LGBTQ Friendly Counselling
Being LGBTQ Has Its Challenges
Are you a gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender person trying to find someone who understands your unique struggles and needs ? Have you struggled to communicate and develop the loving relationship you so strongly desire? Do loneliness, anger, and fear disrupt your closeness with others? I can help. I offer practical and personal guidance in finding the solutions you need to live free and love proud. Being a LGBTQ person and/or couple is often challenging- but it can ultimately be an exciting and rewarding life with the support and guidance you need. Make your appointment today!
Learning to be yourself and dealing with other people’s perception of you can be hard for anyone. This process can be especially stressful or tough for people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ). In fact, they can face unique issues when it comes to mental health. The discrimination LGBT people may face and the pressure they feel from their family or community, can put them at greater risk for emotional health struggles like depression, anxiety, substance abuse and even suicide.
You are not alone
If you or someone you know is struggling with issues related to sexuality or pressures of not being accepted by family, friends or community, it’s important to get some support. By developing strong coping skills, creating a positive social network, and seeking help if needed, LGBT people can protect their emotional health.
Counseling for LGBTQ Individuals and Couples
Struggling with your identity can be like trying to get out of a Chinese finger trap: The more we struggle to get out of it, the harder it grips our finger. When we try to get away from emotional hurt, the pain may tighten up on us.
Sometimes the struggle to change what we are feeling can make things worse, not better. Our life may tighten up so that we focus on what’s painful. We tell stories about it, and worry about it, and justify it, and explain it, and all we get for our troubles is more, not less, pain. But when we lean into our discomfort, as when we gently press our index fingers into the finger trap, we create some space. This is how therapy works.
I specialize in a type of mindfulness based therapy called Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. This new evidence-based treatment for anxiety involves loosening up around our unwanted experience. By making space around our fears and discomfort, we can move in a direction that we really find exciting and interesting. Counselling can offer a new perspective on sexual identity, goals, values and life in general.
What if therapy makes things worse? Deciding not to get help for a problem right now very likely means the problem will become larger in a few months or years. Every time we avoid a valuable activity or goal, anxiety takes another bite. But anxiety therapy puts you in a position where you can have some control over how you respond to life’s inevitable ups and downs.
Free Initial Consultation
Maybe you know you are ready for an effective anxiety treatment? In that case, the next step would be to sit down with me for an initial consolation.
