HIV Long Term Survivors: Time to Thrive
How do you learn how to live when you spent most of your young adult life thinking you were going to die? This question resonates for many of my gay male identified clients who are HIV long term survivors (HLTS). For someone to be considered an HLTS they must have survived twice the median age [...]
Who Helps the Helpers? 8 Tips for Therapists After Client Suicide
No matter the degree earned or license held, everyone who works in the mental health field shares an important common interest: preventing suicide. Suicide prevention requires a well-rounded approach, including education on risk factors, properly assessing for safety, increasing patients’ protective factors and support, and providing support for those affected by the suicide of a [...]
LGBT Aging: Tips for Terminology
For about six years, I have relished my experiences as a queer social worker providing services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) older adults–often defined as people ages 60+. I am committed to the idea of taking care of our own community members who rarely see their lives and needs reflected in mainstream senior [...]
Trans Women ARE Women
By Rachel Jones, MA
NOTE: Throughout this article, I will refer to different gender identities including non-transgender women and transgender women. Every person has a gender identity, which is separate from the sex assigned at birth. Non-transgender or non-trans describes a person whose gender identity is the same as the sex assigned at birth–for example, [...]
Treating LGBT Older Adults with TLC
By Teresa Theophano, LCSW
National Senior Citizens Day is August 21st, and what better time to talk about how to honor and support older adults? A significant, though frequently overlooked, segment of the aging population identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT): at present there are nearly 3 million LGBT adults over age 50 [...]
How The Gay Trans Male Community Is Redefining Penis Envy
By Jacob Rostovsky, MA
Keywords: Gay, Transgender, Penis
For some individuals, to be a transgender male (someone who is assigned female at birth and identifies as male) in this time is hard enough. But when you add in identifying as gay (attracted to men and identifying as male), it can make life even more difficult. [...]
Hiding in Plain Sight: Why We Need To Pay Attention to Bi/Pan Erasure
By Rachel Jones, MA
Keywords: Bisexual, Pansexual, Queer
Anyone between a one and five on the Kinsey Scale—attracted to more than one gender—may self-identify as bisexual, bi+, pansexual, queer, gay, polysexual, fluid, biromantic, or may opt for no labels at all. These identities, sometimes referred to as non-monosexual to illustrate the attraction to more than [...]
At the Intersection of Fat & Trans
I am a fat, queer, able-bodied, neurotypical, white, and cisgender femme person (note: cisgender = my gender is congruent with the gender I was socially assigned). I’m well aware of societal expectations for the way my body should look, to express my gender consistent with white womanhood, and to engage in romantic and sexual relationships [...]
Managing Jealousy in a Polyamorous Relationship
Stephanie M. Sullivan, MS, LLMFT
Keywords: Polyamory
When people are first introduced to the idea of polyamory, one of the first questions they ask is often about jealousy. How do people in polyamorous relationships manage jealousy? Are they ever jealous? In the vast majority of polyamorous relationships, jealousy does come up at some point. However, [...]
Six Tips for Starting an LGBTQ+ Peer Support Group In Your Community
Are you navigating mental health challenges and seeking kindred spirits? Want some pointers on figuring out how to establish LGBTQ+ peer support group in your community? Consider launching a DIY peer support group! Peer support groups entail regularly scheduled sessions in which people with lived experience of mental health conditions gather to discuss their experiences, [...]
Lessons Learned: Forming a Peer Support Group
It’s a given that finding affordable, accessible, LGBTQ-affirming mental health care can pose a serious challenge, especially if you live outside of a major metropolitan area. Even in New York City, where I live, many community members find that their care needs are not easily met. As queer and trans people living with mental health [...]
Breaking Mental Illness Stigma: The Broad City Way
By Briana Shewan, MFT
If you are a dedicated viewer of Broad City, then you’ve already seen “Make the Space.” Directed by Ilana Glazer and written by Jen Statsky, the fourth episode of the fifth season of the Comedy Central series, which aired on Feb 14th, 2019, focuses on mental illness [...]
Is Sex Work Right for Me?
By Manny Kemphues, MA
People often seek out therapy due to dissatisfaction with work life and a desire to change jobs or careers. This is no different for people who do sex work. Unfortunately, when therapists are uncomfortable with sex and sexuality it can be difficult for sex workers to access the same supportive and [...]
Are you Femme? What Femme Isn’t and What it is.
By Briana Shewan, MFT
In order to prioritize femme voices, all quotes in this article are from femmes.
Positionality makes a big difference in femme identity: Please note I am a cisgender, white, thin, millenial femme from an upper-middle class background formally trained as a psychotherapist.
Have you ever wondered if you’re femme? Have you [...]
Finding a Polyamory-Affirmative Therapist
By Stephanie M. Sullivan, MS, LLMFT
Many people, across all walks of life, occasionally need therapeutic services. Due to the stigma surrounding mental health, it can be difficult for anyone to contact a mental health therapist. However, if you are polyamorous or curious about exploring polyamory, you may struggle even more with reaching out to [...]
Types of Consensual Non-Monogamy
By Stephanie M. Sullivan, MS, LLMFT
Consensual non-monogamy is a relationship style in which all individuals within the relationship agree to not being monogamous, and all individuals involved in the relationship are aware that it is not a monogamous relationship. Consensual non-monogamy makes up about 4-5% of the population in the United States (Moors, Conley, [...]
Polyamorous Relationship Structures
By Stephanie M. Sullivan, MS, LLMFT
Polyamory is the combination of the Greek word for “many” and the Latin word for “love.” Combined, polyamory means “many loves” or “more than one love” (Anapol, 2010; Klesse 2006). To be more specific, polyamory is a relationship style centered on the belief that it is possible to love [...]
