What is Sexual Orientation and Gender?

Sexual orientation refers to who you are emotionally, romantically, and sexually attracted to and includes identities like gay, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, asexual, and straight (or really whatever you choose to call yourself). 

Gender identity refers to how you feel on the inside and how you express it outwardly through appearance, clothing, behaviours, and lifestyle. While some people identify as either male or female, some identify as a combination (i.e., masculine female or feminine male), and others don’t identify as either, calling themselves non-binary, genderqueer, gender fluid, or gender variant. 

We are all assigned a gender at birth based on our external anatomy, but for some, this anatomy and gender assignment does not match who they are on the inside. These individuals are transgender and express themselves in a myriad of ways which may or may not include transitioning and gender-affirming care.

Sexual Orientation Therapy and Gender Identity Counselling Can Help

In a world where it feels like you are expected to look, behave, and love within a prescribed set of rules and notions, finding your place and happiness when you exist outside those rules can be complicated. 

Fortunately, sexual orientation therapy and/or gender-affirming counselling can help you navigate complicated feelings, difficulties in family or personal relationships, and conflicts that arise based on culture or ethnicity. 

Therapy for sexual orientation and gender identity won’t necessarily just give you the answers you seek, but it will empower you to determine who you are, what that means for you, and how you can move through the world in a way that feels right for you.

How Tri Health Clinic Can Help With Sexual Orientation and Gender

• We take the time to listen and understand your anxieties and concerns, providing you with a judgement-free place to work through your feelings and uncover your true self
• We highlight your strengths and use them to build strategies and solutions that help you address and change the behaviours or beliefs that are making you unhappy
• We can work with your partner or family to address attitudes and beliefs that may be impacting the relationship, communication, sexual intimacy, and more
• We can help you identify and move beyond behaviours and attitudes that no longer serve you or your sex life. 

Tri Health Clinic Sexual Orientation Therapy and Gender Identity Counselling

At Tri Health Clinic, we understand that sexual orientation and gender identity can be complicated to navigate. That is why we take a holistic approach to therapy, addressing emotional, mental, and relationship factors contributing to your sexual health and well-being. 

Our treatments are based on four major principles (education, self-knowledge, changing behaviours, and tracking change), and we each approach to meet your specific personal needs. 

We focus on education, identifying and working through sexual myths that may hold you back from being authentic and experiencing a fulfilling sex life. And while sexual orientation and gender identity are not negative things that need to be ignored or abandoned, working through issues that may arise with their expression requires understanding who you are. Whether you are questioning your orientation or identity, looking for transition support, or finding ways to express yourself healthily, we have the experience and expertise to help.  

Next, we will explore ways you can strengthen your skillset, develop emotional and interpersonal skills that may be lacking, and help you let go of the behaviours, beliefs, and coping strategies that may no longer be serving you. 

Worrying about whether or not you have arrived at a place of healing can actually take you out of the important work you are trying to do. Using questionnaires, we will keep track of changes and progress for you, working with you to ensure you reach your therapy goals.

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These resources are intended as a compliment to therapy under the guidance of a trained sex therapist.