Sex-Positive, Kink Allied Therapists in Gainesville, FL

Hello and Welcome! My name is Sophia and I am glad you are seeking the support you deserve. Thank you for investing in yourself. Your resilience is powerful and hard won. So is your tenderness. You might be wondering if your lived experiences and identities will be understood by a therapist. Or will you have to spend time explaining your unique identities and experiences when you are seeking support. There’s always a risk that things won’t work out with a new therapist. There is also hope that the right therapist for you is a possibility. This is where the magic happens. I see you.

At times, finding and maintaining the joy and purpose in our lives can be a struggle. We may find ourselves stuck in patterns that keep us from better understanding ourselves and our experiences. My goal is to create safe, affirming, and non-judgmental spaces for individuals, couples, and families, to facilitate the insight, clarity, and skills necessary to navigate your personal journey. As my client, I aim to help you feel safe so you can work on the issues that feel difficult to approach and/or understand. I welcome clients from all backgrounds and stages of life. I am a sex-positive, LGBTQ+, kink , and poly affirmative therapist.

Hello! I appreciate you considering me as someone that may stand by you during this difficult time. The focus of my individual clinical work has been with clients experiencing anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, identity crises, childhood trauma, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms, while tackling a plethora of general life issues. I have also worked with couples and families to resolve interpersonal issues. I am passionate about helping people in systemically oppressed groups like those in LGBTQ+, non-monogamy, and kink communities as well as any others that may find it hard to express parts of themselves. All of you is welcome!

I specialize in somatic therapy for those who have experienced trauma. Anxiety, depression, dissociation, reactivity, chronic worry, addiction, and hypervigilance are all adaptive responses for the body after having experienced trauma (car accidents, loss, sexual assault, oppression, domestic violence, emotional abuse, developmental/attachment injuries, and many other historically ignored experiences). My approach is queer, trans, non-monogamous & kink -affirming, sex-positive, anti-racist, and based on a harm reduction approach to addiction.

Do any of these sound familiar? You have to be strong and keep it all together even though it feels like the ground is crumbling beneath your feet. It seems like everyone around you is clinging to you like a life raft and you feel yourself going under. Your life is a tornado, everything is spinning and you are barely hanging on. You can feel yourself losing your grip and you know you will be sucked away at any moment. You may be struggling with some form of addiction, self-sabotage, self-harm, shame/guilt, co-dependency, or the trauma of past abuse. You know something has to change, but you just don’t know how to make it happen.

Our experience enables us to offer effective outpatient care. We treat a number of mental health difficulty and interpersonal concerns. We provide a neutral ground to individuals, families, and couples.

**CURRENTLY NOT ACCEPTING ANY NEW THERAPY CLIENTS** If you are an MSW graduate seeking a Qualified Supervisor, I am accepting new Registered Interns! I look forward to speaking with you about your career goals and offer enthusiastic, knowledgeable and flexible virtual individual supervision to help you earn your LCSW!

I provide creative, gender-affirming therapy for queer and trans folks, as well as short-term solution focused therapy for partners and family members to process a loved one’s coming out. Clients come to me for a lot of reasons— they’re questioning their gender identity, struggling with the coming out process, or looking to learn more about how to support someone they love. Sometimes they have past traumas that are getting in the way of feeling secure, safe, and authentic. Or they want some strategies for managing anxiety or depression. No matter what brings you here, welcome.

“Kindness eases change Love quiets fear” ― Octavia E. Butler, Parable of the Talents The journey of healing can be intimidating; diving deeper into ourselves to gain a clearer understanding is no small feat. Through kindness, empathy, and compassion, transformation can feel more approachable and manageable. My professional background is rooted in education; I use this experience to support my work with children and caregivers navigating systemic, learning, and developmental hurdles. Imagination and play are qualities and activities that often become lost to us as we grow; I love to channel this to heal our inner-child within.

