Top-Rated LGBTQIA+ Therapy Boulder
Takeaway: Whether you want to process trauma you’ve experienced as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community or are simply looking for general mental health support from someone who truly gets it, I’m here to help. I offer LGBTQIA+ counseling in Boulder (and virtually throughout the entire state of Colorado), using both my professional training and personal lived experience. Reach out today to learn more about how we can work together.
You're not alone in wanting a therapist who recognizes the complexities of LGBTQIA+ life without pathologizing it. At Softening Stone Psychotherapy, you’ll find someone who respects your experience, values your identity, and who you can better relate to.
You deserve to invest your time in therapy on your healing and growth, not your therapist’s education. You shouldn’t have to choose between affirming care and trauma-informed counseling. You definitely should not have to experience the trauma of oppression at the hands of your therapist.
Meet Parker Schneider, LGBTQIA+ therapist in Boulder, CO
I’m a Licensed Professional Counselor and I provide online counseling across the state of Colorado. I am a Queer and Trans mental health therapist originally from rural Missouri. I completed my graduate training in wilderness therapy in Boulder, CO. In addition to my counseling training and lived experience in the LGBTQ community, I have provided training on the unique challenges faced by LGBTQIA+ individuals for over a decade.
Some example topics are:
LGBTQIA Informed Substance abuse treatment
Global Representation of Transgender & Gender Expansive people throughout history
Intimate Partner Abuse as a Queer Issue
Trans-specific experiences of Gender-based violence
Trans-informed SANE training
Trans-informed Meditation instruction
Gender Affirming Care Referral Letters or WPATH Letter-writing
I’ve been providing training on LGBTQIA experiences and needs to educators and healthcare providers. All in the hopes that fewer of us have to do so when we are paying for education or healthcare. I know I am exhausted from it and I imagine you are too. Rest assured; you won’t need to do that here.
My approach to LGBTQIA+ counseling in Boulder
As a queer and trans therapist, it is incredibly important to me to be out in my practice. This supports me in bringing authenticity to my work. It also lends openness and depth to the therapeutic relationship.
I also believe it is important to name that how I show up as a clinician is informed by my own experiences as a patient or client with non-affirming, harmful, and discriminatory providers. I deserved better and you do too.
My practice is founded in liberatory frameworks, social justice, queer theory, and intersectional feminism. This foundation is not just about beliefs and values. It shapes the way I work with every client. Because the status quo of counseling and social work isn’t working for any of us.
I get it if you are distrustful of therapists because too many healthcare providers dropped you or actively harmed you. I won’t blame you if you lack hope that any healthcare provider will ever help you. I don’t need to argue with the parts of you protecting you from more bias and discrimination.
There is room for your weariness, distrust, and jadedness here. And there is room for your grief or anger about it all too.
Why choose Softening Stone Psychotherapy
So many of us hesitate to reach out for any kind of healthcare and our reasons for that are totally valid. It’s incredibly important to have a mental health care provider who won’t subject you to discriminatory, unaware, non-affirming, and traumatizing experiences.
When working with me, you can be sure you will find:
1. SHARED UNdERSTADING
As a queer and trans therapist, I understand first hand the unique experiences and challenges faced by LGBTQ people. Shared understanding can foster a deeper connection within the therapeutic relationship. And it can reduce the need for you to explain aspects of your identity.
2. Cultural Competency:
My lived experience as an LGBTQIA therapist includes awareness of specific terminology, issues, and cultural nuances within the LGBTQ community. This results in a more informed therapeutic environment and can contribute to you feeling more supported.
3. Specialized Knowledge:
I have specialized training in addressing mental health concerns that disproportionately affect the LGBTQ community. For instance, trauma, substance abuse, attachment wounding, and depression. I am knowledgeable about community-specific concerns such as minority stress, internalized oppression, coming out, rural or southern culture, and queering family. You will receive more empathetic validation acknowledging the impact of societal discrimination. And I can better support you in navigating these experiences.
