LGBTIQ+ Therapy
Online counselling and psychotherapy for people whose lives are shaped by gender, sexuality and relationship diversity. I work with clients across Australia and internationally.
Therapy offers a place to think carefully about identity, relationships, desire, belonging and the sometimes more difficult aspects of our experience, including conflict, shame, trauma, and the emotional patterns that shape life in ways that are both conscious and partly outside awareness (unconscious).
My clinical work is relational, trauma-informed, and grounded in contemporary psychodynamic and Transactional Analysis theory and practice. I believe these approaches speak to our complex, polymorphous sense of self formed through our unique mosaic of individual life experiences.
A step in the right direction
Clients who self-define as gender-, sexual- and/or relationship-diverse form a major component of my therapy work, and LGBTIQ+ clients make up the bulk of my clinical practice. I focus on the nuances and developmental considerations at the various stages of our adult lives for this group of clients in ways many clinicians do not.
I take the position that we are all always in a process of becoming integrated and whole. Life events, our evolving relationship to our experiences and emergent changes in our experience are part of our individual unconscious script, pushing us towards an integrated version of ourselves where more peace, clarity and contentment can be found.
I welcome people who identify as LGBTIQ+, queer, gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, gender diverse, non-binary, and those whose intimate lives may include consensual non-monogamy, polyamory, kink, and other relationship aspects and structures, including a preference for no intimate relationships at all.
Some clients come to therapy with questions directly related to identity or relationships, while others are dealing with anxiety, depression, trauma, grief, relational difficulties, loneliness, conflict, or a more general sense that life has become constricted, confusing, or disconnected from meaning.
Our work might cover
- Exploring sexuality, gender, identity, or relationship structure.
- Minority stress, shame, stigma, or internalised hostility.
- Family rejection, secrecy, belonging, or community conflict.
- Relationship strain, intimacy difficulties, jealousy, trust, or attachment issues.
- Trauma, complex trauma, and long-standing interpersonal patterns.
- Questions of meaning, self-worth, creativity, and how to live more fully.
My approach
We are born into relationships, are injured, healed and developed through them, and we move toward individuation through our best and worst times.
How therapy might help
What brings people from our communities to this kind of work?
This counselling work is grounded in the belief that change happens through reflection, exploration, meaning-making and the experience of therapeutic relating, rather than through formulaic directives or an approach that promises to heal.
The practice of my clinical work is informed by contemporary psychodynamic psychotherapy, relational thinking, trauma awareness, contemporary analytic psychology ideas, and Transactional Analysis – my original training.
This means paying attention not only to current symptoms or immediate problems, but also to recurring emotional patterns, unconscious processes, attachment histories, internal conflicts, and the ways relationships may reflect and repeat older ways of adapting.
At times, this may include considering dreams, fantasies, symbolism, memory, and the meanings that emerge within the therapeutic relationship.
It may also involve noticing how a person protects themselves, how they relate to others, what roles they take up, and what becomes difficult to say, feel, or know.
The tone of the work is mostly warm, reflective and steady, while still making room for careful challenge when that helps bring something important into view. Relational therapists bring themselves into the experience of the therapy in judicious, thoughtful and ethical ways.
People often seek this kind of therapy when they want more than coping strategies alone.
Clients may want to understand why certain relationships become painful, why the same conflict repeats, why shame remains so powerful, why intimacy feels difficult, or why one part of the self seems to undermine another. Whatever is standing in the way is explored with the goal of developing a deeper and more integrated sense of self.
Anxiety, depression, emotional overwhelm, or emptiness.
Identity questions and the impact of social hostility or exclusion.
Repetitive relationship difficulties or intimacy problems.
Complex trauma and its effect on trust, regulation, and self-experience.
Shame, self-criticism, or the legacy of rejection.
Midlife experiences, life transitions.
Dreams, inner conflict, and a wish to understand the self more deeply.
