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The LGBTQ community faces a unique set of mental health challenges within our cultural context. Stigmas, prejudice, and discrimination can cause or worsen depression, anxiety, and other serious issues for sexual and gender minorities. We offer our clients a supportive space to talk through these issues, explore their experiences of gender and sexuality, and move forward to thriving. All our clinicians are LGBTQ affirming, and we are happy to match you with therapists who have a special focus and passion for working with LGBTQIA+ clients.
We provide LGBTQ affirming therapy for individuals, couples, and families in person in Midtown Manhattan and via telehealth across New York State. Learn more about our practice and our qualifications for working with LGBTQ clients.
Our therapists draw on a wide range of evidence-based approaches to respond to your situation in ways that make sense for you. While each individual is different, here are some of the common topics we navigate with our LGBTQ clients:
Minority stress results from negative circumstances people encounter that are specifically related to their minority identity. LGBTQ people experience minority stress from a range of external circumstances, including:
These external stressors can lead to second-level, internal stressors:
Persistent stressors can elevate minority stress to the level of trauma. Internal stressors often work subtly or invisibly, and can cause generalized anxiety, depression, and socially avoidant behaviors that negatively impact quality of life. Even for clients who experience minority stress at lower levels, therapy can help to face these negative circumstances and develop positive coping strategies to minimize their impact.
Minority stress can lead to anxiety and/or depression, or worsen these conditions if they are already present. This can include problematic relationships with drugs or alcohol, which may be used to numb or escape from ongoing stress or traumatic events. LGBTQ people face higher rates of anxiety, depression, and substance abuse than the general population.
Therapy can’t change certain external stressors, but it can offer better approaches to dealing with them. A therapist can also help their client identify and combat internalized homophobic or transphobic beliefs that lead to negative thinking and poor self-esteem. In addition to therapy, anxiety and depression treatment can also include prescription medications. Union Square Practice offers integrated psychotherapy and psychiatric care, so your counseling and medication management are coordinated by clinicians who work together closely.
Sexual orientation refers to the gender(s) of the people someone is sexually attracted to. Depending on background and cultural context, gay, lesbian, and bisexual people are not always able to identify or embrace their sexual orientation until sometime in adulthood. Social stigma, cultural expectations, and circulating misinformation can compound confusion and self-doubt. LGBTQ affirming therapy offers a comfortable, confidential place to ask questions, share personal experiences, and sort through the complex landscape of sexual orientation.
Gender identity refers to a person’s internal experience of their gender, which may or may not align with the sex assigned to them at birth. A therapist with expertise in transgender issues helps clients explore their feelings and better articulate their experiences around gender. Therapy at USP is an inclusive and nonjudgmental space to address gender dysphoria and social challenges, discuss gender-affirming interventions, and chart a path to living authentically.
It can be a very difficult decision whether or not to share your sexual orientation or gender identity with family, friends, coworkers, or the general public. Coming out can bring great relief or additional grief, depending on the acceptance, rejection, or mixed reactions of others. Regular care from an LGBTQ affirming therapist helps you take these steps in an intentional way, mindful of the possible risks and benefits to you personally, of coming out. Therapy also offers a safe and supportive space to work through any negative or complex responses from friends and family. You can’t change other people’s reactions, but you can build resilience and mindfulness to better weather the ups and downs.
Transitioning includes any steps a trans person takes to align more closely with their gender identity. These steps can be social, such as name and pronoun updates or changes in personal presentation, or they can be medical, including hormone therapies and surgeries. The specifics of transitioning will be different for each person. We support our transgender clients throughout their transition decisions, offering a pressure-free space to discuss options and coordinating with medical providers as needed.
Union Square Practice clinicians are LGBTQ affirming, and we are committed to providing our clients with inclusive care that celebrates the diversity of sexual and gender identities. We recognize that the specific challenges gender and sexual minorities face require intentional, culturally competent therapeutic care. We work to foster a therapy environment where LGBTQ clients feel safe and supported to express themselves freely and explore all aspects of their experience without fear of judgment. We practice evidence-based therapies in line with current scientific research and reject so-called “conversion” therapy or any practice that attempts to change a client’s gender identity or sexual orientation.
All our practitioners are LGBTQ affirming, and some additionally specialize in issues specific to sexual and gender minorities. This includes exploring gender identity and sexual orientation, navigating transitions and coming out, and developing coping skills to respond to discrimination or anti-LGBTQ hostility at work, home, and elsewhere. Our clinicians have a deep understanding of the impact of trauma on mental health, including both interpersonal and cultural trauma, and approach therapy with a trauma-sensitive lens. During the assessment process we pay careful attention to each client’s description of their situation and goals so that we can connect them with the practitioner(s) we expect to fit best.
Our clinical coordinators are dedicated to helping you find the right therapist for you. We intentionally bring together practitioners with a wide range of expertise and backgrounds to ensure we can connect with diverse clients. Let us know your concerns and priorities, including identity preferences, and we’re happy to accommodate.
Union Square Practice is the most diverse and well-integrated mental health practice in NYC. Our 60+ practitioners work as a team and interact as a community, regularly discussing ideas, best practices, and the latest research across fields and specialties. Our clinicians bring together a wealth of expertise in a wide range of disorders and treatment modalities, and our collaborative approach offers each client access to that wider pool of expertise.
Across our varied backgrounds and specialties, we share the conviction that successful therapy starts with a genuine human connection between the client and therapist. Once we’ve established that primary connection, we work together with you to fine-tune your therapy, medication management, and any other treatments appropriate to your situation. We approach each of our clients as a whole person, not a set of problems, and seek to understand your story, challenges, and priorities so we can find solutions that work for you.
Union Square Practice is a group of psychologists, psychiatrists and therapists who empower individuals to be the best versions of themselves using the latest science has to offer.
Reach out to Union Square Practice today for expert LGBTQ focused mental health care. USP practitioners see clients in person at our practice in Midtown Manhattan and via telehealth across New York State. We offer comprehensive, integrated mental health care services including psychotherapy, psychopharmacology and medication management, neuropsychological testing and evaluation, and more. Reach out today, and one of our dedicated clinical coordinators will give you a call shortly to find out how we can best serve you.
Reach out to us using any of the contacts below or our general contact form.
