Our Values: Queer & Trans Affirming

Inclusive Online Therapy Across Ontario

“We have to be visible. We should not be ashamed of who we are.”

– Sylvia Rivera, Queer & Trans Activist

Discover a place where you belong.

Trying to access care in a space where you aren’t celebrated as a queer or trans person is exhausting to say the least.

In those spaces, you might feel the need to educate your therapist from scratch about what your identity means…or worse, feel judged, unwelcome and unsupported. Therapy is hard enough without the emotional labour of trying to justify your own existence, and we get that.

You won’t ever have to do that here.

You are worthy. You are enough. And you belong here, in all your glorious queerness.

Why Queer Affirming?

At Counterspiral Care, we believe that simply being queer aware or queer informed isn’t enough.

We aren’t just making a little bit of space for you. We’re holding the doors wide open, pulling up your seat at the table, and elevating your voice.

We value your autonomy, rights, and opinion. We want you to experience a sense of shared understanding, deep knowing, and immense respect.

Your identity matters, and true healing work will acknowledge and celebrate it.

What You Can Expect

You deserve to have high expectations for your care. Here are a few things our team is committed to offering you:

  • We will be open-minded, accepting, and non-judgmental.

  • We will use your preferred name and pronouns, and if they change, we will likewise adjust how we address you to support your authentic self.

  • We will be knowledgeable and accepting about a wide range of identities and lifestyles, including two-spirit, gay, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, intersex, asexual, aromantic, polyamorous, and more.

  • We will understand that identity can be fluid, uncertain, and ever-changing, and will always be willing to explore how identity shows up for you. If how you identify changes, we will honour and believe you.

  • We will listen to you and understand the unique dimensions of your identity, while also educating ourselves about queer lifestyles, identities, and orientations so you’ll never have to start from scratch.

  • We will respect your unique beliefs and background, doing our best to understand how your culture and intersectionality impacts your lived experiences.

  • We will actively support queer and trans folks and their rights through our research, education, and personal practices outside the therapy space.

  • We will never assume that all of your problems are related to your queerness, and will hold space for a wide range of topics in session.

  • We will respect and value you as the expert on your own life, and will never assume to know more about your identity than you do.

  • We will strongly and firmly advocate in favour of queer rights and against discrimination and harassment.

  • We will always be open to feedback and suggestions for how we can best affirm you in session.

Who this type of therapy is for:

→ You’re queer: whether you’re questioning, fully out, closeted, poly, trans, ace, two-spirit, genderfluid, pan, sexually fluid, or choosing not to label it, you belong here!

→  You feel misunderstood, confused, and exhausted from having to explain your own existence.

→ You’re constantly afraid of judgment when you talk about your partners or preferences. Why can’t people just let you be happy?  

→ You feel like your identity is something to be ashamed of instead of celebrated. You hide your true self, and never quite feel good enough.

→ You feel like no one fully gets it, and you’re ready to talk to someone who does.

Why Choose Counterspiral?

Our team is a unique group with some important things in common.

  • We all deeply care about social justice, equity, and making the world a better place. We are actively anti-racist, queer and trans affirming, and we celebrate neurodiversity.

  • We are compassionate, supportive, and educated therapists who use evidence-based best practices to customize each session, just for you. And we’re also real people who will laugh with you, hold space for you, and authentically connect with you. We fully show up in session so that you have a brave and safe space to let it all out.

  • We know that therapy is really about you, so we’ll always do our best to match you to a team member who is a great fit.

  • You can get to know us better by visiting our Meet the Team page. We can’t wait to meet you!

Discover more of our Counterspiral Care values

Let’s get started.