What is LGBTQ+ affirmative therapy? 

I view LGBT affirmation in therapy is simply working with my belief that LGBTQ+ lives are valid and real. I have lived experience of the importance of this, and the insidious way in which the opposite can be subtly enforced, consciously or not (“what does your wife do for a job?”).  I am cisgendered, but stand fully with trans people in an increasingly hostile media and social environment;  It should go without saying that I believe that trans people are who they say they are.  But here we are.  

I see it as an important part of my job to hold an awareness of the pressures that all LGBTQ+ people face to some degree. This means that, if you are LGBTQ+ yourself, you can approach working with me with the expectation that you will feel safe with expressing your sexual and/or gender identity, as I will either understand it on the basis of my personal experience, or have taken the steps to get an external perspective and understanding. 

Why is this important? 

Not all therapists share these values.  21st century therapy has an image of being accepting and positive towards client’s lives, and until recently, you might have expected that a therapist be trans-inclusive, for example.   However, a recent ruling against Metanoia, a large and respected therapy training organisation, has changed this perception to a degree, and the law has been clarified thus: therapists are not required to affirm gender identity under the Equality Act. Describing myself as an affirmative therapist (hopefully!) conveys that I affirm trans people’s gender identity. 

It’s also worth remembering that the spectre of conversion therapy still hangs over us all. I completely reject this as extremely harmful to all LGBTQ+ people, as do the large majority of therapists, yet it is still legal in the UK.  My professional body, the BACP, considers this a harmful and unethical practice and were I to try and employ it, I would rightly face disciplinary action. So, my LGBTQ+ clients are protected both from this both by my personal values, and by those of my professional body.