LGBTQ+ Affirming Therapist for Couples and Adults in Texas

I welcome same-gender couples and fully support marriage equality. I also work with couples that include a nonbinary or transgender partner, and with couples who don't fit neatly into any category.

Queer couples deal with the same things every couple does: communication breakdowns, conflict that goes in circles, mismatched desire, trust after an affair, stress about money or kids. Sometimes there are added layers, like one partner being more out than the other, families who welcome one of you and not the other, or a partner's transition reshaping the relationship. Many LGBTQIA+ couples also build relationships without a script handed down from their families, which is both freeing and a lot of work.

In couples therapy, I draw on Emotionally Focused Therapy and Gottman Method tools to help you understand the cycle you get caught in and find your way back to each other. For couples who want focused, concentrated time together, online couples therapy intensives are also an option.

Coming out isn't a single event. It's a series of decisions about who to tell, when, and how, and it can look very different at 22 than at 45. Some people come out after years in a different-sex marriage. Some never feel the need for a formal announcement at all.

Family acceptance can be just as complicated. Parents may say the right things and still flinch at a holiday photo. Siblings may be supportive in private and silent in public. In therapy, we can work on what you need from your family, what you can let go of, and how to protect your relationship with yourself either way.

For some clients, family therapy with adult family members becomes a place to have conversations that have been avoided for years. For others, the deeper work is grieving what a family can't give and investing in the chosen family who can.

I've worked extensively with South Asian and Muslim clients as well as LGBTQIA+ clients, and I know those identities aren't separate boxes. If you're queer and South Asian, or queer and Muslim, you may feel pressure to choose: your family or your truth, your faith or your partner, your community or your safety.

I don't think you should have to choose, and I also won't tell you what to do with your faith or your family. Some clients find ways to stay deeply connected to their religion and culture; others step back; many live somewhere in between. Coming out can mean something very different in a family organized around izzat and "what will people say." We'll go at your pace, with care for your safety and for the relationships that matter to you. You can read more on my Culture & Spirituality page.

Even with a lot of love around you, living as an LGBTQIA+ person can mean carrying a background level of vigilance: scanning a new workplace, deciding whether to hold hands in a restaurant, bracing when the news turns to people like you. For many of my clients in Texas, the broader climate can feel stressful and uncertain. That stress is real, and it deserves attention in therapy.

We can work on mindfulness and coping skills to steady your nervous system, and on building the kind of connection and community that reminds you you're not alone. If you need support between sessions, my warmlines page lists peer-support lines, including Trans Lifeline. If you're in crisis, call or text 988, or call 911.

I work with adults 18 and older. Sessions are online, so you can meet from wherever feels private and comfortable, as long as you're located in Texas at the time of your session.

New couples start with a free phone consultation, which is required before our first appointment, and individuals are welcome to schedule one too. It's a chance to ask me anything, including about my experience with LGBTQIA+ clients, before you decide.