LGBTQ+ Affirming Therapy
Rachel W. Friendly, Ph.D. (she | her | hers)
Inclusive, Affirming, Culturally-Responsive Therapy
Serving Clients in Virginia, Washington DC, California, & Massachusetts
It can be so hard to find safe and affirming spaces in our lives where we can explore our whole, authentic selves - where we can truly be all of us, in our largeness, our messiness, and our queerness.
VA License #: 810004656 | MA License #: 11340 | DC License #: PSY200001476 | CA License #: 27922
My Name is Rachel, and I Can Help
I am a queer-identified therapist working with queer adults who want to live their truth and explore their identities, but who might not be sure where to start.
Affirming therapy means I won't treat your identity as the problem to be solved, ask you to justify who you are, or default to heteronormative or cisnormative assumptions. We start from your self-knowledge and build from there.
Together we can dig in to what may be holding you back, so that you can start to craft your truest, most beautiful life.
We can investigate the internalized messages that may lead to shame or self-doubt. And we can work on replacing those messages with self-compassion, curiosity, and self-love.
I use an IFS-informed approach, which is particularly useful for identity work — it gives us a framework for exploring the different parts of you that may have conflicting feelings about coming out or living openly.
I work with clients in person in Fairfax County (Springfield, VA) and virtually via telehealth in Virginia, Washington DC, Massachusetts, and California. I am an out of network provider and can provide superbills for out-of-network reimbursement, Click here for information about my fees and practice policies.
Confidentiality
All sessions are completely confidential, with some very specific limits around protecting your and others’ safety and court orders that we will discuss in our first session.
I take your privacy extremely seriously — including with family members or employers.
Therapy is a space that gets to be just for you.
Contact Me For a Free Consultation
I know it can feel like a big step to call a counselor, but I’ll make it easy. We’ll spend 20-minutes on the phone and I’ll let you know how or if I can help. If I am not the right person, I’ll do my best to get you to the right person.
Contact me here for your free 20-minute phone consultation. I specialize in supporting the queer and trans/nonbinary community, over-accommodating women, and college and graduate students. I am also an IFS Level 1 therapist.