LGBTQIA Counselling

As a counsellor and ally to the LGBTQIA community and their families, I strive to create a welcoming, supportive, and effective therapeutic experience for my clients.

Life struggles and stressors

As a member of the LGBTQIA community, you’re likely to be troubled by many of the same challenges as anybody else who’s seeking therapy. You might be fighting with your partner about money, quality time, commitment, sex, or the kids. Maybe you’re struggling with introducing your new love to your family and friends. Or perhaps you can’t find a date, never mind a partner!

Unfortunately it’s also true, that while there’s greater recognition of a range of gender and sexual identities and expressions today, we’re still striving towards a socially just society. Searching for self acceptance and acceptance from others, the ongoing process of coming out in multiple contexts, or grappling with an “authentic” sense of yourself can lead to feeling depleted, depressed and anxious. Maybe you keep finding yourself in superficial relationships. Or perhaps it’s difficult for you to connect with others. How we feel has a direct impact on how we relate to others.

Social inequities based in dominant misunderstandings of other facets of identity, like ethnicity, ancestry, ability, age or religious background, can further complicate life’s challenges or amplify your feelings of isolation, frustration and sadness. Therapy can help you manage the diverse range of emotions and lived experiences that all of us face

Counselling can help

Life impacts all of us differently and sometimes its helpful to gain personal insight and to learn new coping skills and tools to make change happen.

By working together, I can help you to:

  • create meaningful connections with other people
  • feel more accepting & loving toward yourself, your sexuality, & your identity
  • prepare to come out to family & friends
  • find a satisfying intimate relationship or strengthen an existing one
  • experience the relief of feeling accepted & cared for
  • stop replaying old patterns
  • free yourself from the thoughts, feelings & behaviors that hold you back

And what if I’m not LGBTQIA? Where do I find help?

Finally, I want to invite the friends and families of the LGBTQIA community to seek the support they may need. Sometimes understanding your loved ones can be hard, whether they’re your kids, your parents, or your best friend from a high school sports team. Finding support looks different for everyone. Becoming an ally may offer you a deeper connection to the people you love.
You can do this by:

  • developing your own awareness about LGBTQIA issues
  • challenging your assumptions & prejudices
  • expanding your willingness to be open and supportive to the LGBTQIA community
  • and by sharing your knowledge of the community with others

How I can help you

Whether or not you’re seeking therapy for issues connected to your LGBTQIA identity, it’s imperative that you feel supported by your therapist and that you’re able to speak freely. If you don’t, you won’t benefit from the therapeutic experience. The importance of finding this right fit is especially true for members of marginalized social groups. Don’t assume that a potential therapist will be knowledgeable or sympathetic to LGBTQIA concerns. Ask them any questions you have; their answers should help you to find a good match.

If it’s important to you, you can ask a potential therapist how they identify. Keep in mind that some therapists will adhere to a professional standard of never disclosing any personal information–including their own orientation–to their clients.

I strive to ensure that my LBGTQIA clients and their allies feel comfortable and optimistic about undertaking therapy with me. I hope to communicate warmth and professionalism so clients know that they can talk without being judged. If you are seeking unconditional acceptance and respect, strict confidentiality, and the space to explore whatever it is that feels most pressing, please fill out my on-line form or call me at 250-537-1067 to make an appointment. I will always listen.

Please reach out by phone or use the form below to get in touch.

Call Me: (250) 537-1067

ccpa-logo
bcacc counselor counsellor

#4 -127 Rainbow Road,
Salt Spring Island, BC
V8K 2R7

Tuesday – Thursday:
2:00 PM – 6:30 PM

Friday:
9:00 AM – 2:00 PM

monique@moniquesilverman.com
250-123-4567

©2024 Monique Silverman  | 250-537-1067

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