LGBTQ2SIA+ Affirming Psychology in Toronto Doctoral-Level Psychological Care
LGBTQ2SIA+ affirming treatment at Laksman Doell Psychology is delivered by doctoral-level registered psychologists, both in person at our office in the Annex neighbourhood of Toronto and virtually across Ontario.
What LGBTQ2SIA+ Affirming Psychological Treatment Looks Like
Gender, sexuality, and identity are integral parts of being human, shaped by biology, culture, history, and the relationships that have held us. They are not problems to be solved. They are parts of who we are, and they deserve a space that treats them as such.
Affirming psychological care should not be seen as something extra. Rather, it ought to be norm. It means that you can trust that your psychologist has done the work to be culturally competent, to be aware of the specific mental health concerns that disproportionately affect LGBTQ2SIA+ adults, and that they bring the kind of presence that does not require you to translate your life. It means that they are equipped to support you to do the work that you came in to do, and to hold the contextual layers that may be a part of the picture. At Laksman Doell Psychology, affirmation, inclusion, and respect are part of the core values that our practice was built upon.
Whether you are exploring questions about your gender or sexuality, navigating coming out or transition, or working on something that has nothing to do with your identity but everything to do with your life, you deserve a psychologist who understands the difference and who treats you accordingly. Affirming psychological care involves understanding diversity in experience in every way, including the intersectionality between aspects of your experience and identity, and how this relates to your current psychological distress or areas of concern.
Affirming care, done well, is not a credential that health professionals earn once and check off. The mental health field has a real history of misunderstanding and mistreating LGBTQ2SIA+ people, BIPOC communities, and other marginalized groups. We hold that history with us when we work, and we hold ourselves accountable to it. We practice cultural humility, which means ongoing self-reflection regarding our own identities, biases, and the power dynamics that live in the therapy room. We are committed to ongoing learning, to honest dialogue, and to the recognition that this is work that never ends.
At Laksman Doell Psychology, we recognize that it is not our place to define the reality of the people we work with. It is our job to understand it.
You may not be sure what you need, but something brought you here…
- You are exploring questions about your gender or sexuality and you want a space where the work is supported, not analyzed. You are not looking for a clinician who is going to make your identity the centerpiece of your therapy. You are looking for one who will hold it with skill and who will let you do the work that you actually came in for.
- You have come out, and the relationships around you are shifting. The family is reorganizing. The friendships are recalibrating. You need support that holds the complexity of what is changing, including the grief that may be living alongside the rightness of what you have named.
- You are LGBTQ2SIA+ and what brought you to therapy is the same thing that brings anyone to therapy: anxiety, low mood, problems in relationships, a difficult life transition, a pattern that has started to cost you. You want care that is inclusive and that is informed about your experience and where you don’t have to keep explaining yourself to someone who doesn’t quite get it.
The LGBTQ2SIA+ affirming care that we provide:
At Laksman Doell Psychology, we provide affirming, evidence-based, culturally competent care for adult individuals and couples exploring gender identity, sexual orientation, coming out, transition, and the relational and family dynamics that often come with this work. We also work with the specific mental health concerns that disproportionately affect LGBTQ2SIA+ adults, including the impact of discrimination, exclusion, trauma, and minority stress on presenting issues related to anxiety, mood, severe mental illness, and struggles related to self-concept.
Our doctoral-level psychologists have extensive experience working with LGBTQ2SIA+ individuals who are looking for support with a variety of different presenting issues, including:
Exploring Gender Identity and Support During Transition
Exploring Sexuality
Coming Out
Maybe you are grappling with questions related to coming out within certain relationships or the impact that this may have on specific roles, or perhaps you are looking to explore the impacts that you have already experienced. These conversations are important and they are deserving of care.
Relationship Distress
Couples Therapy
Many of the experiences that bring LGBTQ2SIA+ couples into therapy are similar to issues that any couple might face. Difficulties in communication, infidelity, trust, intimacy or in navigating life transitions. However, these difficulties may also be informed and impacted by previous or ongoing experiences of exclusion, marginalization and stigma that deserve to be acknowledged and considered. This is why many couples choose to work with a psychologist who understands the social and cultural systems in which the relationship is embedded.
