Lesbian Affirming Therapy

What is Lesbian Affirming Therapy?

A Lesbian Affirming Therapist

As a therapist, I work from a humanistic, feminist and lesbian affirming perspective. I draw on a both traditional psychotherapy models  as well as experiential techniques to build a therapeutic environment for each of my clients based upon their individual needs and goals. I am committed to working with you, to build on your strengths and  to helping you identify and achieve your life goals.
Each person has  unique and individual journey that  has brought them to the questions that they wrestle with today. Each person  comes into their identity in their own way and depending upon where you are in your journey, we take up the work with sensitivity to your particular concerns, conflicts and goals.

Finding an affirming therapist matters.

Lesbians, Gay Men, Bisexual and Transgendered and Queer identified people benefit most from a therapist who is informed and affirming LGBTQ identity and relationships.  As oppressed sexual minorities, LGBT people experience minority stress which impacts our mental health, our relationships and our self esteem.
Outcomes of therapy improve when working with a therapist who has the training and skills to  approach therapy with an affirming perspective on LGBT identity.

Affirming you as an LGBT person means that:

• You are in the best possible position to define yourself.
• You are entitled to explore your identity and sexuality
• supporting your coming out process at a pace that is healthy for you
• exploring the intersection between culture, ethnicity, family of origin and sexuality/gender
  

Working from an affirming perspective in therapy means that:

• we look at your current life struggle or symptom through the lens of your identity development as an LGBT personin addition to other models such as Family Systems, Psychodynamic, Attachment and Cognitive/Behavioral
• assisting you in reducing any shame or stigmatizing beliefs associated with your identity
• we draw together on your strengths and assets as a human being; not just your “problems”

Train with Lisa to Learn about Affirmative Therapy with LGBT Clients

How Do I Find an LGBT Affirming Therapist?

A great place to begin your search is your local LGBT Center. You can also check these searchable data bases for a listing in your area:

Southern California
The Lesbian and Gay Psychotherapy Association

Northern California
The Gay and Lesbian and Transgender Association

Nationwide Listings
Psychology Today

For More Information on LGBT Affirmative Therapy and Training:

References used for this page:

Crisp, Catherine (2006) The Gay Affirmative Practice Scale: a new measure for assessing cultural competence with gay and lesbian clients”.
Journal of Social Work. Volume 51. Number 2.

Crisp, Catherine(2007) ‘Correlates of Homophobia and Use of Gay Affirmative Practice Among Social Workers’, Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 14: 4, 119 — 143

Davies, D. (1996), Towards a model of gay affirmative therapy. In D. Davies & C. Neal (Eds.), Pink therapy: A guide for counselors and therapists working with lesbian, gay and bisexual clients (pp. 24-40). Philadelphia: Open University Press.

Kort, J. (2008). Gay Affirmative Therapy for the Straight Clinician. New York. Norton Press.

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