My Blog

Welcome back to day four of The Authenticity Toolkit week! So far, we’ve tackled identity-affirming care, EMDR for LGBTQ+ trauma, and the beautiful complexities of polyamory. Today, we’re opening the door on a topic that, let’s be honest, usually stays locked behind a...

Welcome to Day 3 of the Authenticity Toolkit week here at Byrnes Counseling Group. So far, we’ve talked about finding the right identity-affirming therapist and how EMDR can help us heal from the unique traumas the world throws at the LGBTQ+ community. Today, we’re...

Welcome to Day 2 of our Authenticity Toolkit week! If you caught yesterday’s post, we talked about why finding a therapist who actually "gets it" is the foundation of everything else. Today, we’re going a layer deeper. We’re moving past just talking about...

Let’s be real for a second: the term “identity-affirming” has been getting tossed around a lot lately. You see it on clinic websites, social media bios, and even on those generic "find a therapist" directories. It’s almost become like the "organic"...

Have you ever been walking through a park and seen a group of young boys just being… well, boys? Maybe they’re covered in dirt, arguing over the rules of a game they just made up, or pushing each other around in that specific way that says, “I like you, but I don’t...

You know that specific feeling when you walk into a room and you don’t have to explain your existence? It’s like a physical weight lifting off your shoulders. You don’t have to define your pronouns for the tenth time, you don’t have to explain why you’re fidgeting...

I spent years in the "client" chair before I ever sat in the "therapist" chair. And let me tell you, those years were... interesting. Mostly frustrating, occasionally helpful, but often deeply exhausting. If you’re a member of the LGBTQ+ community,...

Welcome back to Part 2 of our series, "The 'Why' Behind the Work." If you caught the last post, we talked about high-functioning anxiety and that frantic "internal hamster wheel" feeling. Today, we’re slowing things down, maybe a little too...

Hey everyone, Tristan here. As we approach Tuesday, March 31st, my inbox and social feeds are starting to fill up with the usual Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV) posts. You know the ones: lots of flags, lots of "be proud," and a whole lot of emphasis on...