4. Intersectional Understanding:
I am attuned to intersectionality and can address the compounding effects of multiple marginalized identities. I can provide you with more nuanced and tailored support. Therapy is more effective when your counselor considers the complexity of your experience. Race, class, disability, gender identity (and more) impact your experience. .
5. Reduced Stigma:
Discussing your experiences and needs without fear of judgment or stigmatization is more accessible when working with a counselor who shares your identity. When you feel safer and more able to share openly and honestly, therapy can be more supportive and helpful.
6. A Safer Space:
I use inclusive and affirming language that creates a therapeutic environment where you are more likely to feel seen, heard, and respected as your authentic self. And, you won’t need to spend your time educating me about your LGBTQIA+ identity or experiences which allows our focus to be on your actual needs and goals.
In choosing to work with me, you are not signing up for another counselor who wears “ally” like a badge while not realizing allyship is a verb. Instead, you are signing up to work with a licensed professional counselor who lives in the same world as you and wants to get real with you in this work.
When Softening Stone Psychotherapy might not be the best fit for you
I am incredibly passionate about ensuring that LGBTQ individuals receive culturally responsive care. That requires me to also be aware that I am not always the best fit for providing that care.While I am deeply committed to supporting individuals who have experienced trauma, I also recognize that I may not be the best fit for everyone. It's crucial to acknowledge when it might be a better choice for you to seek counseling from another therapist.
Some reasons I might not be a fit for you right now are:
1. Dual Relationships:
In small communities, there is significant potential for overlapping social circles. I prioritize me having queer and trans community and support networks. Doing so results in me not being available as a potential counselor for all LGBTQIA individuals. I am prohibited from providing counseling to someone I have another type of relationship with. If we have overlapping social circles in which I interact with you in another role, I am not able to provide the support you need from a counselor.
2. Limited Specializations:
I have specialized training in trauma, anxiety, substance abuse, oppression, and LGBTQ-affirming care. And I have extensive training and experience in many mental health specialties. However, there are some areas I have limited training or experience with. You may find that seeking support from a counselor who has more specialized training in that area is a better fit for you. If you are uncertain if I have training in the area you are looking for support in, please feel free to ask!
3. Conversion vs. Affirmation:
My practice affirms the identities and inherent worth of LGBTQ individuals. I wholeheartedly believe that LGBTQIA+ folks living authentically is a gift to the world. If you are seeking therapy to change your LGBTQ identity, I am not a fit for what you are looking for. I certainly understand the fear and desire around seeking to change parts of ourselves in a world that stigmatizes them. And, I believe that is a problem with the world, not you.
4. Logistical incompatibility:
We may find that our schedules do not align. Or that I am currently unable to meet the needs you have around insurance or reduced-fee therapy. You also may be seeking in-person therapy outside of my area or online therapy outside Colorado.
Finding a counselor who is a good fit is essential for therapy to be effective and supportive. It’s okay if you find that I am not the fit for you. If you are seeking a modality I am not trained in or a specialization I do not have, it makes sense for you to explore providers who may be a better fit in those areas. If you believe my expertise and approach align with your needs, I encourage you to reach out. And, if you aren’t quite sure, feel free to ask!
FAQs about working with an LGBTQIA+ therapist in Boulder
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Queer-affirming therapists acknowledge that individuals know themselves best. They know their clients do not need permission from anyone else to claim their identity. LGBTQ folx do not have to prove their identities or enoughness. Queer affirmative counselors seek to reinforce that. And they validate the experiences of LGBTQIA+ individuals.
LGBTQ-affirming therapists normalize the identities and experiences of queer and transgender folks. Queer-affirming counselors create a judgment-free space. A space where queer and transgender people can talk about their unique experiences without fear of discrimination.
