Holy moly. I'd say you need to look around. Last I looked, $275 is about twice the going rate for a therapist in the LA area. Additionally, you may actually do better with a therapist familiar with LGBT issues, but not specifically specializing in gender identity, as this person will be equipped to help your child identify where he is, and whether what he's experiencing is genuinely a desire to be a girl, or more an expression/desire for things that aren't traditionally 'masculine.' PsychologyToday.com has an excellent database of therapists with the ability to search by area of specialty, so that might be a good place to start. And then, if it is determined that your child is trans, switching to a therapist with a specialty in gender issues would make sense. That said, there's no reason to be in a rush, and I wouldn't send your kid to therapy until he's come out to you. But it's awesome that there's the open connection to talk to him. Not only is that great for being able to work through whatever's going on with this, but that sort of open communication has been shown to be have a strong negative correlation with drug use, delinquent behaviors, and other social adjustment issues, so 'you done good.'
With good reason depending on where you live. Good move - pun intended. I would have wanted my parents to a) connect (sit down and TALK) with me and b) give me information. Knowledge generally empowers a person. The most ridiculous post is no post at all. You need to consider doing as I suggest above. And you may want to consider moving him to a more gay friendly enviroment.
Brainwashed...thank you for your replies. I don't want to impose or force anything upon him since I want him to do things at his own time/pace, but I also agree with you that giving information can be a powerful tool. How can someone fully KNOW their identity if they are not exposed to information? Taking into account his age, I was thinking of maybe buying a kid's book or activity book about gender and reading it with him and my younger son. Do you feel that I should come right out and have a discussion with him? I always wonder how parents make comments like "my 6 year old son is transgender" when my son was still watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse at 6 years old lol. I just don't know how to walk the fine line between imposing and educating/informing.
If you're thinking your son may be transgender there's a program at Children's Hospital LA (near the Scientology building) that is top notch. My friend's daughter is there and has been since age 5 +/- she thinks the world of it. I also know that CHLA is well funded and that they may have sliding scale available. We spend $175/hr for a therapist that specializes in Cognitive Behavioral therapy and $500/hr for a psychiatrist that we probably don't need but we were so alarmed about depression that we check in with the MD/PhD every couple of months. Again, it's total overkill in my house because of some other things but for an MD or Phd in LA that sounds about right, for an MFCC that sounds high (also we have kick ass insurance I'm not spending my own $$$ eeek!)