LGBTQ+ Couples Therapy
In-person & Virtual Therapy for LGBTQ+ Relationships, Couples, & Non-monogamous Partners
in Los Angeles & California
Are You And Your Partner Struggling To Work Through Conflict?
Are stereotypical gender roles creating tension in your relationship?
Have you relocated recently, making it harder to find queer community?
Have you or your partner’s shift in gender identity or sexuality sparked new questions and exploration?
Do you feel disconnected from each other and want a therapist who understands the nuances of queer relationships?
Maybe you and your partner feel scared or isolated in the midst of life’s changes. Perhaps differences in values have built up over time and you don’t know how to address them without causing conflict. Maybe one of you wants to open up the relationship but you’re afraid to introduce the subject. As a result, you may be considering seeking couples counseling.
Navigating Queer Relationships Is Hard, Especially When You Lack Supportive Communities
Maybe your partner isn’t able to come out to family or their workplace, and that’s added tension to your relationship. Perhaps you’ve had to move for a job and leave your queer community behind. Now, in your new location, it feels impossible to find a new one. On the other hand, you may have moved in together and found that stereotypical gender roles have emerged and put a strain on your relationship.
Regardless of what your challenges are, we encourage you to pursue counseling with us. Here at Open Space Therapy Collective, our therapists specialize in helping queer and same-sex couples work through conflict and increase their closeness and intimacy. We are LGBTQ+-affirming and many of us are part of the LGBTQ+ community ourselves, so we understand the nuances and unique challenges of queer relationships.
Queer Couples Often Lack Role Models And Feel Like They’re Out In Uncharted Waters
Because so many LGBTQ+ people grew up in a world that didn’t allow them to express who they were, most of them didn’t have queer relationship models to look up to. As a result, lots of queer folx feel like they’re navigating the unknown when it comes to relationships. After all, most of us implicitly learn how to relate to our partners based off of what we witnessed in our parents and in other adult relationships. But when we don’t have a template for how to connect with our partners, it can leave us without a shared language or clear direction to follow.
Marriage and couples counseling is a chance to create a new language together, ensuring that you and your significant other have the communication skills to relate to each other in a meaningful way.
All Couples Face Bumps In The Road, No Matter How Strong Their Bonds Are
Despite what you may see on social media, every couple goes through seasons of frustration together. Relationships are hard, and there are many ebbs and flows throughout the course of a marriage or long-term relationship. We all change as individuals, which means that our closest relationships change, too. Sometimes the spark just fizzles, not because of any major problem, but simply because the honeymoon phase ended and two people have gotten busy with life.
Oftentimes, these changes come about because of differences in values and goals. Many couples start out on the same page about having children, only for one partner to change their mind years down the road. Other times, one partner wants to open up the relationship and explore polyamory while the other wants to keep it monogamous. Disagreements can also arise when one person gets into kink or BDSM and the other isn’t interested. All of these challenges can impact a couple’s sex life, communication, and ability to handle conflict.
Therapy Can Help Couples Revive Their Relationships And Fall Back In Love
Therapy is a place where you and your partner can come in without the distractions of the outside world and focus on each other. This space is created for and dedicated to the two of you and your relationship. You and your partner may be experiencing new issues, or you may have found old issues are coming up in new ways. Regardless, Open Space Therapy Collective offers a place where you can grow together or find each other again.
Our therapists are part of the LGBTQ+ community, so you can rest assured that we understand the intricacies of queer relationships. We will help you and your partner identify your needs, share your fears, and be open to exploring new ways to strengthen your bond. You both deserve to be your full, authentic selves in your relationship, and our mission is to give you the safety and acceptance to create that kind of connection with each other.
Tailoring Couples Therapy To Meet Your Unique Needs
Therapy should be tailored to you and your partner’s unique communication and learning styles while respecting your relationship’s queer dynamics. Our therapists are highly skilled in a wide variety of techniques that will help you and your partner connect, listen, and share in order to heal and grow. We will help you notice unhelpful patterns and figure out how to interrupt them: for instance, through behavioral change options like taking a time out before a difficult conversation. We’ll teach you new practices for creating emotional safety and enabling you to communicate without escalating tension, such as utilizing a dedicated time to connect each week. Couples may need their therapist to show up in different ways from session to session, and that may look like being a translator of thoughts, a mediator of hard conversations, or a safe container to bring up something vulnerable.
Using the tools you learn in therapy out in the real world will help you reconnect and flourish together, remembering what it is like to feel joy in your relationship or marriage. There will always be challenges that come up, but when you have communication and connection skills, you will be able to take on these challenges together.
Are you ready to schedule or have any questions?
Send us a message
Maybe You Still Have Questions About Couples Therapy…
Will my therapist kink shame or try to convince us not to explore other relationship structures?
Definitely not! We are of the queer community and understand that these are relationship dynamics and structures that require a lot of care, communication, and willingness to be vulnerable to explore. We are committed to helping you navigate these conversations in ways that feel authentic and safe.
What if we have a lot of intersectional problems, not just one big issue?
Therapy at Open Space Therapy Collective is rooted in intersectionality and decolonization, and we are committed to fostering an anti-oppressive, anti-racist environment. As such, we are familiar with the different ways couples have conflict surrounding these issues. We are able to sit with these topics and provide containment so that you and your partner can find ways to connect.
What if we have a hard time relating to each other or one of us is more committed to the relationship?
Couples therapy is a space where the two of you have dedicated time to spend exploring your relationship and each other. Your therapist will be there to help you slow down your communication so you can each be heard and understood. From this place, the two of you can identify blocks to commitment and make shifts to help you relate to one another more easily.
Reconnect With Your Partner
We make it easy to book through our website with our available, queer-informed therapists. Take a moment to look over our Meet Our Team page and decide who is the best fit for you and your partner.
Once you’ve had your intro call, you and your therapist will find a weekly session time that works best for you. Our therapists offer in-person sessions at our Silver Lake office, as well as virtual sessions throughout California. We look forward to working with you and assisting you and your partner on your journey toward a better marriage or relationship!
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