SEXUAL ORIENTATION & GENDER IDENTITY

Members of the LGBTQIA community, as well as those who identify as gender queer or non-binary do not inherently need to seek mental health services.  However, since living outside of the normative culture can be hard, psychotherapy can be beneficial.

You may be questioning your sexuality, uncertain of your gender identity, have religious and spiritual trauma due to your LGBTQIA status, have conflict with your family due to your orientation, or even have reasons outside of your sexual orientation and gender identify for seeking therapy – regardless of the reason for seeking services, you are welcome here, all of you.  I want to ensure that my clients feel safe enough to show up fully, with no need to hide vital parts of themselves.

TREATMENT

My goal is to work along side you to help you become the most authentic version of yourself.  The journey to finding authenticity is challenging and at times terrifying. It requires you to examine parts of yourself that you have buried, ignored, and in many cases didn’t know existed.  Living in our culture, it is common to grow up believing in the heteronormative narrative. This narrative, however, can be extremely damaging – even when you don’t realize it. Internalized homonegativity or cisgender bias may be a part of your experience leading to anxiety, self-hatred, depression, shame, and rage.  Much of our work will be identifying and treating those biases. The antidote to shame is empathy and compassion. I will utilize cognitive behavioral therapy strategies to treat automatic negative thinking and stuck points, while also using acceptance and commitment therapy to focus on compassion and acceptance.

This will be hard, yet extremely worthwhile work; you are worth it.  You can live a life worth living and BE WHOLE.

SEXUAL ORIENTATION & GENDER IDENTIFY RESOURCE LIST

I have compiled a list of resources.  I invite you to take some time to explore.  I have included a variety of topics, including advocacy, education, mental health, and faith.  As a reminder, this is a list of resources meant to supplement your professional treatment. This list is not a substitute for a medical doctor or therapist.

NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

Parents & Friends of Lesbians & Gays (PFLAG): https://pflag.org/

Human Rights Campaign (HRC): https://www.hrc.org/

It Gets Better Campaign: https://itgetsbetter.org/ 

The Trevor Project: https://www.thetrevorproject.org/

Gender Spectrum: https://www.genderspectrum.org/

Planned Parenthood: https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/gender-identity/sex-gender-identity

PORTLAND, OR SERVICES

Q Center: https://www.pdxqcenter.org/

Brave Space: https://www.bravespacellc.com/

COMING OUT GUIDES

Coming Out – A handbook for LGBTQ Young People

Guide to Coming Out 

GENDER, SEXUALITY, & YOUR FAITH

Owning Our Faith

Hurt by Church? Get a Straight Apology

WEBSITES

Human Rights Campaign (HRC): https://www.hrc.org/explore/topic/religion-faith

Gender Spectrum: https://www.genderspectrum.org/explore-topics/faith/

Canyonwalker Connections: http://canyonwalkerconnections.com/

BOOKS

(list obtained, in part, from genderspectrum.org)

General

Transgender Journeys by Virginia Ramey Mollenkott and Vanessa Sheridan

Omnigender: A Trans-Religious Approach by Virginia Ramey Mollenkott

 

Christian

Ministry Among God’s Queer Folk: LGBT Pastoral Care by David Kundtz 

God and the Gay Christian: The Biblical Case in Support of Same-Sex Relationships by Matthew Vines

Retreating Forward: A Spiritual Practice with Transgender Persons by David Elias Weekley

TORN: Rescuing the Gospel from the Gays-vs.-Christians Debate by Justin Lee, President of the Gay Christian Network

Bible Gender Sexuality: Reframing the Church’s Debate on Same-Sex Relationships by Prof. James Brownson

Walking the Bridgeless Canyon: Repairing the Breach between the Church and the LGBT Community by Kathy Baldock

A Brief Guide to Ministry with LGBTQIA Youth by Cody J. Sanders

Trans-gendered: Theology, Ministries, and Communities of Faith by Justin Tanis 

Transforming: The Bible and the Lives of Transgender Christians by Austen Hartke

This Is My Body: Hearing the Theology of Transgender Christians by Christina Beardsley

Transgender Children of God by Megan Rohrer

Transparently: Behind the Scenes of a Good Life by Lisa S. Salazar

Trans/formations by Marcella Althaus-Reid and Lisa Isherwood

Transgender, Intersex, and Biblical Interpretation by Teresa J. Hornsby and Deryn Guest

 

Judaism

Balancing on the Mechitza: Transgender in Jewish Community by Noach Dzmura

Through the Door of Life: A Jewish Journey between Genders by Joy Ladin

The Soul of the Stranger: Reading God and Torah from a Transgender Perspective by Joy Ladin

Transgender and Jewish edited by Naomi Zeveloff

Torah Queeries: Weekly Commentaries on the Hebrew Bible edited by y Gregg Drinkwater, Joshua Lesser,‎ and David Sheer

 

Islam

Living Out Islam: Voices of Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Muslims by Scott Siraj al-Haqq Kugle

Queer Jihad: LGBT Muslims on Coming Out, Activism, and the Faith by Afdhere Jama

 

Buddhism 

Out of the Ordinary: A Life of Gender and Spiritual Transitions by Michael Dillon

Sexuality in Classical South Asian Buddhism by José Ignacio Cabezón

 

Native Traditionalism and Indigenous Beliefs

Two-Spirit People: Native American Gender Identity, Sexuality, and Spirituality by Sue-Ellen Jacobs, Wesley Thomas, and Sabine Lang

Gender in Pre-Hispanic America by Cecelia F. Klein

Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Myths from the Arapaho to the Zuñi: An Anthology by Jim Elledge

TRANSGENDER HEALTH RESOURCES

Transgender Health Injection Guide  

National Center for Transgender Equality – Know Your Rights

Hormone Therapy  

Guide to Protecting Your Well-Being on Instagram