Working with Black LGBTQ+ People

In recent years, Black Queer and Trans lives have become far more visible in mainstream culture. There is more representation on screen, more public conversation, and a growing willingness to acknowledge the diversity of experience within communities of colour. Yet visibility is not the same as understanding. There remains a significant lack of focus on the intersectional realities of Black Queer lives.

My doctoral research reveals how homophobia, racism, and narrow expectations of masculinity do not operate in isolation for Black Queer men, but overlap and reinforce one another, shaping how they are perceived and the terms on which they are expected to exist. Black Queer men are not passive recipients of these forces; many actively resist and negotiate them. But the psychological cost of that resistance, of constantly pushing back against how the world insists on seeing you, is itself a significant burden.

I work with Black LGBTQ+ clients contending with the weight of these intersecting forces, whether that shows up as difficulty with self-acceptance, fractured relationships with family or community, chronic hypervigilance, feelings of not belonging anywhere fully, or the exhaustion of code-switching across every area of life. This is work I bring both clinical expertise and personal understanding to, and it is work I consider essential.

Working with Trans and Non-Binary Clients

I approach this work from a position of deep respect for each client's self-knowledge and autonomy. I do not pathologise gender diversity. As a psychologist, my role is not to assess or grant access to gender-affirming medical care, but to offer something equally vital: a consistent, affirming therapeutic relationship in which you can process the emotional complexities that may accompany your experience of gender.

For some clients, that means working through the psychological impact of navigating lengthy and often impersonal medical pathways, or managing the anxiety and frustration of waiting for care that feels urgent. For others, it may involve exploring identity in a space that holds uncertainty without rushing towards conclusions, processing the effects of transphobia on self-worth and relationships, or addressing difficulties that have nothing to do with gender identity but are made harder by the absence of affirming support elsewhere. I can also support you in building confidence, developing language for your experience, and strengthening the emotional resources you need to navigate a world that still demands too much explanation from trans and non-binary people.

The therapy room should be the one place where you are not required to advocate for your own legitimacy.

Addiction and the Queer Community

LGBTQIA+ individuals, and gay and bisexual men in particular, are disproportionately affected by substance use, sexual compulsivity, and addiction. The reasons are deeply rooted in minority stress, shame, social exclusion, and the particular cultures of connection and escape that have developed within queer communities. I work with clients navigating chemsex, problematic drug and alcohol use, and sexual and pornography compulsivity, bringing a non-judgemental understanding that recognises these issues cannot be addressed without understanding the contexts in which they develop.

For a more detailed exploration of how I work with addiction and compulsivity, including issues that affect both LGBTQIA+ and heterosexual clients, please visit my Addiction and Compulsivity page.

Issues I Commonly Work With

• Internalised homophobia, biphobia, or transphobia, and the shame and self-criticism that can accompany it

• Identity exploration, including coming out, navigating intersecting identities, and constructing a sense of self in a heteronormative world

• The impact of family rejection, conditional acceptance, or estrangement

• Relationship and intimacy difficulties, including those specific to queer relational dynamics

• The psychological burden of holding intersecting racial and sexual minority identities, including racism within LGBTQ+ spaces, homophobia within communities of colour, and the impact of fetishisation and exclusion

• Code-switching, compartmentalising, and the exhaustion of performing different versions of the self across different contexts

• Body image, gender dysphoria, and navigating gender transition

• Anxiety, depression, and trauma rooted in discrimination, minority stress, or an increasingly hostile political climate

• Addiction, compulsivity, and substance use, including chemsex and its specific role within queer communities

My Therapeutic Approach

I work integratively, paying particular attention to the ways in which schemas and coping patterns may have developed as adaptive responses to minority stress, discrimination, or early experiences of rejection. My practice is grounded in the principles of anti-oppressive practice, equity, and intersectionality. I do not work from a position of assumed neutrality, because neutrality in the face of structural injustice is not neutral. I am actively and explicitly affirming of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and relationship configurations.

Getting in Touch

If you are looking for a therapist who understands the realities of queer and trans experience, and who can offer clinically rigorous, culturally informed, and genuinely affirming support, I would be glad to hear from you through the Fees and Appointments page