LGBTQ Affirming Therapy

LGBTQ Affirming Therapy

Core issues of identity, belonging, attraction, sex, love, and family are important and often affect every aspect of our life. But they shouldn’t affect our ability to get high quality mental health care. We are committed to providing culturally-affirming, informed, ethical, and compassionate psychotherapy to people of all genders and sexual orientations.

If you or someone you care about is looking for a place to process experiences related to…  

• being a gender or sexual minority
• questioning your sexuality or gender identity
• having a loved one who is LGBTQ+
• difficulty navigating issues of sexuality, gender, faith, and religion

… then therapy may offer the supportive, confidential space you’re looking for.

Why therapy?

Psychotherapy is a unique space to receive professional support and guidance to understand yourself better, navigate difficult decisions and challenges with more confidence, move through suffering and grief, wrestle with difficult feelings or tensions, build strengths, improve relationships, and grow as a person. Maybe you are trying to work through who you are, what you want next, and work on personal growth. Maybe you are confronting challenges that have caused you significant pain, anger, loss, and difficulty. Or maybe you are struggling with discouragement and unanswered questions, and are losing hope. Whatever you are facing, your life matters. And you don’t have to go through it alone.  

We know how hard it can be to reach out and to find a therapist that’s a good fit. The information, resources, and contact options below are intended to help you get to know us, and support you in connecting with services that are right for you. Get connected now by contacting one of our therapists with questions or to schedule a first appointment.

Our Approach

We are passionate about providing high quality mental health services (individual therapy, group therapy, and assessment) to support the health and flourishing of LGBTQ people. We have experience and training in providing affirming psychotherapy and assessment services to LGBTQ individuals and their family members, and we are engaged in continuing education to stay up-to-date on standards of care for working with gender and sexual minority individuals so that we can provide services consistent with best practices.

With all clients, we use evidence based approaches from an integrative perspective that is rooted in a client-centered, feminist/multicultural foundation that is culturally affirming and trauma-informed.

See more details below.

LGBTQ Affirming Therapy

If you are a member of the LGBTQ+ community and seeking counseling services, it would be our privilege to support you in whatever concerns bring you to therapy.

Maybe you are seeking counseling support for issues specifically related to sexual orientation and gender identity (e.g., discrimination, coming out, etc.). Or maybe something else brings you to therapy, but it’s important to you to know what the climate is like for LGBTQ+ folks in our therapy group.

Whatever your therapy goals are, we are dedicated to being affirming, collaborative, informed, and teachable therapists and committed to providing supportive, up-to-date services that honor who you are as a whole person, recognize the uniqueness of your experience, acknowledge the impact of sociohistorical and political context, and privilege the goals and issues that are most important to you.

You can read more about our therapists and their individual styles below, or reach out today to ask questions or schedule a first appointment.

Questioning Your Sexuality or Gender Identity

If you are questioning what you thought you knew about sexual orientation or gender, it’s not uncommon to feel a mix of emotions and thoughts. For some, examining or reexamining gender or sexual orientation involves risk, fear, judgements, unknowns, difficulty memories, or uncomfortable emotions. Maybe you are concerned about what this means for a relationship, for your community, your beliefs, or future plans. Questioning like this can be a process that builds confidence, integrity, connectedness, and hope. But it may also be stressful, destabilizing, vulnerable, and isolating. You don’t have to go through this alone.

We are committed to providing non-judgmental, confidential space for you to talk openly about the things you are going through and the dilemmas you’re facing. We’ll work together to create a low-pressure space where you can be curious about what’s coming up for you, without an agenda or pre-determined goal. We’ll help you sort-through what’s going on, understand yourself better, work through difficult feelings, clarify what’s at stake, and support you in finding a way forward that is best for you.

Get connected now by contacting us with questions or to schedule a first appointment.

Having a Loved One Who is a Gender or Sexual Minority

Maybe someone you care about recently came out to you. Or maybe you’ve been on this journey with a friend or family member for a long time. Whatever your story is, we know it can be complicated to navigate your own reactions, questions, expectations, needs, feelings, and fears. And this can impact your ability to respond in supportive, healthy ways to the reactions and needs of your loved one or others in your community.

Therapy can provide a confidential, supportive, pressure-relieving space for you to talk openly about what you are going through and the challenges you’re facing. We’ll work together to create a low-pressure space where you can be curious about what’s coming up for you, without an agenda or pre-determined goal. We’ll help you sort-through what’s going on, understand yourself better, work through difficult feelings, clarify what’s at stake, and support you in finding a way forward.

Get connected now by contacting us with questions or to schedule a first appointment.

Difficulty Navigating Issues of Sexuality, Gender, Religion, and Faith

If you are looking for a safe, confidential space to process issues related to LGBTQIA+ experience in the context of your own religious faith, spirituality, or religious family history, it would be an honor to walk alongside you in that journey.

We know how core and important our spiritual experiences and religious commitments can be to all areas of our life. Many of our psychologists have training in the integration of spirituality and faith in psychotherapy. So, if spirituality, religion, or theology is something that you want to be able to talk about in therapy, we welcome you to share that with us so you can freely process and be honest about all parts of who you are and the truths you value.

A note about orientation change therapies: As licensed professionals we are committed to providing safe, effective psychology services that are consistent with the best standards of care and the highest ethical standards. Based on the best available evidence, we believe, along with governing medical and scientific opinion, that therapies aimed at changing sexual orientation (e.g., conversion therapy, reparative therapy) are unscientific, harmful, and dangerous. That said, we also know that there are many reasons—powerful truths, dearly-held beliefs, urgent concerns, intense pressures, and more—that might interest someone in that kind of therapy. If this is something you’ve heard about or were looking for, we would love to talk with you about your situation and provide information about other approaches to therapy that can address your core concerns while still being safe, ethical, and effective.