Affirming counselors will also consider the impacts that homophobia, transphobia, and heterosexism have on LGBTQ clients. Clients can expect queer-affirmative counselors take common experiences of LGBTQ folx into account. Examples of those common experiences are discrimination, rejection, and societal stigma. And queer-affirming counselors won’t assume those common experiences are ones that every queer or transgender person has experienced.
It isn’t an uncommon thing to find therapists in Colorado claiming to be queer-affirming on their websites. Often without sharing any information about what queer-affirming means to them. Even when therapists aren’t saying they’re affirming, many still say they specialize in "lgbtq issues."
Being okay with working with LGBTQIA+ individuals does not equal being prepared to work with LGBTQIA+ people in an affirming and culturally responsive way
Therapists with lived experience as LGBTQIA+ are more likely to be prepared to offer queer-affirming support to you in therapy. Rarely are counselors provided training in culturally responsive care for any marginalized group.
The exceptions are when counselors in training intentionally pursue it in specialized graduate programs or additional training. Often those programs or trainings exist because LGBTQIA therapists recognized the need and created them.
And no clinical training is truly equivalent to lived experience as LGBTQIA+. Prioritizing working with a counselor with lived experience ensures you are better supported. It also allows you to prioritize supporting your community.
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There were well over 500 anti-LGBTQ bills proposed in legislatures across the U.S. in 2023. The vast majority of those were aimed at transgender and gender expansive people. And, these laws have impacted transgender youth the most. Experts are tracking the longer-term impacts of these bills on transgender people. You can follow these bills and remain up to date on threats to LGBTQIA+ communities, especially trans and gender expansive folks. To do so, check out Erin Reed's public spreadsheet. You can also follow the Track Trans Legislation website or the ACLU.
Queer and Trans people are being targeted and attacked. Queer and Trans identity have been made political. The actions of some legislators and ideological lobbies can be seen as attempts to eradicate LGBTQ+ people. All while erasing queer and trans histories and removing the capacity for LGBTQIA+ adults to be healthy role models for LGBT youth and young adults.
How can any queer or transgender person be okay in the midst of all that? And this isn't the beginning of LGBTQ folx navigating oppression and discrimination. The ongoing trauma of oppression has impacts on mental health. LGBT clients are at a higher risk of struggling with depression, anxiety, trauma symptoms, or substance abuse issues as a result. Research shows chronic trauma and minority stress also result in poorer physical health outcomes.
Affirming counseling is crucial as it acknowledges the specific challenges LGBTQ clients face. It provides a space where clients can openly explore their identities, relationships, and mental wellness. Often one of few places that can occur without fear of judgment or misunderstanding. This support is increasingly important in the current political and social landscape.
LGBTQIA+ affirming counselors cultivate an environment that recognizes the impact of societal biases. They offer care that respects diverse orientations and gender identities. This approach fosters self-acceptance and reduction of internalized oppression. This promotes a therapeutic alliance that empowers clients to navigate their unique journeys toward authenticity and emotional well-being.
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Topics addressed in Queer-affirming counseling vary from one client to another. Common topics clients choose to focus on are:
developing healthy relationships
building LGBTQ community
exploring sexual orientation or gender identity
what it means to be their true self
improving trust and communication in CNM relationships
how to feel comfortable in their own skin
relationship difficulties with a family member working toward full acceptance
past experiences of bias-motivated victimization or trauma
feelings of shame, internalized oppression, or negative beliefs about themselves
Ultimately, queer and transgender clients can utilize therapy sessions to address whatever they need at any particular time. LGBTQ folx may find that none of the common cultural and identity-based experiences above are relevant to them. And, even if they are relevant, clients can still choose to focus on some other topic.
Feel seen, understood, and supported with the LGTBQIA+ affirmative care you deserve.
At Softening Stone Psychotherapy, you'll find a psychotherapist who understands the complexities of LGBTQIA+ life without pathologizing you. I'm here to provide a safe space where your experiences are respected and your identity valued. If you’re looking for LGBTQ counseling from an affirming provider or a counselor with lived experience, let’s connect. Reach out today for a free initial consultation.