Everyone could benefit from talking to a therapist or objective third party about their emotional and mental concerns at some point in their lives. One theme that comes up in many therapy sessions is sex. Whether you’re trying to heal from sexual trauma, explore your sexual identity or work out relationship problems, you need to feel safe, comfortable, heard and understood.
When you’re part of the LGBTQ community, finding the perfect therapist can be daunting. Many sexologists and sex therapists work from a heteronormative perspective. Even if they want to understand your lifestyle, they may not be able to if they don’t have experience with it.
Therefore, you might want to seek out a professional who is dedicated to serving the LGBTQ community. You need someone who is more than gay-friendly. A gay-informed sex therapist understands that all relationships are different and have unique challenges.
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Pride counseling – best gay sex therapy
Pride Counseling is an online therapy subscription service that specializes in the LGBTQ community. It’s accessible, flexible and convenient.
The Pride Counseling service, which is a branch of BetterHelp, launched in 2017 to serve individuals and couples with LGBTQ-specific issues. The therapists at Pride Counseling can also help with general mental health issues.
Some of the concerns that the Pride Counseling therapists can help you with include:
• Sexuality and gender roles
• Sexual trauma
• Abuse
• Physical intimacy
• Lack of intimacy or loss of desire
• Addictions
• Depression and anxiety
• Loneliness
• Ethical non-monogamy
Counseling can take place in a variety of formats for the utmost convenience. Clients can schedule a live phone call, video chat or messaging session with their therapist once a week. In addition, they can send messages to their therapist at any time of day. The therapist will reply within 24 hours of each message. Although it may not feel the same as a real-time conversation, this type of discussion helps clients work out their thoughts and emotions between live sessions.
To get started, visit PrideCounseling.com and fill out the questionnaire. Your answers help the platform find the best therapist for you.
Why is it the best?
In some cases, gay and queer people face the same mental health issues as straight individuals. Anyone can struggle with depression, anxiety, grief and other strong emotions. But gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals may have unique problems that stem from being different in a heteronormative society.
The therapists at Pride Counseling understand how to navigate those issues. They recognize that a gay or queer relationship isn’t the same as a heterosexual relationship.
When it comes to physical intimacy, even the definition of “sex” is fluid. An effective therapist must have a grasp on the factors that influence LGBTQ couples. While many therapists are gay-friendly, that’s not always enough. You need a therapist who is gay-informed and takes a different approach than they would take with a heteronormative couple.
Pride Counseling brings together thousands of therapists from a variety of backgrounds. You can find a therapist to work with you individually or help you and your partner improve your relationship.
The service pairs you with a therapist to suit your needs based on the questionnaires that you fill out when registering. If you and the counselor are a good match, you can remain with the same therapist for as long as you’d like. You can also switch to a different therapist at any time if yours isn’t ideal for you.
If you were looking for a gay-informed therapist locally, you would likely have to schedule a new patient appointment. Then, you would have to complete a mental health assessment. You might not even meet your therapist until the second or third appointment with the practice.
At Pride Counseling, you’ll be paired with a therapist right away. You can begin messaging one another and develop a relationship more quickly than you could with an in-person therapist. If the match isn’t right for you, you can ask for another therapist.
This makes the process of finding the best gay sex therapist quicker and more aligned with your preferences. Not only does the process of matching you up happen faster than it would in a traditional setting, but it also allows you to find a new therapist within hours instead of weeks.
Finally, clients can access conversations with their counselor from a private area within the platform. This feature lets you keep track of helpful suggestions and advice from your counselor. Returning to this information regularly can help you remember valuable coping techniques and inspire you when you’re feeling down.
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Pride counseling pricing
Pride Counseling is a subscription service. After you answer the questionnaire and register, you’ll be paired with a therapist. At that time, you will be asked for your payment information so that you can begin your sessions.
The platform charges a flat fee of $60 to $90 per week to take advantage of all of the features of your membership plan. Clients are charged monthly.
Alternatives for gay sexologist therapy – Regain
Regain is an online therapy service that is geared toward relationship counseling. Queer relationships are different than heterosexual ones. A therapist who does not recognize this is not the best option for most LGBTQ partners.
If you want to participate in therapy with your partner, you might find Regain’s convenient platform to be ideal. There is a vast pool of licensed mental health professionals, many of whom are experienced with LGBTQ relationships.
The service works much like Pride Counseling. Partners will fill out a short survey to specify their interests and needs. Then, they’ll be matched with a therapist.
On this collaborative platform, the partners will share a joint account. They will both have access to a room in which all of their written communication with the therapist can be viewed. If either partner wants a private session, they can schedule a live appointment with the professional. Information from private sessions is not shared or saved in the joint account.
Pros of Regain
Regain has several benefits for LGBTQ partners:
• Convenient telehealth sessions.
• Your therapist is carefully selected based on your preferences.
• Partners can meet with therapist together or individually.
• Written communication with therapist is saved on the platform.
• Meetings with counselors are discreet and private.
• Straightforward user experience on the website.
• Participate for as long as you want.
Cons of Regain
There are a few instances in which Regain might not be the best choice for LGBTQ relationship counseling.
• Regain cannot be used for court-ordered therapy.
• Three-way calls are not supported; partners must access live sessions from the same location.
• The platform does not specialize in LGBTQ counseling, but individual therapists on the site may.
Pricing
Regain uses a flat-fee subscription model as the basis for its pricing structure. The fee to use the service is $60 to $90 per week. You can pay with a credit card or PayPal, and the subscription is billed monthly. This fee covers both individuals.
Final thoughts
It’s not always easy to talk to someone about your concerns surrounding sex and sexuality. If you’re in the LGBTQ community, you might feel like finding the perfect therapist is especially daunting. However, online sex therapy for LGBTQ individuals and couples provides versatile options that may not exist in local mental health practices.
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