support and treatment, as well as recommendations for surgery funding and referrals for clients seeking transition-related surgeries. The clinic follows the World Professional Association for Transgender Health Standards of Care (WPATH),V7 for transition-related surgery (TRS).

Rainbow Health Ontario has an Ontario Service Provider Directory where you can search for a provider by region. Please go here to find a provider in your area.

If you cannot find anyone in your area after searching the provider directory, you can contact info@rainbowhealthontario.ca. Please note that Rainbow Health Ontario cannot guarantee there will be a provider in your area to prescribe hormones or refer for surgeries.

Additionally, Rainbow Health Ontario’s Trans Health Knowledge Base can provide you with answers to general questions related to navigating the Ontario health care system. Go here for more information. 

For clients living outside the GTA

Given the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, our clinic provides virtual appointments via the Webex platform.

Given our referrals come from across the province, our clinic is equipped to see clients via telemedicine when possible. Typically, the first assessment in our clinic is in person in Toronto, and subsequent appointments for clients who live outside of the GTA may be made using telemedicine.

If you live in the north, you may be eligible for a Northern Travel Grant to cover basic travel costs to and from your appointments with CAMH. If you are an ODSP recipient, you may similarly be eligible to have basic travel costs reimbursed. Please ask your local provider for further details.

Transition-Related Surgery (TRS) - Frequently Asked Questions

These FAQ's are designed to provide a brief overview of the assessment and referral process in Ontario for persons considering gender-affirming surgeries funded by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC). For more information on types of surgery, see the TRS Surgical Summary Sheets update.

For specific questions or more detailed information pertaining to gender-affirming surgeries, please don't hesitate to contact our office at 416 535-8501 ext. 30985.

Significant improvement in wait times for assessment

From 2008–2016 the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care (MOHLTC) regulation stipulated that CAMH was the sole assessment site for OHIP-funded transition-related surgery (TRS) (from 1998-2008 TRS was not funded by OHIP). In March 2016, the MOHLTC introduced a regulation change that improves and expands access to assessment for TRS for Ontarians, empowering primary care providers to provide surgery referrals and assessments. CAMH and its community partners championed this expansion of access to assessments for gender-affirming surgery. In anticipation of this important system change, CAMH partnered with Sherbourne Health Centre (including Rainbow Health Ontario) and Women’s College Hospital on a proposal to expand access to surgery-related care. Thanks to funding from the MOHLTC, the Trans Health Expansion (THEx) partnership is working on several key priorities including improving access to assessment, building capacity of primary care providers, and enhancing access to surgery and post-surgical recovery and support.

The funding helped our clinic to hire new staff members and in doing so, we were able to significantly decrease wait times for assessment. Prior to March 2016 the wait for assessment was over 30 months, and to date it is less than one-third of that. We continue to work to see more clients and reduce the current wait times.