BRILLIANTLY SANE COUNSELING AND COACHING
Lisa Wallace, LPC Therapist in Colorado
Queer and Gender Affirming Therapy
Affirmative therapy seeks to support LGBTQIA+ individuals and communities and address the negative effects of homophobia, transphobia and heterosexism. Affirmative therapy is varied in its approach: sometimes the aim of therapy is to help individuals explore their own sexual orientation and gender identity, sometimes it’s helpful to just have a therapist affirm who you are. In addition to working with individuals I work with parents and loved ones who want to support their family members but might not be sure how to0.
As someone who identifies as queer and gender fluid, I understand all to well the complexities and confusions that can come with exploring gender and sexual identity. Who we are today might not be who we were yesterday. The process of up to who we are, or aren’t attracted to and in what ways (romantically, sexually, neither, both) is as unique and varied as each individual. Sometimes that process comes with joy and expansiveness, other times it can be confusing and even scary.
Living in a society whose dominant narrative prioritizes the experiences of people who are cisgender and heterosexual can be difficult for those of us who don’t fit neatly into one box or the other. Because of this, internalized oppression, or the internalized beliefs that tell us there’s something wrong with us, often gets in our way. We believe what we’ve been told by others or are afraid of being different. Affirming therapy strives to help people navigate, and ultimately let go of, the negative beliefs we’ve inherited from others.
I also recognize that...
...As a white person raised in a middle-class family in the United States, there are ways my social locations and cultural understanding of the world might be different than yours. I commit to developing awareness around these differences and will honor your journey as yours. Ultimately, you are the authority on your experience, no one else should tell you who to be.
My Commitment
Whether you’ve always known your sexual orientation and/or gender identity, or are just starting to discover who you want to be, my commitment is to provide a non-judgemental, supportive container in which you have the freedom to explore who you really are.
As part of my work as a gender affirming therapist, I am a member of the Gender Affirming Letter Access Project. The GALAP network is a “a group of transgender, nonbinary, and allied mental health clinicians in the U.S. who believe in improving access to letters for clients who are seeking gender-affirming medical care. We resist the harmful practices of gate keeping and believe in an informed consent model where clients can affirm their gender identity without the steep cost of sessions with mental health professionals and reductionist clinical practices. As such, we want to create a movement towards providing free and low-cost letters for gender affirming access to medical care.” If medical transition is a part of your journey and you are only in need of a provider letter, I commit to offering the session at no cost to you.
Contact me to see if we’re a good fit!
“In our work and in our living we must recognize difference is a reason for celebration and growth rather than a reason for destruction.”
- Audre Lorde