INDIVIDUATION

GENDER & SEXUAL DIVERSITY

Our gender and sexuality are essential components of who we are, and how we live our lives. Someone once said…” Sexuality is who you are personally attracted to… But gender identity is who you are in your soul.” I couldn’t have put it better myself. Gender is not the same as our sexuality, even though these terms are often used interchangeably.

As a therapist it’s crucial for me to have an awareness of gender and sexual diversity (GSD) in order to understand the complexity of my client’s many facets (biological sex, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation) and to help integrate diversities across these dimensions. Perhaps you are someone who is clear about your gender and sexual identity, yet suffer from anxiety, stress or depression relating to these. Or maybe you are unclear about your gender or sexual identity and what this means for you? Psychotherapy in such cases can be invaluable in supporting you if you are someone who may be struggling, unsure, still exploring, or thinking about coming out, all of which can be incredibly daunting things to contemplate. Whether you are navigating romance or relationships, your work culture, or life in general, like everyone else, you will want to feel recognised and understood and this can sometimes be a challenging undertaking.

THERAPY FOR SEXUAL, GENDER IDENTITY & LGBTQIA+ ISSUES

If you’re experiencing emotional distress relating to your sexual or gender therapy and counselling can be enormously beneficial. While what’s concerning you might be regarded as the challenges that people face however they identify, if you are a person who is lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, non-binary, intersex, agender, asexual, queer or questioning you are likely to face additional challenges unique to the LGBTQIA+ community.

The therapy I offer is held in a safe, confidential and non-judgemental space where you can identify and work through the things that are troubling you. I have experience with working with the following issues and can help address and provide strategies for many of the challenges you may be facing if you are an LGBTQIA+ or GSD individual:

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KINK

Finding a therapist can be a major problem for anyone who is into BDSM, fetish or kink. Many of my clients have had fairly negative experiences with counsellors and therapists who have either lacked knowledge of kink, or they have brought their own negative preconceptions into the therapy sessions.

Unfortunately, discrimination surrounding gender and sexual diversity is still common, and feelings of confusion or shame can be compounded if you don’t find a therapist with a level of awareness that can allow you feel to understood and accepted. It is widely known that within the world of psychotherapy it has taken a long time for the academic community to catch up and not pathologise all aspects of gender and sexual variance.

Perhaps you’ve had experiences where a therapist or loved one has alluded to your sexual preferences as symptomatic of underlying mental health issues. Let me reassure you, kink-positive therapy means that you can reveal  and share aspects of your sexuality safe in the knowledge that it will be accepted as a normal healthy part of your life. As a kink-knowledgeable therapist I am aware kink is on the sexual spectrum alongside vanilla sex and everything in-between, any of which can be healthy or not. I am particularly aware of the differences between healthy BDSM & kink practices and non-consensual or abusive dynamics. Unless during our work together we identified your sexual behaviours fell into the latter, I do not work with my clients to discourage any sexual practices.