LGBTQ+ Affirming Therapists in San Francisco, CA

If you’re struggling with relationships, work, emotions, or just existing in the world, you’re not alone. If you want to change, our work together can help you find a path forward. My approach is relational and person-centered, which means I believe you have the capacity to find resolutions inside yourself, and I'll support you as we explore together.

Thank you for taking this important step on your journey of healing and well being. My name is Stephen Gundlach. I am a psychotherapist working with individuals, couples, and teens. I see therapy as a process in which the therapist walks alongside you as a mirror and a guide to your own unfolding understanding of yourself and your unique story. In this process inner strengths and resiliencies are identified, habitual patterns that are no longer helping come to light, and desired growth and change become possible.

You deserve to love every single part of who you are. It's not always easy. Maybe it's been especially hard lately. Maybe there are past experiences that have damaged your sense of self-worth. Maybe you're suffocated by a society that tells you how you should look, behave, and love. Maybe you struggle with a sense of shame that makes it difficult to be radically, fully, unapologetically you. Somewhere along the way, you've gotten stuck. It's time to get unstuck. Let's figure this out together.

As a queer and bisexual, nonbinary femme, 2nd generation Korean American, I specialize in working with those who identify as LGBTQ+, BIPOC, adult children of immigrants, gender expansive, nonbinary, and transgender. I tend to work with folks who create their own paths in life - ones that may diverge from the norm. Oftentimes, these paths emerge from a place of necessity, without much support, and lacking a roadmap or guide.

Communication challenges? Struggles with sex and intimacy? Are you questioning or exploring your gender and sexuality? I am here to support you and offer you tools and a place to process your current experience. I provide a safe space to explore who you are becoming and to discern old thought patterns that are no longer of service. I provide a healing space free of judgement and offer tools that you can immediately integrate into your current experience. I will collaborate with you and work with the intersections of your unique experience.

Lisa Padilla is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Michigan who has been practicing since 2015. She has a Master's of Clinical Social Work focusing on Psychotherapy and Clinical Social Work from Florida State University. Lisa has a demonstrated history of working in the mental health care industry. She is skilled in Addiction Counseling, Military Mental Health, Treatment Planning, Co-Occuring Disorders, Psychological Assessment, Interpersonal Relationship Issues (Intimacy, Codependency, Trust Rebuilding and more), LGBTQ+ Counseling, and Severe Mental Health Care. Lisa provides in-person services and telehealth treatment.

My typical clients struggle with shame and perfectionism, often preventing them from living fulfilling lives. When stuck in shame, people may question if they're “good enough” in multiple areas of their lives, which creates a cycle of shame that is difficult to get out of alone. I specialize in areas of insecure attachment, attachment/family trauma, CPTSD, grief and loss, sex and gender, obsession/rumination, and anxiety. I am trained in Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP), Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT) and am certified in EMDR.

Are you curious about the impact of your past on your present? Are you curious about your relationship patterns and choices? Do you often feel misunderstood or invalidated? Do you feel seen and valued for who and how you are? Are you interested in desire, liberation and an expansion of your worldview? I have deep, personal connections to these pathways of inquiry and reflection and am interested in engaging in this work with others.

Searching for new meaning and exploring life’s possibilities often stems from painful experiences from our past or current situations. I aspire to cultivate a safe environment with my clients so that they may explore new possibilities and develop an enriching curiosity about themselves. Reaching out for help takes strength and courage. I believe that helping my clients identify and sort through their issues while fostering their strengths is the catalyst that brings about the regenerative change they seek.

Hey there, my name is amber and I'm a Registered Associate Marriage and Family Therapist offering in-person services in San Francisco, as well as Telehealth for folx located in California. I work with teens, adults, couples, and various polycule shapes. As a mixed-race, gender-creative, and queer therapist, I am dedicated to serving BIPOC and mixed-race communities as well as queer-identified folx looking to be witnessed and held in their experiences. Together we will explore what brings you to therapy based on the pace that feels right for you, and collaboratively navigate how to implement the changes you may want to see.

