LGBTQ+ Pride Flag

LGBTQ+ Affirming Care

Counseling services that affirm LGBTQ+ identities and relationships

Our Commitment to LGBTQ+ Clients

The Women’s Initiative affirms LGBTQ+ identities and relationships and rejects homophobia, transphobia, and heterosexism as part of our commitment to culturally responsive trauma-informed care. We pledge to continue to prioritize training for staff therapists to strengthen competency and develop expertise in LGBTQ+ affirming mental health services.

Individual Counseling Eligibility

We serve all women including trans women, and nonbinary and gender diverse folx and trans men, in our individual counseling program. Individual counseling services include call-in and walk-in clinics, consultations, and one-on-one therapy. Eligibility for individual counseling is based on the clinical and financial needs of the client and is determined during a free consultation with a therapist. Click here to learn how to access this service.

Groups and offerings

We offer a variety of groups to meet the unique needs of women and members of the gender-expansive community. Sometimes our groups are open to trans men and cisgender men.

We recognize that safe spaces to explore shared experiences are an important part of the healing process, particularly with culturally based and gender-based trauma. For that reason, we offer affinity groups designed to meet the needs of specific populations. Eligibility to participate in these groups may be limited to certain aspects of identity including race, gender, or sexual orientation.

Click here to browse groups and offerings. While we are in the process of updating this page to reflect eligibility guidelines for each group, the best way to determine if a particular group is right for you is to call us at (434) 872-0047.

Strengthening our Commitments

The Women’s Initiative was founded in 2007 to provide mental health therapy services to women regardless of ability to pay. At that time, our focus was on supporting cisgender women. We have since embraced the opportunity to serve additional members of our community who have also been impacted by gender-based violence, discrimination, and health disparities.

We are currently growing our capacity to serve the LGBTQ+ community in the following ways:

  • We host a monthly Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Clinical Consultation Group, facilitated by SJ Langer, LCSW-R

  • Our client intake forms welcome open-ended descriptions of gender and sexual identity

  • Dr. Eli Coston, VCU professor, Department of Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies, provides consultation on LGBTQ+ affirming communications to the agency and training on LGBTQ+ cultural competence to Staff

  • All staff participate in a monthly cultural humility learning plan on the intersection between race, gender, and sexuality, led by our in-house Staff Advisory Committee on Cultural Humility

  • We continue our longstanding community partnership with PFLAG Blue Ridge, including monthly community groups at our office

The following efforts to improve care are currently in the works: