Being An LGBT+ Affirmative Therapist

The counselling profession is rife with courses on being LGBT+ affirmative, literature is emerging all the time. LGBT+ world issues and rights are present all around us, whether on social media or the news. It is easy to say you are an ally, but what does it really mean to be LGBT+ affirmative?

I am Chantell, tutor of Chrysalis’s Level 5 Gender, Diversity and Sexuality certification. This is one of the first questions we explore on the course, what is an affirmative therapist? I run a small private practice in Norwich, of which anyone is welcome, any gender, any diversity, any sexuality and identity. I am also LGBT+, disabled and Neurodiverse.

Being LGBT+ affirmative is about much more than simply saying you are happy to see clients from that community. It’s about having an understanding of the issues specific to LGBT+ people. It’s about having knowledge of the barriers that LGBT+ face when trying to access therapeutic support. And it’s about accepting LGBT+ people’s identities in a truly congruent way, without any kind of judgment.

Before discussing being LGBT+ affirmative in more detail, lets first go through what LGBT+ means. It’s an acronym that stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender.

The + encompasses a range of other identities relating to sexual orientation and gender identity. This could include, but is not limited to, Asexual, Pansexual, Genderfluid, Genderqueer, Non-binary, Trans, Questioning, Queer and Intersex. The LGBT+ acronym includes a spectrum of identities that fall within it, with many variations on the acronym also existing. You may have seen LGBT, LGBTQ, LGBTI, LGBTIQ or even LGBTTQQIAP. Different people use different acronyms but the most commonly used and accepted one is LGBT+.

We are taught in our counselling training, we are to see each person as the individual, be client centred and embody the core conditions. So, what makes working LGBT+ clients any different? Surely, it should just be a given we respect the client for who they are in the moment and be affirmative?

It comes down to knowledge and understanding, there is a dark and painful story within LGBT+ history and even the present day. Being affirmative is beyond what is presented in from of you but being aware and having a knowledge of the unseen. Students often become emotional during the GSD course, as we look at the issues we do not want to face. It is certainly not all love and rainbows; there is a collective history and trauma to be understood.

Within the course we look to understand, question and explore the issues that are specific to LGBT+ people. This could include:

• Coming out
• Not being accepted by their family
• Homophobic, biphobic or transphobic bullying
• Discrimination
• Hate crimes
• Gender dysphoria
• Difficulty accepting their identity
• Struggles with having an intersectional identity – e.g. being LGBT+ and a person of faith, or being LGBT+ and a person of colour
• The past and present social economic LGBT+ people are living in.

There are many issues that arise as a result of being LGBT+ because unfortunately many LGBT+ people are still not accepted by families, friends and often society too. Hate crime levels continue to rise year on year. Politics constantly change, societies views influenced, and safety compromised.

According to research conducted by organisations such as Stonewall and Warwickshire Pride, where a recent study showed that hate crime against LGBT+ people in one town are happening at a rate of more than twice the national average. There have been strides forward in terms of legal equality, steps backward as well!

Of course, LGBT+ people experience the same problems as many other people. They experience anxiety, depression, low confidence and self-esteem, as lots of other people do. However, with LGBT+ people it’s often due to one of the problems stated above. It relates to their sexual orientation or gender identity in some way.

Barriers for the LGBT+ community exist too. They may worry about whether their therapist will accept them for who they are. They may wonder if they’ll be able to express their sexual orientation or gender identity in the therapy room.

There will be thoughts about whether their therapist has prejudices and if that will impact on the therapy. Therapists are taught about being non-judgemental and congruent during their training, but the reality is that every single person will have a prejudice about something. We all do, whether we realise it or not. That’s just a fact of life. Nobody is perfect.

So, how can you become LGBT+ affirmative? By being willing to see LGBT+ clients you’ve already made a start. To progress with being truly LGBT+ affirmative it’s important to take the following steps:

1. Gain more knowledge and understanding about the LGBT+ community. This could be learning more about the different LGBT+ identities, including correct use of pronouns for trans or non-binary people (she/her, he/him, they/them). It could be learning more about the lived experiences of LGBT+ people and the issues specific to that community. Educating yourself is key, even if you think you have an awareness already, which leads me to the next point.
2. Enrol on some LGBT+ awareness training such as the Chrysalis Level 5 GSD certification. This will help you to gain the knowledge and understanding required to be truly LGBT+ affirmative. It will provide you with an opportunity to engage with LGBT+ people and others who are seeking to become more LGBT+ aware. Taking part in such training is often an eye opener and can really make a difference to your awareness.
3. Once you have done all of that, look at the way you work and your surroundings to ensure it’s as LGBT+ friendly as possible. You could actively promote that you are LGBT+ affirmative on your website, social media pages and in literature. This sends a powerful message to the LGBT+ community that it’s safe to choose you as their therapist. At your place of work you could make toilets gender neutral by putting a sign up saying it’s an accessible toilet that all are welcome to use. There are many ways of showing that you are LGBT+ affirmative and often the small things make the biggest difference.

Perhaps take a moment to reflect on your own practice, how do your show your affirmation? What are the unanswered questions you wish you could ask? Being LGBT+ affirmative is something that all therapists should be and by following the advice above it’s something that you can achieve.