LGBTQIA+ Affirmative Therapy
Do you identify as LGBTQIA+ or wonder if you might?
What this is…
There's a particular exhaustion that comes with moving through a world that wasn't built with you in mind — one that asks you, in ways large and small, to justify your existence or perform a version of yourself that's easier for others to receive. That exhaustion is real, and it accumulates. It shows up in your body, your relationships, your sense of what you're allowed to want. It doesn't always look like a crisis. Sometimes it just looks like being tired in a way you can't fully explain.
Therapy with an affirming, queer therapist means you don't have to translate yourself. You don't have to give background on what it means to be queer, manage your therapist's discomfort or carefully edit what you share to make it legible. The work can start where it actually needs to start.
Who this is for…
You might be in the right place if:
You're navigating your identity — coming out, coming out again, or somewhere in the middle of understanding who you are
You carry the cumulative weight of years of hiding, code-switching, or belonging nowhere quite fully
Your family of origin couldn't hold who you are, and you're still grieving that or still inside it
You grew up in a religious environment that taught you your identity was something to overcome, and some part of you is still working to untangle that
Your chosen family is everything to you, and the relationships within it are complicated in ways that matter deeply
You're in a queer relationship navigating dynamics that don't map onto heteronormative templates — and you want a therapist who understands that without needing it explained
You've done a lot of work on your identity and you're ready to go deeper — into the places where internalized shame still lives, even when you can't quite name it
You're not in crisis. You just want a space where you can be fully yourself and do serious psychological work at the same time
What we work on…
LGBTQIA+ people face a distinct set of stressors that are the predictable psychological consequences of minority stress, family rejection, religious trauma, and a lifetime of navigating systems that were not designed for you. We name those clearly, because naming them matters. At the same time, being queer is not only a site of wound. It's also a site of creativity, resilience, chosen kinship, and a relationship to identity that can be genuinely generative once it's no longer organized primarily around survival.
Using a psychodynamic approach, we look at how your particular history — with your family, your community, your body, your sense of self — has shaped the inner world you're living in now. We pay attention to what was lost or foreclosed, what had to be hidden and for how long, and what it costs to have carried that. We also look at what's possible: who you are when you're not performing, managing, or making yourself smaller. Internalized homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia are real, and they don't disappear simply because you've come out or built a queer life. That material lives deeper than pride, and it deserves real attention.
How to get started…
Working together starts with a complimentary consultation call that lasts about fifteen minutes. It helps me to hear briefly what’s bringing you into therapy at this time. I can then answer any questions you may have and share more about how I work. From there you might decide to schedule a session. The best way to tell if we are a fit is to have a session or few. My wish is for you to find the best therapist for your needs, whether that’s me or someone else and we can discover that together by beginning the process and seeing what unfolds.