Therapy where you don’t have to explain or defend who you are.
Therapy should be a place where you can talk honestly about your life, relationships, identity, fears, mistakes, and patterns without wondering whether your therapist is judging a fundamental part of who you are.
I provide LGBTQ+ affirming therapy in Austin, Texas, and online throughout Texas for adults looking for a supportive space to work through anxiety, depression, relationships, stress, identity, life transitions, self-sabotage, and repeating patterns.
You don’t have to make your LGBTQ+ identity the focus of therapy unless you want it to be.
Sometimes it’s relevant.
Sometimes you just want a therapist who gets it and can move on to what you actually came to talk about.
What Can We Talk About?
Anything that’s affecting your life.
That might include:
- Anxiety and overthinking
- Depression or feeling disconnected
- Stress and burnout
- Relationship difficulties
- Dating and intimacy
- Boundaries
- People-pleasing
- Family relationships
- Coming out
- Identity exploration
- Gender or sexuality
- Self-esteem
- Rejection or fear of rejection
- Religious or cultural conflicts
- Workplace stress
- Life transitions
- Self-sabotage and unhealthy coping behaviors
- Repeating relationship patterns
- Feeling stuck or unsure about what’s next
Your identity may influence some of these experiences without being the cause of them.
Therapy gives us room to talk about both.
You Don’t Have to Educate Your Therapist Before You Can Start Therapy
Having to explain basic terminology, defend your relationships, or wonder whether your therapist’s personal beliefs will become part of the session can make it difficult to actually focus on yourself.
LGBTQ+ affirming counseling means your identity isn’t something I’m trying to change.
Instead, we can focus on the reason you’re actually sitting in front of me.
Maybe that’s your relationship.
Maybe it’s anxiety.
Maybe you’re burned out.
Maybe you’re struggling with family.
Maybe you keep repeating a behavior you don’t understand.
Or maybe you’re trying to figure out who you are and what you want.
That’s where we’ll start.
Identity Can Be Complicated
Not everyone has a dramatic moment where everything suddenly makes sense.
You may know exactly how you identify.
You may still be figuring it out.
You may use a label sometimes and question it other times.
You may be comfortable with yourself but unsure how other people will respond.
You may also be dealing with expectations from family, religion, culture, relationships, or your community about who you’re supposed to be.
Therapy doesn’t require you to arrive with an answer.
We can make room for the questions, too.
Relationships & Repeating Patterns
Being LGBTQ+ doesn’t prevent you from falling into the same frustrating relationship patterns as everyone else.
You might struggle with boundaries, people-pleasing, jealousy, trust, attachment, communication, avoidance, fear of abandonment, or difficulty leaving relationships that aren’t working.
You might know exactly what the pattern is and still find yourself repeating it.
That’s a major part of the work I do.
Instead of simply asking:
“Why do I keep doing this?”
We’ll look at what happens underneath the behavior—what triggers it, what you’re feeling, what you’re trying to protect yourself from, and what keeps the cycle going.
LGBTQ+ Affirming Therapy in Austin & Online Across Texas
I’m Amanda Hanson, a Licensed Professional Counselor Associate, supervised by Bryan Moffitt, LPC-S.
I provide LGBTQ+ affirming counseling for adults in Austin and surrounding Central Texas communities, as well as online therapy throughout Texas.
My work includes anxiety, depression, relationships, self-sabotage, repeating patterns, avoidance, stress, burnout, boundaries, identity, and major life transitions.
Evening and weekend appointments are available.
You Get to Decide What Therapy Is About
You don’t have to fit yourself into somebody else’s idea of what therapy for an LGBTQ+ person is supposed to look like.
Maybe you want to talk about identity.
Maybe you want to talk about your terrible dating decisions.
Maybe you’re anxious, exhausted, angry, confused, heartbroken, stuck—or just tired of repeating something you don’t understand.
Bring that.
We’ll start there.
Understanding yourself is where change begins.