Self Medication - Some thoughts...
Understanding Self-Medication of Hormone Therapy Among Transgender People What Does “Self-Medication” Mean? Self-medication in this context ...

Dr Gillian Russell has had an extensive and varied professional career. Having initially been a professional musician, she left the world of the arts to become a sales and marketing professional, eventually becoming the CEO of a large legal practice in the UK. She has worked as a Business Psychologist with a range of organisations, from large corporates to start-ups to help understand and build on the skills and potential of people. As an OD consultant she has helped with large scale cultural and process changes, mergers & acquisitions and customer profiling with a focus on Leadership and Management training and coaching.
She has also worked within the Public and Third sectors and has increasingly seen the challenges faced in complex health, medical and social settings and has helped effect change through new approaches to Leadership.
As a speaker, coach and external consultant she is passionate about harnessing ‘difference’ to stimulate innovation and change and now, as a Trans+ person is part of a community that faces continuous change and challenge.
Gillian interviews Chloe Kelly (not that one!) a trans woman who realised she was transgender at 45 after using FaceApp in October 2023, began hormones in January 2024, and went full-time in August 2024 after encouragement from her boss. Chloe describes early signs like cross-dressing, wishing to wa...
Gillian and Jenny discuss politics and what a likely Andy Burnham premiership could mean for trans people. They review Burnham’s history in Labour, note his “normal guy” public persona, and describe his LGBT+ record: marching against Section 28, voting for repeal, civil partnerships, same-sex marria...
This week, Gillian interviews Ash Sekhon, a historian and gender-fluid trans author living in the Netherlands after time in the US, Scotland, and Canada. They explain leaving adjunct university teaching in the US after Trump-era DEI cuts and now writing full time while supported by savings and inves...
Gillian and Jenny discuss what trans people can learn from World Cup footballers about surviving scrutiny, online abuse, and long-term pressure, using sport as a metaphor. They explore “microclimates” and how adapting to different social contexts can support safety and wellbeing while still valuing ...
Hosts Jenny and Gillian discuss the UK Equality and Human Rights Commission’s finalised guidance following a Supreme Court judgment defining sex in the Equality Act as biological sex at birth, and reactions to earlier draft guidance that suggested excluding trans people from toilets and other single...
This week, Gillian interviews Melissa D from Loving Me, who discusses her background as a late-transitioning trans woman from the West Midlands, her career shift from accounts clerk to social worker, and work in substance misuse and mental health before transitioning in her 40s. Melissa explains Lov...
Gillian interviews returning guest Abi, a PR consultant focused on trans inclusion, and Jacqui, a physio, meditation teacher, writer, and mother of a young trans woman, about their work with NION Women/Not In Our Name. They were part of the team that formed the collective to counter media and politi...
Gillian and Jenny begin Transvox season two by catching up on major trans-related UK stories from recent months. They discuss the Women’s Institute and Girl Guides planning to exclude trans girls, describing these moves as cruel fallout from a Supreme Court judgment being used to justify wider exclu...
In this episode of Transvox, we’re joined by Abigail Parkes from Beyond Reflections and Emma LeatherBarrow from the Wessex Cancer Alliance. They discuss innovations and challenges in cancer care for the trans community, including the importance of early diagnosis, and the barriers trans people face ...
In this episode of Transvox, Jenny and Gillian delve into the complexities of self-medication among trans+ individuals in the UK. They explore the reasons behind the rising trend of hormone self-administration due to long NHS waiting lists and the high costs of private healthcare. The conversation h...
Understanding Self-Medication of Hormone Therapy Among Transgender People What Does “Self-Medication” Mean? Self-medication in this context ...