If You’re Gay, Should You See a Gay Therapist? | Psychology Today

Contents:

• IF YOU’RE GAY, SHOULD YOU SEE A GAY THERAPIST?
• LGBTQ+ AFFIRMG THERAPISTS ERIE COUNTY, NY
• LGBTQ+ AFFIRMG THERAPISTS NEW BERL, WI
• THERAPISTS SPECIALIZG GAY COUNSELG | NEAR ME & ONLE
• GAY THERAPY, GAY THERAPISTS, GAY TREATMENT
• COUNSELG SERVIC BY A GAY THERAPIST. REAL SUPPORT, REAL UNRSTANDG.
• LGBTQ+ AFFIRMG THERAPISTS BERL, VT

IF YOU’RE GAY, SHOULD YOU SEE A GAY THERAPIST?

LGBTQ-affirmative therapists will be versed the negative effects of homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, and heteronormativy (the assumptn that heterosexualy is “normal” and superr) and help clients navigate the challeng they prent—as well as relatnship problems, fay tensn, or other day-to-day ncerns for which a client might seek are the advantag of seeg an LGBTQ-iendly therapist? Although a person’s sexual or romantic orientatn or genr inty may not be a source of distrs, people who intify as lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, queer, qutng, asexual, or any other orientatn or genr inty may fd that the social stigma of livg as a mory is a source of strs or anxiety.

LGBTQ+ AFFIRMG THERAPISTS ERIE COUNTY, NY

The current acronym reprents those who are lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, queer and qutng, tersex, and asexual.

Acrdg to a 2007 survey, stunts who intified as lbian, gay, bisexual, or transgenr were almost ten tim as likely to have experienced bullyg and victimizatn at school and more than twice as likely to have nsired suici as their heterosexual, non-transgenr classmat wh the prev year. Early edns of the Diagnostic and Statistil Manual (DSM) intified homosexualy as a mental disorr, until clil rearch monstrated sexual or romantic attractn to someone of the same genr is a normal, healthy, posive form of human sexualy. As the work proceeds, is revealed that John is out to his fay (who accepts him entirely) and publicly, while Paolo do not want his fay to know he is gay.

If you are lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, queer, and/or intify as a sexual and/or genr mory and are lookg for LGBTQ+ affirmg doctors, physicians, clicians, and healthre provirs, you have e to the right place. As a therapist, I’m often hearg certa particular qutns om clients and potential clients alike—as a gay man, should I be seeg a gay therapist? Let’s beg wh the benefs of seeg a gay therapist.

LGBTQ+ AFFIRMG THERAPISTS NEW BERL, WI

You n go wh the assumptn that your gay male therapist will be fortable and will have already heard about everythg—cludg your sex life. Addnally, a gay male therapist n spend time wh you talkg about shared gay muny norms, which n help you make cisns about what’s healthy for you and/or how you may want to modulate your behavr.

Over the years I’ve worked wh gay male clients, I’ve found some men rentful of me based on ems that are important wh our muny: my succs, what I look like, my wardrobe, or—more signifintly—their assumptns about who I am based on their own projectns. Clients often assume I f the mold of the stereotypil whe gay man who has everythg and won’t honor the sancty of the relatnship. Contrary to many people’s assumptns, gay men are not immune to homophobia, most of ternalized om a lifetime of livg a homophobic world.

THERAPISTS SPECIALIZG GAY COUNSELG | NEAR ME & ONLE

This fear and anger n surface therapy wh another gay man, pecially if the therapist is fortable wh himself ways that the client is not yet. Consirg seeg a therapist who isn’t gay n seem a ltle sry; gay men often make assumptns about a straight therapist’s level of fort wh the thgs the client wants to talk about.

And fdg someone outsi of the gay muny who is fortable wh all aspects of a gay client’s life n be a profound and healg experience; I’ve often sent gay clients to non-gay therapists. From my pot of view, 's tertg to explore the assumptns gay men have about straight therapists, and the assumptns they make about how therapists view them. And sce we don’t live isolatn, a straight therapist n brg a perspective to the table that a gay therapist might not—they n speak out of their experience as a parent, for example.

GAY THERAPY, GAY THERAPISTS, GAY TREATMENT

Sometim that experience n be more eful than the perspective of a gay male therapist. Feelg safe and rpected by your therapist—whether that person is gay or not—is the key to succsful therapy.

COUNSELG SERVIC BY A GAY THERAPIST. REAL SUPPORT, REAL UNRSTANDG.

Fally, gay men may choose to work wh different therapists based on where they are their life’s trajectory.

LGBTQ+ AFFIRMG THERAPISTS BERL, VT

They might enter therapy for the first time wh a gay male therapist bee on some levels, as we’ve seen, the unrstandg of the gay muny may make seem easier to talk to a gay man. At other tim, perhaps later life, a gay client may choose a different, straight therapist based on other creria that are important to that particular moment.

It’s absolutely okay for you to ask them if they’ve had experience workg wh gay men, but make sure to really listen to them when they answer. Even if a straight therapist has had few or no gay clients, they still might offer precisely what you need, and a rponse along the l of, “I haven’t had that many experienc, and maybe you’ll help me unrstand more” is actually pretty ial; you’ll both be engaged the procs.

Straight or gay? Gay.