How the work is understood
Understanding rather than imposing
Therapy does not begin with a fixed idea of who a person is or what their experience should mean. In this way, I approach my counselling work as the psychoanalyst Wilfred Bion described as being without memory or desire. Instead, it creates space to understand how life has been shaped by history, relationships, body, culture, social context, and the meanings that have developed over time.
Rather than forcing experience into a pre-existing framework, the aim is to discover what becomes meaningful and truthful in the work itself. This is especially important for people whose lives sit outside conventional assumptions and rules about gender, sexuality, or relationships.
Many clients have experienced being cast out, simplified, objectified, misunderstood, over-explained, or reduced to labels. Therapy can offer something different: a serious, respectful and psychologically minded space in which complexity is framed, explored and allowed.
About me
I am a PACFA Registered Clinical Psychotherapist, Certified Transactional Analyst, and clinical supervisor working online with clients nationally and internationally.
With more than 15 years’ experience working with individuals, relationship constellations, supervision groups and coaching, I have a particular interest and extensive experience working with clients who define themselves as sexually, relationship and/or gender diverse.
I am on the editorial board of the Transactional Analysis Journal, have edited two themed issues of the Journal on Gender, Sexuality and Identity (2017) and Relationships in Love, play and work (2025). My current paper on Transactional Analysis Relationship therapy is listed as one of the most widely read papers in the history of the journal, which dates back to the 1970s.
My clinical approach draws on contemporary psychodynamic psychotherapy, relational Transactional Analysis, trauma-informed practice, and Jungian-informed ways of thinking about dreams, symbols, development, and meaning.
Start with a conversation
If you are looking for LGBTIQ+ counselling or psychotherapy, or you would like to work with someone who understands the complexities of gender, sexuality and relationship diversity, you are welcome to get in touch.
You can book a free 15-minute consultation to see whether working together feels like the right fit, or enquire by email with any questions.
Email: bmctherapy@gmail.com
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. Do I need to identify as LGBTIQ+ to work with you?
No. While this page focuses on LGBTIQ+ counselling and psychotherapy, the practice also works more broadly with people whose lives are shaped by gender, sexuality and relationship diversity, including people exploring identity, relationships, non-monogamy, kink, or forms of belonging that do not fit conventional expectations.
Q2. What can I expect in the beginning of our work together?
I always begin my work with clients with a short phone call so we can get a sense of each other which includes you sharing with me confidentially a little about your difficulties or interest in therapy and I can explain a little about how I work. I don’t charge for these short calls as I believe the success of the work is determined by the quality of the ‘fit’ between client and therapist.
Should we both agree to proceed (and I always suggest people take a little time for this after the call) then we make an agreement about the work we will undertake together.
The first sessions (minimum three) are about an assessment process, which is informal but involved an exploration of your story, history and current circumstance and concerns. Once we have this, we plan further about the focus of our work and then the work begins…
Q3. What is your availability like?
My clients often come from high pressured professional service or corporate environments, the arts and creative industries. This often leads to complex working and travelling schedules and long hours of work. For this reason, I work later in the evenings with my last appointment being 6.30pm however, as a way of modelling good boundaries and regard for my own wellbeing, I do not work on Fridays or weekends any longer.
Q4. Can therapy include dreams, unconscious patterns, or repeated relationship dynamics?
Yes. Depending on what is useful, therapy may include attention to dreams, memory, symbolism, attachment patterns, conflict, and the ways difficulties can become repeated in relationships or in how a person relates to themselves.
Q5. Is therapy available outside my local area?
Yes. I work exclusively online these days. Online therapy works for most people but not all so this is something we need to explore together before proceeding – thus our initial phone discussion is important for establishing whether the online format is right for you. The good news is that the evidence for the effectiveness of online therapy suggests it runs about equal to face-to-face sessions and this is an evolving area of study but the findings of most research support my belief that online is as effective as face-to-face sessions.