2002 Atwood Ave, Madison, WI, 53704 / TELETHERAPY / 920.215.1254

LGBTQ+ Affirming Therapy

Gender Affirming Therapy in Madison

Teletherapy throughout Wisconsin, Kentucky, and Oregon

Queer and Gender Affirming Therapy That Celebrates All Of You

Those of us in the LGBTQ+ community have struggled and fought for our humanity to be fully acknowledged. Our community has made strides in achieving equality and justice within society and systems and throughout the world. We are more out and proud than we have ever been. And yet the assault on our right to live and express who we are fully and authentically continues to occur. Despite the achievements and flourishing of the LGBTQ+ community, oppression based on gender and sexuality continues in forceful, violent, and harmful ways. Because of this, you deserve a LGBTQ+ affirming therapist who truly sees you and celebrates all of you. 

It can be difficult to find a queer therapist who understands your identity as lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, or queer. Furthermore, there are too many therapists out there who don’t understand non-binary, gender non-conforming, and gender expansive identities. You need a therapist that has been on their own gender journey and deeply understands this kind of exploration. You deserve a therapeutic space where you don’t have to justify or explain your sexuality or gender. You deserve a space where you can bring your whole being to your therapy journey. 

Therapy should be a place that doesn’t just affirm you, but celebrates you! LGBTQ+ folks deserve to be celebrated. Especially in the therapeutic space where you seek healing. Healing only occurs in a context of love and unconditional acceptance. LGBTQ+ affirming therapy is about bringing unconditional love and care to you and your life.

How Can LGBTQ+ Affirming And Gender Affirming Therapy Help You?

My approach to therapy is psychodynamic, a form of talk therapy that addresses the root causes of mental health struggles and suffering. We will honor the complexity and be deeply curious about your human experience. The full range of your thoughts and feelings are welcomed with openness and interest. Our goal is to holistically address the root causes of your suffering so that you experience deep and lasting transformation that continues even after the therapy is over. Psychodynamic therapy acknowledges the role of the unconscious in our lives and provides a way for you to understand your own mind. Insight and self-awareness will be deepened in this work.

Your identity as LGBTQ+ will be fully accepted in our work. Your multiple, intersecting identities of race, class, ability, body size, ethnicity, relationship orientation, and more will be given space and affirmation. Our work together may focus on your feelings and helping you put words to feelings that may be troubling, threatening, or unacknowledged. We will be curious about ways that parts of yourself may feel threatening or frightening with the goal to reclaim those parts that are being avoided. We will identify recurring themes and ways that certain patterns keep repeating in your life. We will explore past experiences as they bring greater understanding to the present. Your fantasy life– dreams, daydreams, wishes, passions– is also important for us to understand.

LGBTQ+ Folks Endure A Wide Range of Stressful Experiences

Over the course of their lives, individuals who identify as LGBTQ+ have been associated with higher instances of victimization compared to those who identify as heterosexual. This includes experiences of child abuse and sexual and physical assault. LGBTQ+ individuals are nearly 4 times more likely to experience violent assault (this includes both sexual and non-sexual forms of assault) than cisgender people. This has resulted in LGBTQ+ people being at higher risk of developing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. 

Interpersonal discrimination, such as being verbally harassed or physically assaulted, structural discrimination at local, state and federal levels and across institutions such as education, employment, religion, housing and health care are daily realities. These stressors take on a toll on our mental health. We need mental health clinicians who are skilled in treating chronic stress and trauma and who also understand the lived experience of being LGBTQ+.

The Mental Health Field Has Caused Harm to the Queer Community

Our sexual identity and orientation has been pathologized by the mental health field, as evidenced by psychiatric diagnoses such as "high risk homosexual behavior" in the ICD10 and homosexuality as a psychiatric diagnosis up until 1973. Therapists and other healthcare providers have been positioned as gatekeepers of life-saving gender affirming medical and surgical care for transgender and gender diverse people. This has resulted in TGNC folks feeling stigmatized and burdened when trying to get the care they need. 

Furthermore, the healthcare field as a whole has not been an accepting system as 15% to 33% of LGBTQ+ people report mistreatment in health care (1-3). In a survey of LGBTQ+ people, more than half of all respondents reported that they have faced cases of providers denying care, using harsh language, or blaming the patient’s sexual orientation or gender identity as the cause for an illness. Fear of discrimination may lead some people to conceal their sexual orientation or gender identity from providers or avoid seeking care altogether.

Issues And Concerns To Address In Queer And Gender Affirming Therapy

You may be seeking out a therapist to address a wide range of issues and concerns. Maybe you’ve been struggling with depression or experienced trauma in your past and you’re longing for healing and resolution. You’re wanting a queer therapist to help you work through issues related to self-worth, your relationships, your career, or life’s purpose. Maybe you’re seeking help to find clarity regarding spiritual or religious issues. The point is– you don’t have to seek out therapy solely to work on matters related to your sexuality or gender identity. LGBTQ+ affirming therapy with a queer therapist provides a foundation where your full humanity is recognized and honored. This then allows you to go forward with the personal growth and transformation work that you are seeking on a wide variety of matters. 

If you are seeking out queer and gender affirming therapy to address issues related to gender and sexuality, those may include: coming out, family of origin estrangement, gender exploration and transition, dating, poly and kink relationships, sex and intimacy, social justice activism, systemic trans-homophobia, body shame/acceptance, and issues surrounding pleasure and desire.

  • You may be seeking therapy out for depression or trauma and not needing to address any issues related to your sexuality or gender identity. This is perfectly okay! LGBTQ+ affirming therapy doesn’t mean that you only talk about this one aspect of your identity or life. Working with a therapist that fully affirms and celebrates your identity allows you to then focus on addressing and healing other mental health issues and concerns.

  • Yes, I am. I am out and proud. I identify as queer and non-binary. I’ve also worked in various roles within the LGBTQ+ rights movement. I co-founded a queer student group on my campus in college, volunteered with the LGBTQ crisis hotline in Louisville from 2002-2003, worked for the state-wide LGBTQ rights organization in Kentucky, and volunteered with the campaign in 2004 to defeat the anti-same sex marriage constitutional amendment on the Kentucky ballot. I love this community and fiercely defend it. I’m here for you and fully accept you.

  • Yes, I can do this for both ongoing therapy clients or as a one-time service. Please email, call, or complete the contact form to schedule an initial consultation so we can discuss what you need. I oppose the way that therapists and other mental health clinicians are placed in this gatekeeping role, making surgery more difficult to access for transgender, gender non-conforming and non-binary folks. However, this is the reality we are in now and I’m happy to provide support in the best way I can.

Maybe You Identify As LGBTQ+ And Are Considering Therapy, But Still Have A Few Questions…

Find Your Healing While Also Celebrating Your Gender And Sexuality

It can feel so lonely and isolating to live in a world that doesn’t see your humanity. You deserve a healing space that honors and celebrates the complex and beautiful human that you are. You are welcome here. All of you.

To experience this, please call  920.215.1254, email, or contact me to schedule a 30-minute complimentary phone or video consultation to find out how queer and gender affirming therapy can help you experience a sense of belonging both within yourself and in the larger world.