Gender Affirming Care

If you or a covered dependent seek guidance on gender-affirming services, please get in touch with SHCA Member Care Services at 855-345-7422. SHCA Member Care Service Specialists are highly trained staff knowledgeable in our benefit plan and will explain our medical plan's covered services and help you navigate accessing care.

Mental health providers that support LGBTQ+ people can be found in Aetna's directory of providers.

• Go to the directory
• Enter the zip code of where you'd like to begin the search for a provider, then click Search
• When you see the list of purple tabs, click on Mental Health
• Click Mental Health Professionals
• Scroll down to Gender Identity and click
• From here, you will see a list of providers
• You must call the provider of choice to make an appointment.
  • It is important to remember that mental health professionals often do not have receptionists who can take your call. Most handle all administrative tasks themselves and will often be in session when you call. Please leave your contact info so they can reach out to you when they are available.
  • You may get discouraged by the response time, so choose a few providers you might want to work with and contact each of them.

Other Mental Health Resources 

• Many from the LGBTQ+ community experience rejection and discrimination. This increased pressure increases the rate of mental health issues for them. The website Very Well Mind compiled a list of resources to address this crisis.

Very Well Mind resources for the LGBTQ+ community

• Stanford's Weiland Health Initiative provides training, advocacy, and consultation resources. Currently, counseling services are not available to postdocs through this initiative. Visit Weiland Health Initiative's website for additional information and resources.