Finding a Great LGBTQIA+ Therapist
For most LGBTQIA+ patients, they’ve never had a majority of their support systems understand their needs. From coming out, to college, workplace discrimination, and establishing healthy relationships, it’s more difficult when your therapist isn’t trained, doesn’t have experience with their own family, or isn’t part of the community themselves.
Fortunately, there are more and more of us who have family and friends in the community now able to gain training as a Rainbow Advocate to provide LGBTQIA+ folx with options.
Whether you, a friend or family member is looking for an understanding therapist, it’s important to become familiar with some basic identities. Therefore, let’s begin with unpacking what LGBTQIA+ means:
Lesbians are women who prefer women and today are facing ever-increasing pressure from all sides and can benefit from womyn-only spaces to discuss their feelings and needs.
Gay men are men who prefer men and have many more cultural support systems than lesbian women for example while still needing safe places of their own to process the ongoing discrimination, expectations, and challenges today facing gay men.
Bisexual individuals are interested in both main genders and often slip through the cracks as neither gay or lesbian, face disbelief, and require infinite patience, even amongst their own community.
Trans people often feel they’ve been born “in the wrong body” and wish to transition to another gender. They have historically been neglected, erased, and otherwise pink-washed despite being at the forefront of Gay Liberation and now being represented more and more in the media.
Queers are people who took back a mid-20th century slur to make it fabulous. From being called nasty names on the street to elevating the word to Queer Theory in academia, Queer identity has grown over the decades. From being a threat against brave gay, lesbian, trans and bi pioneers, Queerness now includes those who either don’t fit into any one category or those who eschew categories altogether no matter their gender, orientation, or presentation.
Intersex members of the community usually present with more than one set of sexual organs or identities at birth through puberty and are just now finding public support in ways that are still requiring sensitivity, understanding, and research for their mental and physical health.
Asexual or “Ace” people are also presenting more publicly and come from any part of the rainbow - even having intersectional identities as, for example, an asexual intersex trans femme lesbian, or any other combination of qualities.
Plus, of course, means more definitions along the spectrum of gender and sexuality, which is why we now use the + “Plus” sign to include them. You may find yourself in a poly relationship with a two-spirit gay man and an a-gendered bi cis-woman and need a therapist who can not only help you navigate your life, but also you don’t have to teach them while you seek help.
Fortunately, there are engaged therapists out there who not only are interested but have training regarding the latest LGBTQIA+ developments. To learn more about the program I recently completed please look at certifiedrainbowadvocate.com. Please feel free to reach out as I am happy to take the time to learn about your needs and discover if it’s a match to work together.
As always, take good care…
Dale