Come As You Are

If you are coming to counselling as someone with a minority sexuality or gender identity it is crucial that your therapist does not 'tolerate', but fully accepts and celebrates you. You need to be able to come into therapy as yourself- authentically, and without shame. As a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community my approach is non-pathologising and queer positive. I have several years experience working with people from lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, non-binary and queer backgrounds.


Sexuality


There can be many reasons that your sexuality leads you to seek therapy. Coming out may have caused tensions or breakdowns in significant relationships. Perhaps there are cultural or religious reasons that your sexuality is or was not understood or accepted. You may have experienced homophobia or biphobia. Sometimes we internalise this without realising we're doing so and experience discomfort in relation to our sexual orientation, and even self-hatred, as a result.

In 1992 homosexuality was still considered a mental illness by the World Health Organisation. Though this is no longer the case, the impact of such societal attitudes still affect the LGBTQ+ community.


Gender

You may have been prompted to seek counselling because of discomfort, confusion or curiosity around your gender identity. Perhaps the gender you were assigned at birth does not match the gender you identify with. It may be that you want to explore undergoing surgery. You could want to experiment with cross-dressing. Maybe you don't fit into the binary categories of 'male' or 'female'.

Exploring your gender identity in a safe therapeutic space is imperative. I am trans-positive and accepting of all genders and have worked with trans and gender non-conforming clients over many years. An understanding and empathetic counselling relationship can be a place to experiment and explore your relationship to your gender.


You may define yourself as LGBTQ+ but not feel this is something you need to discuss in therapy. That's fine too! It may just be nice to know that you won't need to explain yourself to your therapist.