LGBTQ Counselling
It can be a high priority for queer people to find a counsellor or psychotherapist who gets where you are coming from, and who can offer awareness and understanding, support and a place to safely explore you and your life now, your relationships, the past and even the future.
I am committed to counselling for LGBTQ+ people which is affirmative, empathic and judgement-free, where you feel understood and safe to talk about whatever is important to you.
Counselling may sound daunting at first, but it is a tried and trusted method to explore yourself and your concerns and to come through difficult times.
Some issues that you may face as a LGBTQ+ person:
- The coming out process: who to tell at work or home. Discussing the options and sorting through your feelings about coming out can be very helpful, not just when you first come out but also at later stages in life – the coming out process can go on and on!
- Relationships: being single, finding a relationship, improving an existing relationship or working through problems.
- Self-esteem, confidence, ‘internalised’ homophobia.
- Drug and alcohol concerns.
- Getting older.
- Shame, anxiety and depression.
- Feeling isolated. Not being heard or understood,
- Loss and bereavement.
What to do now:
I’ve worked as a counsellor for over 20 years and I’m fully accredited with BACP (the regulatory body for counsellors in the UK). I am a ‘person-centred’ counsellor, experienced at both short and long-term counselling and psychotherapy.
After you get in touch with me, we would schedule an initial phone chat and then a first session to begin talking about the challenges you are facing. These are opportunities for you to decide if you feel happy to work with me. I can also make sure that what I offer is right for you, or refer you on to more specialised services where necessary.
Assuming we decide to go ahead, we may decide to plan a series of sessions. For short-term LGBTQ+ counselling this would often be 6 sessions, to work through a current difficulty. Or you might decide to work together for a few months. We could also have an open-ended ‘contract’ and longer-term psychotherapy, perhaps to explore more deeply the historical origins of how things are today for you, and to create lasting change.