Are you feeling stuck in life, struggling with depression, anxiety, shame, relationship conflicts, or patterns you want to change? I’m here to support you in finding your way, cultivating self-awareness, and greater clarity. I approach therapy with warmth, sensitivity, and compassion. Our work together will hold a space for you to feel seen, heard, and understood. We will identify your goals, get attuned to what you need, and how to achieve it while learning to be gentle with yourself in the process.

Are you struggling with anxiety, panic, phobias, OCD, stress, self-criticism, shyness, or excessive worry? My goal is to help you break out of old, unproductive ways of dealing with these problems and find more flexible and effective ways of responding and healing. I am an experienced and caring therapist who is supportive, engaged, and interactive. Together we focus on what matters most to you and help you move towards what you care about most deeply in your life.

Welcome! As a holistic psychotherapist, I am dedicated to creating a safe environment for you to show up just as you are and feel held and supported in your process. In the therapeutic space, all aspects of yourself are welcomed - even the parts that challenge you. I bring humility, curiosity, reverence and a sense of humor to this work. I believe you are the expert of your experience and I am here to support you every step of the way. My clinical approach is enriched and informed by 10+ years of teaching yoga and meditation in private practice.

As an LGBTQ-affirming therapist, I believe it is important to explore not only our sexual and gender identities but also the multiple identities that we hold as unique individuals. Therapy is a space where you can learn to understand, love, and express your authentic self, and as a therapist, my role is to support you in this journey. I believe that collaboration is essential and that by working together, we can find ways to enhance your growth, build your resilience, and promote your strengths. I also tend to bring humor and playfulness into the therapy space as appropriate – life is about many moods and expressions.

You deserve to feel deeply connected to yourself, your partner(s), and the world around you. I’m here to help. Talking about sex with your partner - or anyone - might feel like a daunting task. Having sex might feel difficult, impossible, or like too much effort - or lead to conflict with your partner. You might be questioning your sexual desires or wondering if you and your partner are still compatible. I help clients overcome their sexual and relational difficulties to feel confident in and outside the bedroom. Together, we will collaborate on how to help you reach your goals, through therapy sessions and home assignments.

How does your need for certainty play out? Does it force you to try to predict? Does it persuade you to declare things that you don't actually know? Perhaps the need for certainty is powerful enough to rob you of genuine moments with loved ones or with yourself. Research finds that people who take risks (those who step into the unknown) are happier than those who merely reach for reward or gratification. Why? Because healthy risk-taking has rewards sewn into the experience when we authentically try. It builds skills in self-advocacy, self-love and self-worth.

I offer a free first session, so that you can get a sense of how I work and see if we are a good fit. I provide Tele-health therapy for clients in both California and Pennsylvania. Therapy provides a space to speak freely and be heard with care that can provide a person with more internal space for lived experience, emotion, thought and desire. In psychotherapy, you can express your thoughts and feelings and gain insight into the unconscious sources of your conflicts. With warmth and curiosity, I will provide an attentive ear and a thoughtful mind.

Being part of the LGBTQIA+ community can be a challenging path to walk. As a gay man, I have been walking that path all my life and I understand the challenge. As a therapist I am here to help you with many of the challenges of it. Whether you are struggling with gender identity, sexuality, or something related - I'm here to support you. Maybe you are a family member of someone who identifies as LGBTQIA+ and are struggling to understand how to support your loved one? Whatever the circumstance - I'm here for you. I provide Telehealth for anyone living in California and can offer a sliding scale to those in need.

Therapy isn’t easy — but that doesn't mean it has to be joyless. If you’re looking for a therapist who can delve into the dark stuff with both the compassionate support and the sense of humor that it deserves, you’ve come to the right place. I'm an Associate Marriage and Family therapist who works with individuals and couples of all genders and orientations to improve their relationships. I love working with clients to improve communication and increasing intimacy, especially when partners come from different cultural backgrounds and hold different values.