All members of the team at CHRIS are part of the LGBTQ community. This gives the team an unique advantage. We have not only professional but lived experience within the community. As such, members of the community do not necessarily need to worry about having to tell their therapist about social norms of the community, terminology often used in the community, or sexual dynamics which are part of same-sex and/or cis-gender/non cis-gender partnerships. This allows clients to feel an increase sense of safety and comfort in working with our therapists.
Sometimes the concerns that LGBTQ clients bring into therapy have nothing to do with their identity. However, knowing they are working with a provider where they do not need to explain the issue(s) above provides for reassurance. It can also be useful if an LGBTQ specific issues develops through the course of treatment when it was not the presenting reason for seeking therapy in the first place.
LGBTQ affirmative care is about meeting clients where they are at and helping them improve area of their life.
LGBTQ specific concerns can include:
- Questioning one’s gender
- Questioning one’s sexual orientation
- Processing gender expression concerns
- Helping to identify what terms fit for the client in reference to orientation and gender
- Managing same-sex couples sexuality and intimacy issues
- Processing coming out concerns
- Coming out to family, friends, and/or partners
- Children and teenagers coming out to parents and family
- Coming Out later in life
- Feeling as though they missed out of coming out earlier
- Fear they will not have the gay life they dreamed
- Managing blended families, particularly when someone comes out later in life and must integrate the family they had as part of a heterosexual relationship into their gay relationship
- Coordinating and writing letters for gender affirmative care for transgender and gender non-conforming clients
- Improving sex lives for LGBTQ couples LGBTQ couples