“YOU HAVE TO GO THE WAY YOUR BLOOD BEATS. IF YOU DON’T LIVE THE ONLY LIFE YOU HAVE, YOU WON’T LIVE SOME OTHER LIFE — YOU WON’T LIVE ANY LIFE AT ALL."

— James Baldwin

lgbtqia+ Therapy

Has it cost you greatly just to be yourself? Maybe you have experienced lack of acceptance from your family or religious community because of who you love or how you identify. You may feel internalized shame, depression, or anxiety about who you are due to growing up in a religious or family environment that rejected who you are. Perhaps you have even been hiding to protect yourself from this rejection altogether. Even if you have not experienced any of the above, you want a therapist who understands what it’s like to be queer.

LGBTQIA+ people are at a greater risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of the fragmentation and vulnerability that often comes with an identity that subverts the “norm” expected of us.

To whatever extent your LGBTQIAP+ identity intersects with the mental health concerns bringing you to therapy, affirmation is an essential condition to building safety in the therapeutic relationship. Affirming and trauma-informed LGBTQIA+ therapy can help with reducing shame and resolving past traumas.

As a lesbian therapist, I show up in the therapeutic relationship with my whole self and my personal experience of the challenges AND joys of embodying a queer identity with authenticity.

Book a free consultation today to get started!

queer-affirming therapy in dallas

LGBTQIA+ Therapy Concerns or Identities:

  • Gay/lesbian

  • Bisexuality/pansexuality

  • Asexuality spectrum

  • Non-Monogamous and/or polyamorous

  • Non-binary

  • Transgender and transitioning

  • HIV/AIDS counseling

  • Spirituality and/or deconstruction

  • Religious/spiritual trauma

  • Survivors of conversion therapy and/or sexual orientation change efforts

If you are not “out” yet—your identity is valid. Coming “out” can be a brave whirlwind of liberation, fear, excitement, hope, anxiety, and freedom. You deserve a therapist who has been there to walk alongside you as you come home to your authentic self.

Maybe you have been in your authentic identity for years but want to ensure you are in a safe space to process the other issues bringing you to therapy. You deserve a counselor who celebrates who you are and understands the impact of internalized homophobia and heteronormativity.

Perhaps you are unsure of where you fall on the LGBTQIA2SP+ spectrum and need the non-judgmental space to explore your questions. Affirmation, curiosity, and an open approach can provide the support you deserve.

Maybe you may feel fear that you won’t be believed or understood no matter where you are in the process of transitioning in your identity as a transgender or non-binary person. You want to explore and shed the binaries and constraints of cisgender normativity and be you.

To whatever extent sexuality or gender identity intersect with your other lived experiences, affirming therapy can offer the background for thriving in your relationship to yourself and others.

resources

Some thoughts on grief I have been processing (and feeling alongside) with clients over the past week. Grief is a natural response to more than just actual death. You may grieve the loss of anything or anyone you had an investment of yourself into
The most common emotions I have processed with clients (and felt myself) this election week are FEAR, SHOCK, and GRIEF. You are not alone and you are allowed to feel what you feel. “Sometimes we are blessed with being able to choose the time,
Shout out to therapists helping clients process election anxiety all week! Scrolling a little more or reading another prediction will not make your anxiety lessen, so consider other ways of coping. Where activism is possible—voting, donatin

Find me on Instagram! @laurenpennertherapy