Welcome! Whether you are already on your Gender Journey, just starting out or taking some tentative steps towards that direction, welcome. I hope that this site will not only offer you some assistance, but that in time, we may begin to work together. My name is Kimball Jane Sargent, and I am a Gender Guide.

You’ve probably already noticed that I didn’t refer to myself as a therapist specializing in the area of transgendered issues. I could have, but my services extend far beyond that traditional role. I’d like to begin by telling you about my background. I am a Psychiatric Clinical Nurse Specialist practicing in Raleigh, North Carolina. My undergraduate nursing degree was completed at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, and I received my Masters Degree in Psychiatric/Mental Health Nursing at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. I am a nationally certified therapist by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, and opened my private practice, Diverse Solutions, in 1995. My career assisting others in resolving life transitions has spanned twenty years, and I have been working with transwomen and transmen for the past six years.

During this time, I’ve come to realize several important facts:

• First of all, transpeople are in fact most often healthier than most people who come for therapy. While many transpeople do experience anxiety and depression related to their isolation, being transgendered is not a psychiatric illness. Transgendered people often live very painful lives from earliest years. They are always passing as the other gender. From early in childhood, transpeople must learn a mountain of coping skills to deal with everyday life, and they bring those skills to therapy. Thus, they are great candidates for therapy because of their experiences dealing with great adversities.                      
• Secondly, being “just a therapist,” discussing my client’s needs and feelings was only one aspect—and at times a small one—of their needs. Again, most transgendered people are mentally healthy. And if they do experience the aforementioned anxiety or depression…or guilt, what then, once the patient and therapist have dealt with that? The transperson will still have the need to be the person that they truly are. That almost always leaves many realities and situations that must be dealt with that remain outside of a therapist’s office door. Situations such as going out in the mode or dress of their true gender, coming out to family, friends and even co-workers, unlearning what is often years of socialization as the “wrong” gender, and learning how to live as their “correct” gender, legal situations such as name changes, and obtaining new “correct” legal documents, and even the daunting question of when it’s okay to use the RIGHT bathroom! These are questions, situations, and realities that I have guided many wonderful transgendered men and women through as they’ve traveled their Gender Journey. And over the course of many such Gender Journeys, both my patients and I have come to realize that I am a more than a therapist; I am a Gender Guide.   

At Diverse Solutions, this truth has become our philosophy:  that in order to truly help the transgendered community IN THE WAYS IN WHICH THEY TRULY NEED US, we need to be Gender Guides. In this, we differ greatly from other very qualified therapists. By following this link (About Kimball Jane Sargent), you will learn more about my (our) background, and my thoughts on transpeople.

While there are many consistencies among different transgendered people, each person is unique, with a unique set of needs, desires, hopes and expectations. As Gender Guide, we must first evaluate that unique individual, and then tailor a plan to guide them throughout their Gender Journey. There will be many tears along the way, as well as a surprising number of laughs and smiles. There will be conversations during which we will get to know about one another, and there will be dreams shared. While much of this can and will take place in our offices, some of it must occur in that scariest of places…The Real World. And that’s fine…because if you are going to be content with the miracle that is you, then you must not be locked away.

Are you afraid or anxious about going out in public as your chosen gender for the first time? We’re not. It’s common for us to have a “session” at a local restaurant. That means you and your Gender Guide. And we’ll do this when both you and your Guide decide that you’re ready. You don’t have to do this alone.

When, and if, the time comes that you decide to legally assume the role of the person who you have always been, there will be a labyrinth of minutiae that must be dealt with. Instead of all of this being a cause for anxiety, we believe that it should be a cause for celebration. Announcing to the world, “My name is _______,” should be a time of joy. Nothing should ever keep that from being the case…but there are a lot of hoops that must be jumped through. It’s okay! We know our way around, and we’ll be at your side…GUIDING YOU.

How do you tell your parents, friends, siblings, co-workers, etc. that you are transgendered, and/or that you will be living in your chosen role some time in the future? That can be a daunting task for anyone. At Diverse Solutions, we’ll help you construct what you should and should not say or write to the people you intend to tell. We’ve seen both what works and what doesn’t. And furthermore, we are also conscious of a very important fact:  You’ve done nothing wrong by being transgendered. Although some of the people you may tell will think that you have chosen to be transgendered, such a state was never a choice. And not only will we be there for you, but if you wish, we’ll be willing to talk to friends, family and co-workers, to try to deal with their fears and concerns.

I must tell you that we are not gatekeepers. We don’t treat clients whose only investment in therapy is to get a letter and do not desire any self-exploration or personal growth. We enjoy working with persons who are in transition, want to live happier and more complete lives, and honestly desire to make both the physical and mental changes needed to live a joyful life.

At Diverse Solutions, we will be there for you, to help you make your way and thrive on your Gender Journey. The fact is that life is not a therapist’s office; life is the Real World. And we’d like to become your Gender Guide, and help you to find your comfortable place in that Real World.