LGBTQ+ Affirming Therapy Online for New Yorkers
Therapy can help you feel an alignment between your inner self and how you are living in the world. The result can be a life-changing sense of relief.
The beauty of humans is our diversity—there are many different types of people. Unfortunately, while LGBTQ+ folks have gained increased acceptance, we are still exposed to many forms of discrimination and oppression.
Challenges Faced by LGBTQ+ Individuals
Stigma and Discrimination
LGBTQ+ individuals often report experiencing stigma and discrimination in all walks of life: at school, at work, in healthcare settings, etc. These moments lead some individuals to avoid certain situations where they would rather not deal with the discrimination, which in turn leads to adverse outcomes in personal and social health.
Less Social Support
Queer folks might not have the same avenues of support that cisgendered and heterosexual individuals might enjoy, like support from family or the community, even in more progressive areas. Bisexual or transgender individuals, for instance, might feel rejection both from society and from within the LGBTQ+ community.
Trans Folks
Trans individuals often do not have the same legal protections that cisgender people have in our society. Exclusion from basic civil rights not only causes higher rates of unemployment and poverty, but it also leads to increased anxiety, depression, trauma and adverse health outcomes.
Violence
For the LGBTQ+ community, violence has always been more likely than for cis and heterosexual individuals. But violence doesn’t just exist in practicality—it also exists as a threat and induces consistent fear that can block a person from living a full life.
Therapy can be very helpful when issues related to your sexual orientation or gender identity seem to be getting difficult to bear.
Mental Health for LGBTQ+
Identifying as LGBTQ+ is not a mental illness. However, because of the extra adversity we have to overcome, queer folks are often at a greater risk for several mental health conditions.
LGBTQ+ individuals are 2 times more likely than cisgender and heterosexual individuals to have a mental health disorder in their lifetime
LGBTQ+ individuals are 2.5 times more likely to experience depression, anxiety and difficulties with substance use than cisgender and heterosexual individuals
Depression
Depression involves feeling uncontrollable hopelessness, sadness or loss for extended periods of time. For LGBTQ+ individuals, depression is more common: Gay men are three times as likely as heterosexual men to have depression, and lesbians are twice as likely as heterosexual women.
Symptoms of depression include:
Changes in appetite, concentration, sleep or energy
Feeling agitated, restless or irritable
Losing interest or pleasure in doing things once pleasurable
Feeling self-hate, hopeless, worthless or guilty
Thinking about death or suicide
Anxiety
Having anxiety means being in a state of consistent worrying. When anxiety interferes with your daily life, it becomes a mental health issue. For LGBTQ+ individuals, the worries of everyday life are compounded with the added worries of being discriminated against.
Symptoms of anxiety include:
Tiring easily
Having tense or tight muscles
Irritability
Having trouble sleeping
Restlessness or feeling on edge
Having trouble concentrating
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
PTSD can occur after experiencing a traumatic event, often involving the threat of injury or death. LGBTQ+ individuals experience higher levels of trauma in their lives in the form of hate crimes, adverse childhood experiences and street discrimination.
Symptoms of PTSD include:
Reliving a traumatic event through flashbacks, upsetting memories or nightmares
Difficulty concentrating
Feeling detached or numb from feeling
Being startled easily
Lack of interest in normal activities
Feeling more aware, irritable or angry
Suicidal Thinking
Thoughts of suicide stem from any and all of the mental health issues discussed in this section. For the LGBTQ+ community, suicidal ideation and the risk of suicide can be higher than in heterosexual individuals. 40% of transgender individuals, for example, have attempted suicide. If you have experienced suicidal thinking, good therapy from a queer-identified or queer-informed therapist can restore hope.
If you are actively considering suicide, there are other options.
Questioning?
Some of us are unsure of our sexuality or gender identity. We believe it’s healthy to question our desires. Even if you decide not to change any aspect of your life, it’s liberating to not have to live in fear of these questions.
Fear
Am I letting fear influence my thoughts or decisions?
Many people who begin to question their sexual desires or gender identity repress those feelings out of fear of social rejection. Others let fear influence whether they will have LGBTQ+ friends or acquaintances. Either way, letting fear determine whether or not you will entertain your healthy desires is not a productive way to live.
Sexual Attraction
What does it ‘mean’ if I’m fantasizing about others of a different/the same gender?
First, having sexual fantasies or attraction is a normal and healthy part of being human. Learning to accept and embrace thoughts of sexual attraction or fantasy doesn’t automatically mean you will decide to identify as queer. However, discussing these topics in therapy can help you to better understand yourself.
Outer Influences
Am I letting others affect my choices?
What will my family think of me? It’s normal to consider other people’s reactions to the questions you have about your gender and your desires, but it’s often not helpful to your own development as a person to let others dictate how you will live your life.
Gender Identity / Expression
Am I interested in being with someone of a different sex/gender, or do I want to be like them?
A healthy expression of gender is foundational to our sense of wellbeing. Feeling as if your body and your gender identity don’t match can be confusing and frustrating. Exploring those feelings and understanding yourself better through therapy can help you get the relief you’ve been seeking.
Therapy can help you feel an alignment between your inner self and how you are living in the world. The result can be a life-changing sense of relief.