LGBT Couple Counselling

Would you like to understand why couples therapy can be important to lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or trans relationships?

Let me share with you a real story…

Any couple relationship can suffer strain, conflict, arguments, acting-out and/or abuse.

But as LGBT/QIA++ we can suffer in our relationships because of a problem our parents weren’t likely to have: as we grew up observing our parents’ relationship we didn’t gain enough information to learn to manage our same-sex relationships. Without realising it, we ended up employing observations from our formative years that meant those approaches were somewhat off-kilter to our own relationships’ needs: we employed our parents’ (heterosexual) approach, not our own.

Until very recently, as lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans we didn’t even have some (very-necessary) role-models to look up to. Simply employing heterosexual behaviour to gay relationships regularly resulted in unnecessary struggles – the modelling around us just didn’t help prepare us.

We had to develop our own relationship philosophy. A philosophy that works for our distinctly LGBTQ++ Couple Relationship, and many of us struggle to do this.

Some are successful on their own – others need help, and Dean Richardson MNCS(Accred/Reg) via the distinctly non-heterosexual counselling service LGBTCoupleCounselling.co.uk could be the help you’re seeking together.

Best Counsellor for You

Whilst you might be surprised that I can’t tell you directly if I’m the best counsellor for your relationship therapy, I can tell you:-

Werking It Together

So… I can’t emphasise this enough:-

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer and asexual couples whose behaviour leads to a break-up… sometimes later leading to reconciliation… only to break-up again later… can be helped by a counsellor who specialises in working therapeutically with LGBT/QIA+ Couples. But this isn’t just any relationship we’re talking about… it’s yours!

Meeting with British LGBT Couple Counsellor Dean Richardson MNCS(Accred/Reg) in Havant, Waterlooville, Portsmouth (Hampshire) or online with Zoom / Skype can help LGBT couples:-

(a) learn to discover and understand what may really be going on underneath relationship behaviours & conflicts.

(b) learn to take creative and considered steps to unravel repeating problems.

(c) learn to consider different ways to respond, snuffing out not just old conflicts, but new ones as they occur in the future.

This is what you are looking for – in layman’s terms: a couple gets stuck and can’t see the wood for the trees. They invite Dean to look at the wood with them and help them notice what they’re not seeing (or what they may be turning a blind-eye to). Once we begin to see what wasn’t seeable before, discussions inspire options for change (pros, cons, leave as-is). The couple leave counselling with their plans already underway transforming their forest.

So, as an intimate couple we can develop our own ways of becoming curious about our relationship’s behaviour, with this curiosity (employed along with our partner) becomes a powerful relationship-transforming & maintaining tool.

There’s a bonus: the therapeutic framework employed by Dean Richardson can continue to help couples long after they’ve ended couple counselling.

Would you now like to learn about how to begin LGBT Couple Counselling…?

Actual Gay Counselling

Curious to learn you why you’d choose Counsellor Dean Richardson MNCS(Acc/Reg) as a British specialist counsellor working with lesbian, gay & mixed-sexuality couples?

Are you ready?

Hi – I’m Dean and I’m an actual gay couples’ counsellor!

You see, although most professional counselling bodies (at least now they do… frown upon counsellors who decline to work with lesbian and gay people, they won’t interfere with some counsellors who decline to work with your relationship (e.g. citing religious or personal beliefs).

In 2021 – that’s kinda disappointing.

Transparently Gay.

You may have seen on Google some couple therapy services advertising sentiments such as: “biblical traditional marriages”. I wonder if “biblical” is a coded message for: “We work with hetrosexuals only” 🤷‍♀️

The approach that I use with LGBT couples means I don’t take a position about“what a normal couple would do is…”. Instead I employ an effective systemic approach (eg “circular” questioning) that allows the couple to discover their own effective resolutions to their conflicts.

Does Sexual Identification Matter?

I understand the specific needs and difficulties of lesbian and gay couples in a heteronormative society. Plus, I’ll focus specifically on your relationship needs (rather than try to apply a kind of magical “standard” for happy couples). My aim is to become redundant: you won’t need me after our therapy work is completed. This means that you’ll leave couple counselling with ways to manage your relationship both now and in the future.

My therapeutic approach with LGBT/QIA+ Couples means there doesn’t need to be more than one counsellor in the room with you, neither. (Yes, some services engage your relationship with two counsellor simultaneously).

Plus, I’m quite down-to-earth and “non-counselley”. I’ll use swearing and everything (meaning: I’m happy to use language & colloquialisms that you do)! This helps you become at-ease with the counselling processes.

Learn about: how couples use LGBT/QIA+ Relationship Counselling….

Experienced Video Counsellor

Here’s something you need to know:-

It’s not commonly known that general qualifications offered by British counselling qualifications only cover the skills necessary to work with a single person (“individual” counselling). This can leave self-titled “fully qualified” counsellors without adequate understanding or training of the specific needs of couple relationships, nor how to actually work with the relationship itself.

Couple counselling is not the same approach as individual counselling. Neither is it “counselling two people instead of one”!

What makes Dean a Different Counsellor?

Dean Richardson is not just a qualified counsellor. Dean is also a fully qualified and experienced Couple Counsellor (PGDip systemic / psychodynamic Couple Counselling; Chichester) and an experienced video counsellor now of 14 years practice. 

Spot the difference?!

Dean’s private therapy practice focuses on the therapeutic, psychological & developmental needs of lesbian & gay couple relationships as part of his continued professional development (CPD) as a counsellor. LGBT/QIA+ Counselling is one of Dean’s experienced specialities.

What to ask of other counsellors.

Even if you choose not to work with Dean, it’s worth asking each couple counsellor you interview: “what qualifies you to work with lesbian/gay couples?”.

Listen very carefully to the counsellor’s reply. It may help you discover reasons why you might choose that counsellor, or might not.

Click to learn more about why you’d choose Dean Richardson…