LGBTQ+ Therapist In New York

What Risk Factors do LGBTQ+ Community Face?

People in the LGBT community face certain risk factors for their mental health. Specifically, lack of social support. Humans are social beings who need connection, love, and support. When they lack these things, they feel alone in life. 

A 2020 Trevor Project report stated the youth with lower access to LGBTQ+-affirming spaces and people reported more rates of attempted suicide. Social support is protective factor according to researchers after all. Lacking LGBT family support can be devastating for an LGBTQ child or teen.Of course, without these protective factors, queer people can face more challenging experiences.

LGBTQ+ youth face elevated suicidal risks as well as high levels of depression and anxiety. The Trevor Project reports that 55% of LGBTQ youth had symptoms of major depressive disorder, and 68% reported symptoms of Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Notably, transgender and non-binary youth had noticeably high rates. LGBTQ suicide rates need to decrease, too many people are not receiving the support they desperately need!

How can your LGBTQ+ Therapy help POC youth?

POC LGBTQ+ people additionally are at risk for discrimination for being part of multiple historically marginalized groups.

Mind Connections specializes in helping Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI). Moreover, most of our therapists speak primarily English and Chinese Mandarin. We also have staff who are fluent in Cantonese and Korean. 

In the past years, the AAPI community face more and more injustices. In light of the pandemic, hate crimes, physical attacks, and prejudice. Survivors of hate crimes face mental health struggles in response. These instances can cause emotional distress, anxiety, depression, and PTSD. 

Have more questions? We got answers for our clients interested in LGBTQ affirmative therapy:

Will your Therapists Accept an LGBTQ+ Client?

Our therapists at Mind Connections are 100% accepting and supporting all of our clients. Whether you are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or anyone in the queer community, whether you are in the process of coming out, or handling issues with family, relationships, or work stress, we are here for you. We are allies to the LGBT community and want to help each client feel confident and proud of who they are.

We provide LGBTQ affirmative therapy. This means that we support the identities of our clients and look at it as something to have pride in! We will help you accept, understand, and advocate for yourself more. Our therapists are there to provide a supportive shoulder to lean on through it all.

What Can I Accomplish in LGBTQ+ Affirmative Therapy?

The LGBTQ+ therapists in NYC on our team have rich experience working with the queer community. We recognize your concerns, we acknowledge your challenges, we strive to understand you as who you really are. In detail, here are some things our LGBTQ+ therapists at Mind Connections can help you with in Pride counseling:

1. Understand your sexual and gender orientation. 
2. Accept yourself for who you are and what stage you are in regarding your identity.
3. Help you deal with any prejudice, discrimination, harassment, or violence you’ll face. We will help you recognize your resilience and advocate for your needs.
4. Assist you to learn coping skills to better manage your mental health. This can include anxiety, depression, trauma, insomnia, disordered eating, grief, or stress, self-esteem issues, and adjustment.
5. Help you prepare for and better manage your coming out process. We will assist you in dealing with relationship, family, and work-related issues, learn parenting and co-parenting skills, and other challenges.
6. Assist you with evaluation, support, and therapy if you are going through a transition of transgender hormone therapy, MTF or FTM.

In LGBTQ affirmative therapy, a therapist can also help you with any other underlying issues you may be facing. These can include self-esteem issues, depression, anxiety, PTSD, and more! Our therapists at Mind Connections NYC can help you with anything you are facing and need support for!

How Can Mind Connections Help LGBTQ+ Youth/ Teens in affirmative therapy?

In the first place, Mind Connections provides excellent support for any teen. Teens can not only deal with the confusing times of puberty but also many other issues. Teens struggle with school stress, hormonal changes, relationship issues, friend drama, self-esteem problems, depression, anxiety, and more. Not to mention all the stress they have over their futures, SATs, college, and life after high school!

LGBTQ+ teens face all of those issues in addition to figuring out their sexuality or gender identity. We can help teens through this difficult time. Our therapists at Mind Connections can help teens build their self-esteem, navigate relationships, and figure out who they are. By the same token, we provide a safe space so these teens can vent about any issues and receive support. We will give them the tools they need so that they can thrive in their lives and futures! 

Do I need to see an LGBTQ+ Friendly therapist near me?

You may be wondering “do I have to see an LGBT affirming therapist near me”, “are you LGBTQ therapists in NYC?”or can I receive LGBT online counseling? Mind Connections offers online therapy sessions to all clients! You can conveniently receive LGBT online counseling free of the worries travel or traffic can bring! Online therapy allows you to offer your most vulnerable thoughts and receive support in the privacy and comfort of your own space. 

How Does Mind Connections Advocate for the LGBTQ+ Community?

Mind Connections wants to advocate for and support the LGBT community. With this intention, we want to spread awareness about mental health topics concerning LGBTQ+ people. We have a series of articles that tackle subjects like LGBT pride, allyship, the AAPI/LGBTQ+ community, and social support. 

With this in mind, we also have a bunch of posts on our Instagram (@mindconnections_) about these topics if you’d like to check them out!

Above all, if you are LGBTQ+, remember that you are worthy of living a life full of happiness, LGBT pride, and inner peace! Our therapists at Mind Connections NYC would love to help you with anything you need! We provide a safe place and sweet land for you to accept the authentic sense of yourself. Call us for a free 15-minute consultation to learn more!