“How can a Queer Perspective benefit me?”
Queerness contains multitudes - it is many things to many people, and some of those things contradict. It is public and it is private. It is academic and it is practical. It is sacred and it is primitive.
When I refer to the therapy I provide as queer, I refer to the sense in which the process necessarily involves exploring one’s relationship to various institutions of power. A person’s struggles with depression, anxiety, mortality, relationships, change, and identity are impossible to understand holistically without acknowledging the broader systems at work in that person’s life. And when that person comes to therapy for help, they are ultimately hoping to make personal changes that have a systemic impact. In other words, queer therapy recognizes that the work we do on ourselves is driven by our wish to be better partners, friends, family members, neighbors, etc.
While affirmation and safety are foundational to any successful therapy, a truly queer therapy goes beyond that. A queer perspective allows us to question things we have been taught since our formative years to take at face-value. It allows us to see beauty and meaning beyond what is considered normal. It allows us to question the value bestowed inherently upon biological bonds. It allows us to expand our ideas of what a life worth living contains. Through a queer lens, we can reimagine what makes a person beautiful, loveable, and worthy.
I bring this perspective to my work because I believe it is beneficial to any person who sits in front of me, whether or not that person identifies with queerness.
In the therapy that I provide, I aim to accomplish the following:
To consider and analyze the power dynamics present in all areas of your life, whether they constrain or privilege you.
To support you in making room for both self-care and community-care, taking for granted that the two are interdependent and entwined.
To prioritize authenticity and honesty over all other concerns.
To prioritize self-acceptance over societal acceptance.
To understand that rage, defiance, and rebellion are rational responses to an irrational world, and to make use of them.
To hold self-determination as sacred.
To work, always, toward liberation
To be trauma-informed, intersectional, and curious.
If you want to know more, or are ready to get started, reach out using the contact info below to schedule a free consultation!
