LGBTQIA+ Therapy, With Nothing To Explain First
Affirming therapy for LGBTQIA+ adults with a doctoral-level psychologist whose clinical background includes real time at an LGBTQIA+ center, not a specialty checked on a directory profile. Bring the identity questions, the family stuff, the anxiety, or the ordinary life problems that have nothing to do with being LGBTQIA+ at all.
Who You'll Work With
Hi, I'm Corinne.
I'm a licensed clinical psychologist (PsyD) with extensive experience supporting trauma survivors and marginalized communities. You'll work directly with me at every step. I run every session and sign every evaluation myself. More about me →
- PsyD, Licensed Psychologist
- Online in 45+ states
- In person in Denver & Santa Ana
Hi, I'm Corinne.
“So many people spend their first sessions teaching their therapist the vocabulary. You should never have to do the educating in your own therapy.”
I'm a licensed psychologist with more than ten years of experience, and my clinical background includes work at an LGBTQIA+ center. That matters, because affirming care isn't a checkbox. It's knowing the terrain: coming out at 19 and coming out at 45, families that come around slowly and families that don't, faith communities, chosen family, and the low hum of vigilance that builds up after years of watching what you say.
It also means I know when your identity is the work and when it's just the context. Plenty of clients come in for anxiety, grief, or a career crisis, and what they want is a therapist who already gets the rest of their life so they can talk about the thing they actually came for.
Does any of this sound familiar?
People come to LGBTQIA+ affirming therapy from very different places. A few of the ones I hear most often:
- You've thought about coming out for years, and the right moment keeps not arriving.
- Your family loves you, and every holiday still requires a carefully edited version of you.
- You've tried therapy before and spent the sessions explaining terminology instead of getting help.
- Your faith and your identity feel like they're pulling in opposite directions, and you don't want a therapist with an agenda for either one.
- You're out, settled, and doing fine on paper, but the anxiety or the low mood never quite left.
- You're questioning something about yourself later in life, and part of you keeps saying it's too late to ask.
If any of that lands, none of it is too small, too late, or too complicated to bring to a first call.
Identity work, and everything else
Some of the work is specific to LGBTQIA+ life. Much of it is the same work anyone brings to therapy, done with someone who doesn't need the backstory explained.
Identity & Coming Out
Sorting out what's true for you, at your pace, with no agenda about where you should land. Coming out planning, timing, and the conversations that follow.
Family & Relationships
Families that struggle to accept, families that half-accept, chosen family, dating, and the relationship patterns that follow years of hiding parts of yourself.
Anxiety, Depression & Minority Stress
The cumulative wear of vigilance, discrimination, and rejection, along with the anxiety and depression that show up in every population, treated with evidence-based methods.
The Rest of Your Life
Work stress, grief, big decisions, self-worth. Being LGBTQIA+ doesn't have to be the topic. Sometimes it's just the context your therapist should already understand.
A word about what affirming means here. It doesn't mean I have a destination picked out for you. It means your identity is treated as a fact of your life rather than a problem to be solved, and the exploration belongs to you. I don't practice conversion therapy or anything resembling it, in any form, for anyone.
If the work you need is specifically about gender identity or transition, from social and medical decisions to detransition and family support, see Gender-Affirming Therapy, where that's the sole focus.
The ground rules, stated plainly
You shouldn't have to guess how a therapist will treat you. Here's what you can count on, before you ever book a call.
- Your identity is treated as a fact of your life, never as the pathology to be fixed.
- Your name and pronouns used correctly, in session and in every piece of paperwork I control.
- No conversion therapy, ever, in any form or under any label.
- Questioning is welcome, and you won't be steered toward any particular answer.
- What you share stays private within the limits of the law, explained clearly up front.
- Real clinical work with evidence-based methods, because affirming and rigorous aren't opposites.
“Affirming” on a directory profile isn't a credential
What Community Experience Brings
Almost every therapist directory lets a provider check the LGBTQIA+-friendly box, and no one verifies it. Friendly is a floor, not a skill. Competent affirming care means knowing how minority stress shows up clinically, how internalized shame hides inside anxiety and perfectionism, and how to support identity exploration without pushing it anywhere. My doctoral training covered assessment, diagnosis, and evidence-based treatment, and my clinical background includes work at an LGBTQIA+ center. You get both: the rigor of a psychologist and a therapist who has done this work with this community, not adjacent to it.
No Educating Your Own Therapist
Session time is expensive, and you should spend none of it defining terms, justifying your relationships, or bracing for a bad reaction. We start at the part that's yours.
Is Online Therapy Effective?
Yes, for most people. Some clients also value not running into their therapist at community events in a smaller city. Meeting online, or at my Denver or Santa Ana office, is entirely up to you.
45+ States, One License
Through my PSYPACT license, I provide affirming therapy to clients across 45+ states, including many where LGBTQIA+-friendly services are under threat.
Session fees & insurance
Individual sessions are $225, available to clients in 45+ states through my PSYPACT license.
For a full breakdown of rates and accepted insurance carriers by state, see Rates & Insurance.
“Your identity is treated as part of who you are rather than a problem to solve, and the exploration belongs to you.”
— Dr. Corinne Votaw-Freer, PsyD
Questions people ask before booking
Do I need to have my identity figured out before starting?
No. Questioning is one of the most common reasons people reach out, and it needs no conclusion before you walk in. Therapy is a good place to sort things out precisely because nothing you say there commits you to anything.
Do we have to talk about LGBTQIA+ topics?
Only if that's what you're here for. Many clients come in for anxiety, depression, grief, work stress, or relationship problems. The point of an affirming therapist isn't that identity dominates every session. It's that you never have to manage your therapist's understanding while you deal with everything else.
I'm not out. Is this safe for me?
Yes. What you share in therapy is confidential within the limits of the law, and I explain those limits plainly in the first session. If privacy at home is a concern for online sessions, mention it on the consultation call and we'll work out logistics that protect you.
What about faith and religion?
Both welcome in the room. Many people carry a faith background that matters deeply to them alongside an identity their community struggles with, and the tension between the two is real work, not a detour. I don't have an agenda for your beliefs any more than I have one for your identity. See also Religious Trauma.
How is this different from Gender-Affirming Therapy on this site?
This page covers identity, coming out, relationships, and minority stress more broadly. Gender-Affirming Therapy is for work specifically about gender dysphoria, transition, detransition, or supporting a family member through one. Many clients need only one of the two, and we'll sort out which during a free consultation.
Do you take insurance?
Yes, in Alaska, Colorado, Nevada, and Texas with specific carriers. See Rates & Insurance for the full breakdown, or ask on the free consultation call.