Find the courage and freedom to be yourself.
LGBTQ+ AFFIRMING THERAPY IN ARKANSAS
Therapy for folks exploring their sexuality or gender, struggling with the stress of being LGBTQ+ in this society, or simply looking for a supportive space where you can be authentically you.
You might be nervous about reaching out to a therapist at first. That’s natural. But you might have added worries if you’re a member of the LGBTQIA+ community or are having questions about your sexuality or gender. You might worry about things like:
Being judged or seen as abnormal, even by someone who is supposed to be unconditionally accepting like a therapist.
Internalized shame, homophobia, or transphobia that keep you from getting help.
Concerns about privacy and fear that you might be outed to others.
Worries that your therapist will try to change who you are or attempt “conversion therapy.”
Religious trauma that makes you feel at odds with who you really are.
You might be worried that your therapist won’t be able to understand or relate to what you’re going through. While many therapists are wonderful allies, you might be worried that a cis or straight therapist will only have a textbook understanding of the challenges you’re facing or things you fear.
FINDING A THERAPIST IS HARD ENOUGH WITHOUT WORRYING ABOUT BEING JUDGED FOR WHO YOU ARE
Even if you’re looking for a therapist for something like anxiety, grief, or trauma, you might be worried that you’ll still have to leave out details of your life. How can you talk about relationship issues if you feel like you must hide that you are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or asexual? How can you feel truly open to talking about a career change if you’re worried about sharing concerns about finding an accepting workplace because you’re nonbinary?
Our community faces a disproportionate amount of mental health issues, which is no surprise given the amount of injustice faced every day. These add to the stress and strain of daily living that many people struggle with. But many people may not also have to worry about things like family rejection, workplace discrimination, religious persecution, or seeing news about legislation attacking your basic human rights for the simple fact that you are who you are.
That added layer of complexity is even greater if you have other challenges based on your race, ethnicity, or disability status.
HOW CAN COUNSELING WITH AN LGBTQ+ THERAPIST HELP?
While there are many therapists who are great allies, there’s something different about working with someone who just “gets it” on a different level that sometimes doesn’t even need words. It can be hard to really get to the heart of your problems with a therapist when you’re having to stop and describe what terms like “demiboy” or “aroace” mean or explain your fears about starting HRT even though you really want it.
As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, myself, I create a space in which you can talk about all facets of yourself and your life in relation to your problems. Our work will be an open and honest place where you can relax and know there are no judgements for who you are. This includes sex-informed, kink and polyamory positive, and asexual and aromantic affirming counseling that recognizes there are many healthy models of relationships and intimacy.
While my journey is different than your own, there are some specialty areas I offer based on my training as well as personal lived experience.
SEXUALITY
Supporting your questions and exploration in healthy and responsible ways. This includes navigating these questions if you are in a monogamous relationship.
GENDER
Explore your gender identity in a way that is based on euphoria rather than dysphoria. Find what feels good and right for you.
COMING OUT LATER IN LIFE
Coming out as your true self when you are older and more established has its own challenges. Work with someone who has experienced this for themself.
HOW DOES LGBTQ+ COUNSELING AT MOONPATH WORK?
If you’re struggling with general mental health challenges like anxiety, life transitions, or grief, our work will look very similar to the information found on the homepage here. We’ll meet for an initial intake session, set goals for the things you want less of in your life as well as things you want more of – such as less anxiety and more social connection. If you’re looking to be challenged, we’ll include that as well. But you can also trust that you can talk openly about these things within the context of being a member of the LGBTQ+ community and how that affects your struggles.
Our work will look very similar if you want counseling related to questions about your sexuality or gender identity and will be customized to your challenges and goals. But it may also include some unique work areas such as:
Deconstruction
We’ll identify the things that stand in the way of your true self such as shame, regret, fears of the future, or self-doubt about your validity. Take off the mask you’ve been wearing all your life.
Exploration
Approaching sexuality or gender through the lenses of pleasure, play, and possibility to help you find the things that feel good and affirming to you. Find the things that bring you joy in healthy ways.
Integration
We’ll put it all together in a way that helps you manage doubt, reduce dysphoria, and provides real yet manageable steps toward being your true self. Turn ideas into action to make changes in your life.
THERE IS A PATH FORWARD. YOU DON’T HAVE TO UNCOVER IT ALONE.
You deserve a space where you feel comfortable to explore and express who you are without fear of being judged for the things you want and need to talk about.
Click the link below to schedule a free, 20-minute consultation call. We’ll talk at that time to answer any questions you have to see if things feel like a good fit. No pitches. No pressure.
COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT LGBTQ+ COUNSELING
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LGBTQ+ folks have the same concerns as anyone else such as anxiety, depression, trauma, or grief. But it can be hard to work on your problems if you worry about speaking as freely in session as a person who is heterosexual or cisgender. This is where having a therapist who is also a member of the LGBTQ+ community, or at least one you know is supportive and affirming, can help - because you know you don't have to hide any part of who you are in sessions.
Being a member of the LGBTQ+ community, however, can cause these common problems to show up in unique ways such as:
Anxiety about coming out, changing your presentation in public, or anti-LGBTQ+ legislation.
Substance use and other addictions that developed as a way to cope with problems related to self-acceptance and socializing in queer spaces.
Navigating the coming-out process as well as deciding if it is safe to come out.
Grief related to the life changes that may come from accepting yourself or grief over the childhood you didn't get to have as your true self.
Struggles self-acceptance and self-confidence because of internalized oppression such as homophobia, biphobia, or transphobia.
Navigating relationships and dating as your true self.
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Not at all. Your sexuality is based on who you're attracted to, not the sex or gender of people with whom you have or haven't had romantic or intimate experience. There are many reasons why a person might have been living a heteronormative life prior to really awakening to themselves. None of that means you're fooling yourself or making it up.
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No, it does not mean that your relationship has to end. Your identity as a bisexual or pansexual person is based on your attractions, not your dating or sexual history or experience going forward.
But I also cannot guarantee this will not affect your relationship. Some of it will depend on your wants and needs as you discover yourself.
Some of it will depend on how your partner reacts, how this affects their feelings about you, their views and acceptance around LGBTQ+ folks, and their own wants and needs for the relationship.
It will also depend on what the two of you decide as you work together on this and decide what the relationship will look like moving forward. You may choose to maintain a monogamous relationship, agree to consensual non-monogamy, or decide the relationship will need to end or radically transform.
However, as someone who came out as pansexual and largely same-sex attracted after more than a decade of marriage, I can tell you that it is completely possible to have a great, monogamous marriage while also feeling valid in your sexuality.
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No! Your identity as an asexual or aromantic person is not something that needs to be fixed. It is a part of who you are and something that makes you unique and awesome.
Counseling for folks who realize they are aromantic or asexual is not about making you want relationships you don't want. Rather, our work can focus on things like:
Exploring what you consider to be meaningful, nourishing relationships.
Deconstructing the social models of what a "normal relationship" is to help you understand that "normal" isn't anything but a setting on a washing machine.
Helping you redefine your present relationships to be supportive of who you are.
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Yes! The story of "being trapped in the wrong body" and having overwhelmingly painful gender dysphoria is just one narrative. It just happens to be the one we see the most in the media due to sensationalizing the experience of transgender and gender-diverse people.
There are all kinds of ways to to experience and express your gender. There is no single "right" way to be transgender or gender-diverse. There is only what is right for you and we can help you find that.
My approach is based less on dysphoria and guided more on the Gender Freedom Model developed by Rae McDaniel. This focuses less on dysphoria and more on finding what brings you a sense of gender euphoria.
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Absolutely. When I write “men” on my site I use that inclusively to mean both cis and trans men.
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I presently do not simply due to concerns of training but will be adding this in the future. Feel free to reach out to me to ask about an update or I can help you connect with folks who do write letters as long as you are a resident of the state of Arkansas.
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Yes, and it would be my honor to support you in the work you want to do to be supportive of your loved one.
Together, we can work on the areas where you struggle with supporting them such as:
General understanding of what it means to be a part of the LGBTQ+ community.
Addressing your internalized beliefs and biases, such as how you were raised in your family, religious messaging, and social conditioning.
Navigating the changes this means for you and your relationship with your loved one. You have your own experience in this as well and deserve support.
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Sex-informed therapy means that the therapist has been trained to integrate all facets of sex and intimacy into a holistic approach to therapy that is non-judgmental and accepting of the diverse ways people experience love, attraction, intimacy, relationships, and pleasure. There are many ways consenting adults can enjoy these things and there is no one “right” model for what healthy relationships and sex lives look like.
Our work together will be:
Sex-positive
Kink-positive
Body-positve
Supportive of the identities that feel right to you
Welcoming of diverse relationship models including polyamory and ethical nonmonogamy
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No amount of therapy can reprogram who you are. Conversion therapy has been debunked as an approach that is not only ineffective but can be very damaging to the individual.
Your sexuality or gender identity are not things to be fixed. They are not wrong or immoral. Our work will not involve any element of attempts at conversion.