G&STC Director Jesse talks with Huffpost about Finding a Therapist That Focuses On LGBTQ+ Mental Health
Check out G&STC’s Director Jesse Kahn talking with Brittany Wong at Huffpost about how to find an LGBTQ+ Affirming Therapist.
Psychology Today, probably the most thorough national listings of mental health professionals, lets you search by zip code and key terms (e.g., “gay,” “transgender”), though keep in mind that therapists can self-select these criteria.
You probably want to go a step further and review therapists’ websites to see if they mention LGBTQ-related training or a specialization in gender or sexuality, said Jesse Kahn, the director of the The Gender & Sexuality Therapy Center in New York City.
Kahn recommends considering the following questions while looking up a potential therapist’s web presence:
Is their website inclusive? (This could mean language and stock images.)
If they have blogs on their website, does the therapist write about content and express competence about topics that are important to you?
Are their forms inclusive? (For instance, do they offer more than two options for gender? Do they use gender-inclusive language throughout, like parents and guardians instead of mother and father?)
Do they seem comfortable talking about topics related to gender, sexuality and any topics or concerns you want to address?
To get specific, Kahn recommends asking them the following questions during your phone or video call:
Have you received (currently or in the past) specialized supervision, training or consultation related to working with trans and gender diverse people?
Do you currently have any trans, gender diverse and/or non-binary clients?
If it’s important to you, you can ask the therapist their identity and share why that’s important to you.
MORE FROM G&STC DIRECTOR JESSE KAHN ON THIS TOPIC:
It’s important for all people, including LGBTQ+ people, to have an affirming and competent therapist who understands the nuances that may be relevant to their life.
When a therapist is not knowledgeable and competent re: working with LGBTQ+ people, we’ve seen that this often means that the client may spend considerable time in their therapy educating their therapist and/or managing microaggressions.
Those microaggressions can be found in assumptions regarding who someone dates, assumptions about goals and narratives related to their gender or sexuality (such as goals for transitioning), focusing on gender and sexuality when that’s not an issue, intrusive curiosity, using the word regular or normal as synonyms for heterosexual or cigender and asking someone “preferred” pronouns.
Video therapy is a great option for those struggling to find someone competent in their area. Therapists are only allowed to practice in the states in which they are licensed, so you can start by looking up a therapist in an area within your state that you think will have the competent you want and need.
I also recommend: www.inclusivetherapists.com
Also use your networks—if you have any online spaces that are specific to your town, city or state - go into that group and take a look to see if there are any recommended providers.