Affirmative Therapy
Providing Virtual or In-Office Affirmative Therapy for San Diego Residents in Oceanside and Mission Valley, California.
What Is Affirmative Therapy?
Affirmative therapy is the supportive approach to help LGBTQIA+ individuals embrace their identity. It isn’t a form of therapy that aims to “cure” them. Rather, it employs a positive and informed lens that celebrates and validates their identities, sexual orientations, and relationship structures. At the same time, it also acknowledges the stigma and obstacles they face.
Identifying as a gay member of the community with a transgender brother, our founder, Jennine Estes Powell, LMFT, strives to provide inclusive therapy for the rainbow community. At Estes Therapy Oceanside and Mission Valley, we provide affirmative therapy in an environment free of judgment, where clients can feel seen, heard, and supported.
Why Choose Affirmative Therapy?
Cities in California tend to be more LGBTQIA+ friendly places. However, sometimes, you need affirming support that validates your experiences. With affirmative therapy in Estes Therapy, you get a safe and supportive space for healing provided by a culturally competent therapist.
Get A Safe and Supportive Space for Healing
It can be hard to open up to a professional. It’s even more challenging as a queer individual living in a compulsory heterosexual (comphet) society. Therapists skilled in affirmative therapy provide a space free of judgment, stigma, or discrimination. In this affirming environment, we provide:
- Emotional validation
- Coping strategies to improve well-being
- Space to challenge any prejudices and internalized oppression
- Support to process past trauma and other mental health challenges
Heal From Internalized Sexism
Even heterosexual and cisgender individuals benefit from affirmative therapy. Many individuals are held back by societal gender expectations that become internalized when left untreated. Affirmative therapy helps heterosexual and cisgender individuals:
- Heal from past wounds caused by gender norms and roles.
- Challenge their internalized sexism and replace it with healthy coping strategies.
- Claim their gender and sexuality with confidence, whether or not they “pass” societal expectations.
Hire a Therapist Who Addresses Their Biases and Experiences with Cultural Competence
Therapists trained in affirmative therapy are committed to de-centering the enforced assumptions of the comphet society. At Estes Therapy, not only are some of our skilled therapists (including the founder) members of the LGBTQIA+ community but we also:
- Acknowledge that no matter if we are part of any minority group, we can still have biases and prejudices that we need to challenge ourselves.
- Recognize that no matter how much we embrace and understand queer culture as a whole, we are still part of the mainstream comphet culture that tried to erase it.
- Consider that the emotional issues that bring you to therapy can exist due to the pervasive culture of oppression for simply trying to exist.
Through our continued education in cultural competence, we provide effective and informed affirmative care.
How Affirmative Therapy Works
Our Approach to Psychotherapy and Counseling
At Estes Therapy, we combine evidence-based therapy techniques with an affirmative approach. Our licensed therapists are skilled in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), emotionally focused therapy (EFT), and other methods.
By combining evidence-based therapy techniques with the affirmative approach, we help clients approach challenges related to gender identity and sexual orientation while addressing mental health issues that brought them to us.
Individualized Care Tailored to Your Needs
The experiences of LGBTQIA+ individuals are shaped by their identities. Sessions can differ depending on the client’s concerns. They can focus on societal challenges and mental health management or identity exploration and celebration.
At Estes Therapy, we acknowledge each of our clients’ unique needs. That’s why we personalize treatment plans based on patients’ mental health goals, styles, and capacities while proactively uplifting their identities.
Who Can Benefit from Affirmative Therapy?
Everyone, including heterosexual and cisgender clients, benefits from affirmative therapy. It broadens everyone’s understanding of concepts such as gender expectation or heteronormativity.
LGBTQIA+ Individuals
Affirmative therapy provides a positive space to work out mental health issues from living in a society that centers on heterosexual and cisgender identities. Estes Therapy offers affirmative LGBTQIA+ Individual Therapy for clients who wish to navigate relationships, family acceptance, and personal growth.
Couples and Families
Families of LGBTQIA+ members who came out benefit from affirmative therapy. We help family members work through their pre-existing biases for greater acceptance.
Mixed-oriented couples can also benefit from affirmative therapy. As affirming therapists, we help couple clients feel at ease and free from fear of biases during treatment, from LGBTQIA+ couples counseling to polyamory counseling.
Meet Our Experienced Therapists
As a clinic owned by a member of the queer community with several experienced queer therapists on staff, Estes Therapy specializes in affirmative therapy. We are committed to helping clients celebrate and embrace who they are in their therapeutic journey.
Get Started with Affirmative Therapy Today in Oceanside and Mission Valley
It is common advice to see different therapists to find the right one that matches your needs. However, it can be costly in terms of time and money. That’s why, here at Estes Therapy, you can schedule a free matching appointment.
Ready to receive affirming care for your unique experiences? Call us for a free matching appointment or directly book an appointment with a therapist today.