I have seen, experienced, and facilitated the healing power of relationships and the transformative nature of self-awareness. I also recognize how closely these two are tied. I believe in the inherent strength, worth, and dignity of every person. I also believe that the pathway to being in healthy relationships with others requires us to be in right-relationship with ourselves. That can often look like challenging ourselves and taking real, raw, honest looks at parts of us we might not want to.

Maybe you’ve been trying to make sense out of things that make no sense, or you’re feeling stuck trying to work through fear and discomfort. You are looking for connection and solutions to problems that seem too big to resolve. You need a safe space, a calm in the storm. A place where you can be accepted for who you are and learn how to connect the dots in your life to create meaning and find purpose.

I have built my practice around serving individuals and couples who are navigating their professional and personal lives while coping with stressors related to identity, race, culture, relationships, trauma, and oppression to name a few. In short, I help people cope and build new skills for thriving in life. I offer space to feel seen and heard within context where there is no "norm" for living but rather acceptance and openness for you to be who you are and were meant to be but have yet to figure out on your own. I both challenge as well as validate and support you in the growth and healing you never knew was possible.

As a therapist, I take into account the various intersecting dimensions of human experience to provide a comprehensive and contextual understanding of the clients I collaborate with. In navigating one’s rich internal topography, I ensure my client’s are compassionately held in this process with a felt sense of wholeness, respect, and humility. In this unfolding process, you are invited to cultivate a greater sense of self-compassion, resilience, and psychological flexibility. With a firm trust in the evolutionary potential of all beings, I would best describe his approach to psychotherapy integrative and process-oriented.

*Now accepting telehealth clients in Florida and California*. Depression, anxiety, low self-worth, grief, relationship problems and apprehension about change -- all can be helped with good psychotherapy. I work with you to create a safe environment for change, identify obstacles to change, increase your insight, gently address blind spots, heal trauma, and create a plan with you for moving forward into the life you wish to create. My style is contemplative, supportive, insightful, and challenging. I consider empathy and humor to be essential ingredients on the journey.

Hello there! My name is Kathryn (Katie) Hughes and I’m a Registered Mental Health Counseling Intern (IMH 20662) at Affirmative Counseling and Psychological Services LLC. I completed my Master’s and Specialist degrees (M.Ed., Ed.S.) in Marriage and Family Therapy at the University of Florida in 2020 and I enjoy helping clients navigate various issues including life transitions, relational conflict, grief and loss, identity exploration, depression, anxiety, and self-esteem. I also have training in helping individuals struggling with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and panic disorder through exposure and response prevention (ERP).

Disruption of routine, unexpected life changes? Feeling like nobody understands, alone, overwhelmed by the loss of normality? Anxious, confused or feeling mentally unstable? It takes courage to reach out and believe in the freedom to change. I am here to listen to your story. We will focus on processing life and managing emotions, both positive and negative.

I believe it is my responsibility as a clinician to help you take ownership of your own life, embrace who you truly are, and discover your meaning in life. In order to do this, I believe in trusting your inner guidance on what it is that you need from therapy, even if you do not yet trust yourself. Whether you are seeking to understand or change your own thoughts and behaviors, your grief, or how you are coping with life in general, I believe that by committing yourself towards progress, you have already taken a step towards owning your own life. Let's run with it.

Clients come to me to work on issues of depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, anger management concerns, recovering from sexual assault/sexual abuse, and for exploring issues of sexual identity or sexuality issues. I am comfortable working with individuals, couples, and entire families -- and I am comfortable working with children, adolescents, and adults. I provide a safe and welcoming environment in which to explore the issues of concern to you.

Hey, welcome. I'm glad you're here. Everyone deserves to be witnessed, heard, and validated when experiencing hardships in life. Through a collaborative therapeutic relationship we will build a safe space to emotionally connect to personal struggles and develop a sense of resilience. We will cultivate a deeper understanding of what lies within emotional pain and how to heal from past traumas.

Let's do this together! Appendix Inc. provides compassionate therapeutic support. We are not meant to go through this journey alone. As a therapist, my goal is to assist you in finding the tools to assist you to get through your process.