LGBTQ+ Affirming Therapy
Managing discrimination is survival. Understanding where the shame lives is freedom.
You're out, but you're not free. You still hear the voices saying something about you is wrong. Family rejection, religious trauma, years of hiding - you thought coming out would fix it, but the shame didn't leave when you did. You're anxious in queer spaces that should feel safe. You question whether you're queer enough, trans enough, doing it right. You know your identity is valid, but you can't make yourself believe it.
You can learn to manage the anxiety, surround yourself with affirming people, practice self-acceptance. Those things help you survive being queer in this world. Understanding where the shame actually lives and how it got there is what makes freedom possible.As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I understand minority stress, family rejection, religious abuse, and living in a world that isn't always safe. I work with LGBTQ+ clients through confidential telehealth sessions throughout Louisiana and South Carolina, as well as in-person sessions at my Metairie office for local clients.
Substance Use & Mental Health
Bars and clubs are key players in Queer culture, and offer great community and connection. But our population faces significantly higher rates of risky substance use and addiction - often as a way to cope with the effects of coming out, rejection, and trauma. What starts as numbing the pain of discrimination or hiding your identity can become its own source of shame and isolation.
If the bar scene is spinning you into chaos instead of anchoring you in community, we can address both the underlying trauma and the patterns of use, helping you develop healthier coping strategies without losing your connection to the culture.
Discrimination Within Our Community
Racism, transphobia, biphobia, and other forms of discrimination are still a big problem in queer spaces, just as they are in the wider population. When the spaces that are supposed to be safe havens become sources of rejection or marginalization, the pain cuts especially deep. Being excluded from gay bars, dating apps, or community events because of your race, gender identity, body type, or other aspects of who you are further compounds the isolation of societal rejection.
The hurt is particularly sharp when discrimination comes from people who should know what it feels like to be othered. We can address this pain and the complex feelings of being marginalized within your own community.
Domestic Violence & Intimate Partner Abuse
Domestic violence in our relationships is often invisible and misunderstood. When society doesn't fully recognize your relationship, it becomes even harder to recognize when that relationship becomes abusive. Abusers may threaten to out you, isolate you from chosen family, or convince you that no one will believe or help you because you're LGBTQ+.
If you're currently in an abusive situation, recovering from past IPV trauma, or trying to figure out what healthy intimacy looks like for you, I can provide support that understands the specific dynamics of our relationships.