Everything Else
We provide LGBTQ2SIA+ affirming psychological treatment to individuals who are presenting with a broad range of different mental health diagnoses. We also work with issues related to performance, burnout, trauma, behaviour change, emotion regulation, grief, injury and illness, self-criticism, and many other areas of human suffering through a LGBTQ2SIA+ affirming lens.
Treatment that starts with understanding you.
We know that for many LGBTQ2SIA+ adults, finding a therapist who is genuinely affirming has often meant a long search, several false starts, and the exhausting work of explaining basic context before therapy can actually begin. We have built our practice to be a place where that doesn’t happen. The intake process is informed. The match is intentional. The work begins where you actually need it to begin.
Therapy always starts with taking the time to understand the individual that is in the room. Your formative life experiences, the relationships that have mattered most (for better or for worse), your current concerns, and the areas that you want to understand and to manage differently.
Our approaches are evidence-based and matched to what you are actually working on. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) where it fits. Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT) where the emotion underneath the patterns is part of the work. Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT) when self-criticism or internalized stigma are getting in your way. Trauma-informed approaches where minority stress, family rejection, or discrimination has left a mark. The plan is built around you.
For couples, we work with the relational and familial dynamics that are often part of the picture, including the conversations with parents, siblings, and chosen family that may be carrying weight, and the dynamics inside the relationship that show up the way they show up in any couple, with a clinician who is not going to make your relationship structure the topic in the room.
Specialist training.
Private practice access.
LGBTQ2SIA+ affirming treatment at Laksman Doell Psychology is delivered by psychologists with cultural competence in the experiences of LGBTQ2SIA+ adults and with depth of training and clinical experience across the range of presentations that the members of these communities bring in. Our practice is listed in the Rainbow Health Ontario provider directory. This listing is a small marker of a larger commitment that lives in how every clinician on our team practices.
Every clinician at Laksman Doell Psychology is a doctoral-level psychologist who is registered with, or working toward registration with, the College of Psychologists and Behaviour Analysts of Ontario (CPBAO). Sessions are available in person at 27 Prince Arthur Avenue in the Annex neighbourhood of Toronto, or virtually across Ontario via PHIPA-compliant video. No referral is required.
We also know that we are not always the right fit. You may prefer to work with a clinician who more closely shares your lived experience, and where that is not someone on our team, we will help you to find someone that feels like a better match. We keep a list of helping professionals who identify as LGBTQ2SIA+, BIPOC, as living with disability, and across religious and cultural backgrounds, and we are happy to share this where it is helpful. We are committed to helping you get to the right care, even when it is not with us.
Ready to take the next step?
- No referral required
- Response within one business day
- In-person Toronto · Virtual Ontario-wide
- PHIPA-compliant · Confidential
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Frequently Asked Questions
Do your psychologists identify as members of the LGBTQ2SIA+ community?
We have psychologists on our team who identify as LGBTQ2SIA+, and we have psychologists who have worked with many individuals who identify as LGBTQ2SIA+. If you are looking to work with a psychologist who has lived experience within a community that more closely matches your own, then this is something that we can help to facilitate.
Do you support individuals who are navigating gender and social transition?
Yes. We have psychologists on our team who have worked to support individuals through every stage of both gender and social transitions. We understand the importance of creating a therapeutic space that promotes openness, trust and safety for all of the individuals that we serve, and the particular importance of this for individuals who may have experienced discrimination and marginalization. That said, at this time, we do not have clinicians who provide assessments for gender affirming medical interventions.
How does your practice approach intersectionality?
Do I need a referral for LGBTQ2SIA+ affirming treatment in Toronto?
No. You can contact us directly. No referral from a physician or psychiatrist is required.
Is LGBTQ2SIA+ affirming treatment at your practice covered by OHIP?
Private practice services are not covered by OHIP. Coverage may be available through extended health benefits, as many plans cover the services of a registered psychologist. We recommend confirming with your provider before commencing treatment.
Can I be seen virtually?
Yes. All services are available virtually via PHIPA-compliant video for any Ontario resident.
Life is complicated. We give you clarity.
The first step is a brief consultation to help understand what you are looking for.
Email us at [email protected] or complete our contact form online.