LGBTQIA+ Therapy
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LGBTQIA+ AFFIRMING THERAPY (ADULTS 18+)
Identity-affirming, trauma-informed care to reduce stress, improve mood, and strengthen authentic living and relationships.
UNDERSTANDING LGBTQIA+ MENTAL HEALTH
Minority stress, discrimination, family/religious rejection, and identity erasure can heighten anxiety, depression, and isolation. Therapy centers safety, choice, and authenticity so you can build a life aligned with your values and communities.
PSYCHOEDUCATION
- Minority Stress Model: external stigma → internalized messages → vigilance/avoidance. Therapy targets each layer.
- Intersectionality: identity is multi-layered; treatment honors culture, faith, race/ethnicity, disability, and class contexts.
- Nervous System: chronic vigilance narrows the window of tolerance; regulation practices reopen flexibility and rest.
THERAPY OPTIONS AT ASTUTE
- Affirmative CBT/ACT
- Reshape internalized stigma; build values-led actions and boundaries.
- Trauma-Informed Care
- Address rejection trauma, microaggressions, and attachment injuries at your pace.
- Couples/Relationship Support
- Communication, repair, and navigating outness, family systems, or life transitions.
- Holistic Supports
- Yoga therapy, somatic movement, Reiki, and sound bath for down-regulation and rest.
COORDINATED SUPPORT
- Medication collaboration with inclusive prescribers when helpful
- Letters and documentation (e.g., name/pronoun changes) as appropriate
- Community resources and support groups
WHAT TO EXPECT
- Safety & consent: you set the pace; we offer options.
- Personalized plan: goals for mood, anxiety, identity stress, and relationships.
- Skills & repair: nervous-system tools, boundary scripts, and values-led routines.
- Integration: celebrate growth; plan maintenance and community supports.
WHY CHOOSE ASTUTE
- Inclusive, LGBTQIA+-affirming, culturally responsive
- Evidence-based + holistic mind–body services onsite
- Clear, doable home practices
- In-person and telehealth
SUGGESTED HOLISTIC SUPPORTS
- Somatic movement & breathwork for down-regulation
- Restorative yoga for sleep and stress
- Reiki or sound bath for deep relaxation
IN CRISIS?
If you are in crisis, please contact your nearest ER immediately.National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: 988 • Text: HOME to 741741
Although a person’s sexual or romantic orientation or gender identity may not be a source of distress, people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, asexual, or any other orientation or gender identity may find that the social stigma of living as a minority is a source of stress or anxiety.
When seeking therapy, whether for issues associated with one’s sexual, romantic, or gender identity or for concerns related to mental health, finding a qualified mental health professional who has experience and familiarity with the challenges members of the LGBTQIA+ community often face can be critical to successful therapy outcomes..
Though many therapists may be qualified to help, sometimes LGBTQ clients feel more comfortable with an LGBTQ therapist, or at least with a therapist who specializes in or has a great deal of experience with LGBTQ issues. Such therapists are not available in every community, but more and more therapists and counselors are providing distance services by phone or over the Internet, and this may help broaden a person’s search for the right therapist. People considering gender confirmation surgery are often required to seek therapy before undergoing surgery. A specialist in this area, if available, is recommended.
Early editions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) identified homosexuality as a mental disorder, until clinical research demonstrated sexual or romantic attraction to someone of the same gender is a normal, healthy, positive form of human sexuality. Despite the mental health community’s decades-long affirmation of all sexual orientations, sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE) are still provided by some therapists and pursued by some people who feel conflicted about their sexual orientation. Several organizations, including the American Psychological Association and the American Psychiatric Association, oppose sexual orientation change therapy, also known as conversion or reparative therapy, and many states either have banned the practice or are considering bills to ban the practice, particularly for minors. Furthermore, the ethics of the professions of social work, psychology, psychiatry, and marriage and family counseling mandate that therapists provide services to all people without discrimination.
https://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/issues/lgbt-issues