specialty care
LGBTQIA2S+
Being LGBTQIA2S+ can come with experiences that impact mental health, relationships, safety, your sense of belonging, and your sense of self. Your identity isn’t something that needs to be proven, “fixed”, or justified. Therapy can be a place to explore your experiences, reconnect with your joy, and be yourself without shame.
The messages we get from our environment can shape how we see ourselves. If you’ve been told or made to feel that parts of you are something to hide, it can impact your sense of worth and belonging. Below is a summary of the variety of ways this distress may show up:
common causes
Let’s be very clear: having an LGBTQIA2S+ identity is not a disorder. Instead, therapy focuses on the distress of facing rejection, misunderstanding, exhaustion from having to explain yourself, discrimination, feeling your body doesn’t match your experienced or expressed gender, and trauma that can happen when the world doesn’t make space for who you are. Many people process the following experiences in their gender and sexuality journeys:
Coming out or being outed, especially if it doesn’t go as expected
Religious or cultural clashes around identity
Neglect (ex. Medical, physical, or emotional neglect)
Bullying, harassment, discrimination, or exclusion
Relationship trauma or rejection
Having your identify questioned, dismissed, or invalidated
Pressure to hide or change who you are
Growing up without or feeling isolated without LGBTQIA2S+ supports
Gender or sexuality related trauma
Workplace and housing discrimination
Living with multiple oppressed identities (ex. Living with an LGBTQIA2S+ identity along with a racial, religious, disability, citizenship, or class related identity)
Coming out or being outed, especially if it doesn’t go as expected
Family rejection or lack of acceptance from others
Religious or cultural clashes around identity
Bullying, harassment, discrimination, or exclusion
Relationship trauma or rejection
Having your identify questioned, dismissed, or invalidated
Pressure to hide or change who you are
Growing up without or feeling isolated without LGBTQIA2S+ supports
Gender or sexuality related trauma
Workplace and housing discrimination
Living with multiple oppressed identities (ex. Living with an LGBTQIA2S+ identity along with a racial, religious, disability, citizenship, or class related identity)
How therapy can help
This is a space to learn what feels genuine to you. My role is to help you better understand yourself, work through what you’ve experienced, and feel more confident living a life that truly feels like yours. We may:
Explore identity without the pressure to label yourself
Work through shame, internalized stigma, or self-doubt
Process rejection, discrimination, and identity-related trauma
Build confidence in expressing yourself
Improve boundaries with people who don’t show respect for your identity
Navigate coming out or disclosing your identity with family, friends, the workplace, etc
Work through family or relationship dynamics
Reconnect with your values, joy, creativity, and strengths
Build relationships where you feel genuinely accepted
You don’t have to make yourself smaller here. You deserve a space where you can show up as your full self. Wherever you may be in your journey, therapy can give you room to explore it all.
You don’t have to make yourself smaller here. You deserve a space where you can show up as your full self. Wherever you may be in your journey, therapy can give you room to explore it all.
FAQ
Do I need to know my gender identity or sexual orientation before starting therapy?
Can we talk about things besides LGBTQIA2S+ related challenges?
Can therapy help if I’m questioning my sexuality or gender?
LET’S CONNECT
Whatever the obstacles you face, let’s face them together.
Click the schedule button or call 970-823-0040 to get started today!
