[Guest Column] "Not Assuming Your Sexuality Right Off the Bat is the Very Least People Can Do"
[Guest Column] "Not Assuming Your Sexuality Right Off the Bat is the Very Least People Can Do"What Heteronormative Health Professionals Need to LearnThis is the Sunday Edition of Paging Dr. Lesbian. If you like this type of thing, subscribe, and share it with your friends. A paid subscription gets you more writing from me and will help me keep this newsletter afloat. (This week’s dispatch from the lesbian internet, which is only available to paid subscribers, was especially juicy.) Consider going paid! Today, we’re going to do something a little different. Earlier this summer, Hannah Lord, a therapist who writes a newsletter about mental health called It’s Not What You Think, reached out to me about collaborating on a piece about mental health within the LGBTQ community and what mental health professionals might do to better support their LGBTQ patients. She asked me to share my own experiences with therapy and how my sexuality has (or hasn’t) factored into my mental health journey. I normally don’t write explicitly about mental health in Paging Dr. Lesbian, though it’s certainly an issue that undergirds some of the pop culture topics I discuss. I also don’t usually write about myself in this newsletter because I think there are many more interesting subjects out there, but I do think it’s important to do things that are out of your comfort zone sometimes. So, I hope you will find Hannah’s interview with me (!) interesting, thought-provoking, or useful in some way. I would also encourage you to leave a comment below if you have any additional thoughts about how mental health professionals can create safe spaces for their LGBTQ clients. Now, here’s Hannah. Throughout my training as a psychotherapist I’ve learned how vital the individual attunement with each client is. Being able to really see them, allowing space for their myriad experiences and unique qualities. In theory, a therapist should ble to work with anyone, no matter their background, culture, race, sexuality or gender. Human connection does not rely exclusively on shared experience. However, in practice it’s clear that these differences can cause serious blindspots. Clients often request therapists that share certain identifiers as a way to feel safe, more comfortable, and more free to express themselves. The field of psychotherapy is constantly evolving and (most) therapists are consistently learning how to better serve new and existing clients. I wanted to explore this further and had the great fortune of speaking with Paging Dr. Lesbian’s very own Kira Deshler to get her feedback on where she thinks the mental health industry could improve how they work with the LGBTQ+ community. Here’s my interview with Kira.
As Paging Dr. Lesbian’s audience, I’d love to know your feedback or individual experiences in the comments. Or if you wish to contact me directly you can email me at hclondontherapy@gmail.com and find me on Substack at It’s Not What You Think. And thanks again to Kira for her brilliant interview and for letting me slide into her newsletter residency! 🙌 You’re a free subscriber to Paging Dr. Lesbian. For the full experience, which includes weekly dispatches from the lesbian internet, become a paying subscriber. Your support means a lot! |
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