Therapists at CHRIS offer in-person therapy in our downtown location on Broad Street, just south of City Hall, in the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia. We also conduct online or virtual therapy services. Some providers offer sliding scale services and our interns provide low fee therapy. Some providers are licensed in other states, such as Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and California. All therapists offer 15 to 20 minute free consultations, please inquire of the specific therapist.
Who We Are and What Makes Us Different
The Center for Healthier Relationships, Individuals, & Sexualities (CHRIS) is a network of inclusive therapists who specialize in providing LGBTQ+ affirmative care. This can include processing concerns regarding sexual orientation, gender, community, social stigma, and family matters. It can also include sex therapy and couples concerns. While we specialize in LGBTQ+ care, we also work with a diverse population of clients who are not part of the community, who have similar or related concerns.
Therapist at CHRIS offer in-person therapy in our downtown location on Broad Street, just south of City Hall, in the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia. We also conduct online or virtual therapy services. Some providers offer sliding scale services and our interns provide low fee therapy. Some providers are licensed in other states, such as Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and California. All therapists offer 15 to 20 minute free consultations, please inquire of the specific therapist.
The team is made up of exclusively LGBTQ+ therapists. The team is led by Dr. Christopher Wilson, one of the few male AASECT Certified Sex Therapists and Sex Therapist Supervisor, in the Philadelphia region. Therapists with CHRIS are mostly systemically trained. We focus on meeting clients where they are at. As a team, we recognize different familial as well as cultural dynamics impact mental health wellbeing. Therapists at CHRIS provide therapy with various modalities tailoring their work to their client needs. Clinicians at CHRIS have a variety of specialities. Some team members specialize in working with predominantly (cis gender and non-cisgender) male clients. Please see the full list of specialities below.
Experience Matters
While some therapy teams have providers who only have experience working within one framework of therapy, such as couples, individuals, family, or group therapy; the collective team at CHRIS have experiences in all these types of therapy. The therapists at CHRIS are trained to use a variety of frameworks. While based in Philadelphia, PA, where we see clients locally, all therapists at CHRIS are able to practice throughout Pennsylvania virtually. Some providers are fully licensed or have online therapy reciprocity to work in multiple states. States in which providers are licensed or have online therapy reciprocity include: Pennsylvania, New York, California, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Delaware.
Clinicians at CHRIS have experience working with children, teens, young adults, general adult population and seniors. Therapists at CHRIS see clients in person and through virtual therapy options. We strive to meet clients’ needs with compassionate care. While the office is based in Philadelphia, therapists can see clients virtually throughout the state of Pennsylvania and those that have licenses in other states may also provide services virtually to residents of those states.
Specialities
- LGBTQ+ populations
- Gender affirmative care
- Trans identities
- Gender identity and expression concerns
- Sex therapy (sexual dysfunctions, intimacy concerns, performance anxiety)
- Relational Concerns
- Men in therapy
- Open Relationships
- Consensually non-monogamous couples
- Polyamory
- HIV concerns
- Male body image
- Questioning sexual orientation
- Exploring the Sexuality of Self
- Sexual and emotional intimacy concerns
- Burnout concerns
- Anxiety
- Social anxiety
- Athletic performance anxiety
- Life transitions
- Depression
- OCD
- ADHD
- Art therapy
- Religious Trauma
- Clients with psychotic features
History and Present Direction of the Center
Dr. Christopher “Chris” Wilson established the Center for Healthier Relationships, Individuals, and Sexualities (CHRIS) in 2017. CHRIS was initially founded as part of the Philadelphia Institute for Individual, Relational, and Sex Therapy (PHIIRST). Dr. Wilson stays connected to PHIIRST as a supervisor and virtual therapist.
When establishing CHRIS, Dr. Wilson envisioned a community of therapists to help meet the needs of diverse population, including people in the LGBTQ+ community. Since its inception, there has been an increased need for therapists in the Philadelphia and surrounding areas. As such, the network of providers has grown. The needs has grown in part due to COVID as well as a recognition that those who are part of a given community, often seek therapists in such community. As such, many of the clinicians at CHRIS work with people who have similar lived experiences/personal identities as their own. This can help clients feel as though they are being seen without having to teach their therapist about their individual identity based struggles. While therapist at CHRIS work to connect with people based on lived experience, they also recognize that all people are individuals, with their own lived experiences and life narratives.
As COVID became an increasing risk, services extended to online throughout the state of Pennsylvania. These services have continued to meet the need of clients who would prefer to work with therapists virtually. As such, all providers at CHRIS are licensed in PA or under the supervision of a licensed therapists. In order to reach clients in areas that may not have as many therapists or therapists with specific specialities, many of the therapists at CHIRS have licenses in other states, including Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and California. Therapists are able to see clients virtually in these states.
In 2022, CHRIS began a collaboration with PHL Therapy Collective. For two years the groups shared an office on the 6th floor in the Land Title Building, just south of City Hall in downtown Philadelphia, PA. Recently, the two groups made a change, still collaborating, they have moved to a new suite on the 22nd floor, Suite 2210. The move was made in order to increase the availability for in-person and group therapy sessions.
Getting Started
To learn more about the team, please review the therapist page or review the individual provider profiles by navigating the menus at the top of each page. If you know who you want to work with, you may contact the therapist directly through the phone number and/or email address provided.
If you are unsure who you would like to work with, you can use the contact button to navigate to the Contact, Location, & Hours page. From there you can complete a general inquiry form. You can also contact the Executive Director of CHRIS, Dr. Chris Wilson, by phone at 484-469-8705 or via email at cwilson@centerforhealthierrelationships.com.