LGBTQ+ Counseling NYC
Therapy should be a place where you can talk about your life without having to explain or defend who you are.
Maybe you are dealing with anxiety, relationship stress, family dynamics, or a major life transition. Perhaps you are exploring your gender or sexuality. Or maybe you really just want a therapist who gets it enough that you don’t have to give them a vocabulary lesson before getting to the point.
I provide LGBTQ+ counseling in NYC for adults and couples who want thoughtful and affirming support in a space that is collaborative and curious.
You get to pick what parts of your identity are relevant to therapy. And my job is to meet you where you are.
Meet Your LGBTQ+-Affirming Therapist in NYC, Emily Lambert Robins
Hi, I’m Emily Lambert Robins, LCSW, AASECT-Certified Sex Therapist, Certified Imago Relationship Therapist, and former attorney.
I work with LGBTQ+ individuals and couples from a strengths-based perspective. My work is grounded in curiosity, and depending on what you would like to address, we might talk about relationships, anxiety, gender, sexuality, or whatever else may be making life harder than you want it to be.
What Is LGBTQ+ Counseling NYC and Who Can It Help?
LGBTQ+ counseling in NYC is therapy that provides affirming support for lesbian, gay, transgender, queer, nonbinary, and other members of the LGBTQ+ community.
You might seek LGBTQ+ affirming counseling because you’re experiencing:
Relationship concerns
Family conflict
Concerns about coming out
Gender identity exploration
Trauma
Body image
Dating
Boundaries
Life transitions
Questions about sex or intimacy
Or you may simply be looking for an individual therapist who respects your identity and understands it as part of the context of your life.
How LGBTQ+-Affirming Counseling Can Support Your Mental Health
LGBTQ+ mental health experiences are different for every person.
Therapy can provide you with a safe space to explore your identity, sexual orientation, and life experiences without assuming that there is one “right” way to feel about all of it. We might focus on underlying patterns, building stronger boundaries, improving self-esteem, developing self-compassion, dealing with relationships, or separating what you want from what you have been told you want.
The goal is not to make you more comfortable for others to be around. It is to help you build a life that feels more authentic and satisfying to you.
LGBTQ+ Therapy for Anxiety, Depression, and Stress
LGBTQ+ people experience anxiety, depression, stress, and burnout for many of the same reasons that anyone else does. But at the same time, experiences like discrimination, rejection, or concealment can add additional layers of stress.
LGBTQ+ counseling in NYC can help us look at all levels of stress and different experiences that could be impacting anxiety and depression. We might explore anxious thoughts, low mood, people-pleasing, or the stress of constantly monitoring how others perceive you.
LGBTQ+ Affirming Support for Trauma and Difficult Life Experiences
You may have experienced abuse, loss, rejection, bullying, religious trauma, or other experiences that affect the way you feel about yourself and your relationships.
In therapy, you get to decide the pace. You do not need to disclose every painful detail immediately. Instead, we can focus on helping you understand how past experiences show up in the present and learn ways to build more choice around the way you respond to them.
Therapy for Nonbinary People and Gender Identity Exploration
You do not need to arrive at therapy with every aspect of your gender figured out.
You might know exactly who you are. You might be questioning your identity. Or you might be trying different language or wondering if a certain label fits at all.
LGBTQ+ counseling in NYC can give you space to explore all those questions. As a non-binary affirming therapist in NYC, my role is to help you hear yourself more clearly. Gender identity counseling can include conversations about identity, body image, social transitions, sexuality, and how you want to move through the world.
Find an LGBTQ+ therapist in NYC
An LGBTQ+-affirming therapist in NYC should make it possible for you to talk about your life without feeling like you need to edit yourself or anticipate judgment.
Because I specialize in individual, couples, and sex therapy, we can also discuss relationship or intimacy concerns without treating LGBTQ+ relationships as fundamentally different or less valid.
You can learn more about my approach to couples therapy here.
What to Look for in an LGBTQ Therapist NYC
When looking for a queer therapist in NYC or an LGBTQ+ affirming provider, consider whether they:
Have knowledge about different sexual orientations and gender identities
Are comfortable discussing sex and sexuality
Understand that identity may or may not be relevant to your presenting concern
Make you feel respected
A therapist does not necessarily need to share your exact identity to provide affirming care. But you should feel confident that they have enough knowledge and self-awareness that you don’t have to worry about managing their reactions during your sessions.
Questions to Ask During an Initial Consultation
Not every therapist is a good fit for every client. The consultation is a great time to get a sense of how the therapist actually works. You might ask:
“What experience do you have working with LGBTQ+ clients?”
“How do you approach gender and sexuality in therapy?”
“Do you work with LGBTQ+ couples?”
“Are you comfortable discussing sex and intimacy?”
During a complimentary consultation with me, we can talk about what you’re looking for, you can ask questions about me and my approach, and we can decide if working together feels like a good fit.
Online LGBTQ+ Counseling NYC
Virtual therapy can make it easier to fit sessions around work, commuting, family, hobbies, and everything else that competes for your time on a daily basis.
I provide online LGBTQ+ counseling in New York State, as well as virtual therapy for clients in New Jersey and Connecticut. You simply need a private space and a reliable internet connection.
FAQs About LGBTQ+ Counseling in NYC
Deciding to start LGBTQ+ Counseling in NYC can bring up a lot of questions. To help, I’ve provided answers to some of the most common ones.
-
LGBTQ+ - affirming counseling is therapy that respects and validates diverse sexual orientations and gender identities.
Your identity may be part of what we discuss, but you get to decide how central it is to the work we are doing in each session
-
A general therapist may work with LGBTQ+ clients and might provide a broad approach to therapy that does not necessarily integrate the realities of queer life. But an affirming therapist validates sexual orientation and gender identity and approaches it from a specialized perspective. The goal is for you to spend less time explaining basic aspects of your identity and more time focusing on the concerns that brought you to therapy.
-
Yes! LGBTQ+ couples experience many of the same relationship difficulties as any other relationship. Couples counseling can help partners explore and understand patterns happening between them and learn different ways to communicate and reconnect.
If sexuality and intimacy are primary concerns, I also provide sex therapy for individuals, couples, and polycules.
-
Yes. You can be LGBTQ+ and want therapy because your job is stressing you out or because your mother-in-law is driving you crazy.
Your identity does not need to become the topic of every session simply because you are seeing an LGBTQ+-affirming therapist.
Start LGBTQ+ Counseling in NYC
You deserve therapy where you can show up as your whole self without wondering whether part of who you are is going to be seen as a problem to solve.
Maybe identity is something you want to focus on. Maybe it’s not as important as other life stressors.
Either way, you are welcome here.
I provide LGBTQ+ virtual counseling in NYC, New Jersey, and Connecticut for individuals and couples who want support that is warm and nonjudgmental. Schedule a free consultation, and we can take it from there.