LGBTQ+ Therapy

Maybe you’re a high-functioning individual, but deep down you feel low, unmotivated, and afraid of what the future holds. Perhaps you have family members who don’t accept you for who you are or understand the challenges unique to your identity. You might be struggling to come out or come to terms with your sexual identity. Additionally, you may have absorbed hostile messages from society and found yourself dealing with internalized homophobia and transphobia. For the first time, maybe you’re considering seeing a therapist who works with LGBTQ+ folx.

Your relationships may not be where you want them to be.

Perhaps you have trouble feeling safe in your relationships because of ways that you were hurt in the past. Or maybe you’re struggling to navigate LGBTQ+ relationships because you’ve never been taught how to do so and you didn’t grow up with such relationships modeled for you. If you’re polyamorous or into kink, you might have a tough time finding people who understand your relationships and relate to your wants and needs. Perhaps you’ve had therapists in the past who simply didn’t get it or weren’t helpful when it came to the challenges of being LGBTQ+.

If this is the case, we encourage you to pursue counseling with us. Here at the Therapy for Women Center, we have skilled, affirming LGBTQ+ counselors who are experienced in the unique hardships that transgender and other LGBTQ+ people face. We also work with parents of LGBTQ+ children and help them learn how to best support their kids.

LGBTQ+ folx are growing up in an increasingly hostile world.

Although it is becoming more accepted to be LGBTQIA and the world has made progress, in recent years there have been increasing attacks on the community. Between anti-LGBTQIA legislation and violence and bigotry against trans folx, many people in the community are struggling. Furthermore, for some the hurt hits closer to home. Many LGBTQ+ people have trauma from experiences with friends or family who didn’t accept them.

Because of all the familial and societal challenges they face, LGBTQ+ youth and adults are more likely to suffer from depression and suicidal thoughts than heterosexual and cisgender individuals.* Many of them also struggle with low self-esteem due to negative societal messages that they’ve internalized. As a result, there’s an ever-increasing need for professionals who specialize in the care and support of LGBTQ+ people.

Many counselors aren’t trained to understand LGBTQ+ relationships.

Within the world of psychology, most therapists are taught to approach relationship issues through the lens of conventional heteronormative partnerships. As a result, many of them enter the field without any training in relationships that lie outside those bounds. This poses a problem for those who are gender-nonconforming or polyamorous, since they often struggle to find specialists who know how to help them.

Now more than ever, there’s a need for therapists who not only support and affirm LGBTQ+ folx but also understand the nuances of their relationship challenges. That’s why Therapy for Women has counselors on staff who have training in LGBTQ+ issues and are part of the LGBTQ+ community itself.