We are the UK's largest independent therapy organisation working with gender and sexual diversity clients.
As an organisation we aim to promote high quality therapy and training services for people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender and others who identify as being gender or sexual diversities.
There is a whole spectrum of different gender and sexual expressions and we welcome those who are engaged in consensual, albeit transgressive sexualities who are seeking a place to understand and be understood.
These include, but are not restricted to people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, asexual, celibate, polyamorous, non-monogamous, or swingers and those involved in BDSM or Kink lifestyles or practices, anyone on the trans and gender variant spectrum (e.g. trans women, trans men, non binary gender people, cross dressers/transvestites, genderqueer, androgynes, plus intersex people and those living with variations in sex development).
We comprise a team of 19 Clinical Associates who all positively identify as holding a gender or sexual minority lived-experience, and our website hosts the UK's first online Directory of Pink Therapists which lists other qualified therapists around the UK who adopt a sexuality-affirmative stance and do not see sexual or gender variation as a sickness. These other therapists are all qualified professionals, with varying degrees of experience and training in working with sexual and gender diversity clients. We cannot, however, ensure that their experience or work are equal to those of our Clinical Associate Team.
Pink Therapy was conceived for two reasons:
- first, that most therapy training organisations in the UK fail to address issues of sexual diversity sexuality in their curricula. This means that therapists (of all sexualities) leaving these programmes are often inadequately trained to work with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender clients. See our News section for more information about this.
- second, that some sexual diversity therapists seem to feel their qualification to work with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender clients is simply a shared sexuality. In our view this is not sufficient, and can lead to inadequate and poor practice. All therapists working with gender and sexual diversity clients need specific training to be able to work effectively with this client group. See our Training section for more details on our professional continuing professional development workshops for therapists.
- If you are considering having some counselling or therapy, we recommend you check out your prospective therapist first, we have some questions to consider asking them here. If possible see more than one therapist and then decide who you feel best to help you.