why choose a queer therapist?

Most people want to find a non-judgemental therapist who will understand them and accept them for who they are. If you're LGBTQIA+, this can feel even more important -- especially at the moment, when we're seeing a backlash against the advances our community has made in recent years. For trans+ folk in particular, the current hostile climate can make finding a therapist who will affirm your identity, rather than problematise or pathologise it, a daunting task.

Sadly, some therapists' personal beliefs, lack of knowledge or inadequate training mean that they are unable to offer LGBTQIA+ people the safe and effective therapy we deserve. The main ethical codes for counselling and psychotherapy emphasise that therapists must value diversity and ensure inclusion for all clients. Yet queer therapists like myself still hear stories of LGBTQIA+ clients being told that asexuality isn't real, or that you can just be a gender non-conforming woman instead of non-binary, or that you're not really trans, just autistic/traumatised/confused.

A therapist does not have to be LGBTQIA+ themself in order to work effectively with LGBTQIA+ clients. However, many LGBTQIA+ clients find that working with a queer therapist offers a sense of safety. When you know from the outset that your therapist is LGBTQIA+ too, it can be easier to open up and be your full self in therapy. This is likely to make the process more effective (and more enjoyable!). Queer therapists are more likely to have personal experiences and interests that enable us to properly understand you and your life. We pick up on things that non-queer therapists may miss. And you're less likely to have to use expensive therapy time to educate your therapist about the basics of your existence.

Of course, identifying within the LGBTQIA+ umbrella doesn't automatically make a queer therapist an expert on everything LGBTQIA+ or accepting of everyone within our community. That's why I personally make sure I educate myself about identities and experiences that differ from my own, and engage in continuing professional development in the field of gender, sex and relationship diversity (GSRD). It's also why I make it clear that I'm specifically trans+ affirming (I'm non-binary/agender myself).

Finally, I approach every client as an individual. It's helpful to have a broad understanding of different identities and be aware of experiences common to those identities, but it's also important not to generalise. I want to understand your experiences and how you see yourself. And because I'm queer, I'm constantly questioning mainstream assumptions about how we should live our lives. This means I don't expect clients to adhere to ableist, capitalist, cisnormative, colonial, heteronormative, mononormative, neurotypical, racist, sexist or any other oppressive social standards. 

I want therapy to be a place where you're free to be you.

If you're LGBTQIA+ and you'd like to explore working with a queer therapist, please get in touch to arrange a free phone call or book an initial therapy session. Whether you want to work on aspects of your identity or something unrelated, I'd be delighted to hear from you! You can find other LGBTQIA+ affirmative therapists via Pink Therapy.