LGBTQ+ Affirmative Practice

Research shows that LGBTQ+ individuals seek therapy at a higher rate than their non-LGBTQ+ counterparts. At CCP, we also recognize that one of the greatest barriers that LGBTQ+ people experience in accessing mental health care is the anticipation of and experience of discrimination. Clients often find that a therapist’s lack of knowledge about diverse sexual and gender identities leaves them with the burden of educating the therapist. 

CCP therapists take seriously the responsibility to educate ourselves on issues that impact LGBTQ+ communities, so that the burden does not fall on you to educate us in your time of need. Beyond that, our number one goal is always to support and affirm you, not to judge, shame, or blame you in anyway. We believe that the most effective form of psychotherapy—regardless of the client’s gender or sexual identities—focuses on client comfort in working towards greater authenticity and self-acceptance of all of the rich, multifaceted, and intersecting aspects of their identity. 

We also understand that LGBTQ+ folk generally enter therapy for the same reasons as everyone else—they’re depressed, stressed or anxious, experiencing relationship problems, enduring a recent break up, or dealing with a recent loss. However, many LGBTQ+ people unfortunately arrive in therapy with an extra layer of trauma and shame related to their sexual orientation or gender identity and the ways in which that orientation/identity has been responded to by their families and/or society.

At CCP, we condemn discrimination in all it’s forms, and we know that it is both unethical and impossible to try to “change” a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. We accept and celebrate you as the complete and beautiful person that you are, and we are committed to helping you feel more comfortable with who you are and what you truly desire, thereby assisting you in becoming a happier, healthier, more hopeful, and more holistically integrated human being.

How we can help:

• Being a safe space where you can honestly explore your true feelings about your gender and sexual identities and expression without judgment 
• During intake and assessment, asking specifically about sexual orientation, gender identity and dysphoria, chosen name and preferred pronoun use, etc.
• Providing education about heterosexism, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, and the ways in which these biases can manifest and impact you via both the external world as well as your internal self-evaluation
• Recognizing the ways in which the media, religion, and popular culture both affirm and denigrate LGBTQ+ existence, and being willing to discuss this with you in therapy
• Helping to support and guide you through the “coming out” process, including both positive and negative reactions (not only external, but internal)
• Teaching coping tools to help you deal with any residual stress, shame, anxiety, and/or depression that may occur
• Processing difficulties, confusion, and fears related to dating and/or establishing and maintaining intimate relationships
• Connecting you with appropriate additional resources around Chicago-land, including but not limited to affirming medical providers, LGBTQ+ support groups, family support, and more

“My silences had not protected me. Your silence will not protect you.” – Audre Lorde