Celebrating Pride Month: Affirming, Accepting, and Absolutely Fabulous Therapy

Happy Pride Month from all of us at Holly Counseling!

We’re thrilled to celebrate love, identity, and authenticity with our LGBTGEQIAP+ community—not just in June, but all year long. As therapists, we know how powerful it is to be seen, heard, and supported exactly as you are. And we also know it’s important to break down a few key therapy buzzwords while we’re at it.

So let’s talk: what’s the difference between LGBTGEQIAP+ affirming therapy and LGBTGEQIAP+ accepting therapy?

It might sound like semantics, but trust us—it’s meaningful.

LGBTGEQIAP+-accepting therapy means your therapist acknowledges and accepts your identity. There’s no judgment, no attempts to "fix" or "understand" you in a clinical sense. That’s a good start.

LGBTGEQIAP+-affirming therapy, on the other hand, goes deeper. It means your therapist doesn’t just accept you—they celebrate you. They actively affirm your identity, challenge societal biases, and create a therapeutic space where your lived experience is understood, honored, and validated. Affirming therapy is rooted in advocacy, allyship, and a commitment to doing the work—not just talking the talk.

Basically, if LGBTGEQIAP+-accepting therapy is like saying, “You can sit with us,” LGBTGEQIAP+ affirming therapy is like saying, “We saved you the best seat, brought snacks, and we already know your favorite meme.”

At Holly Counseling, we’re proud to offer truly affirming care—and not just for LGBTGEQIAP+ clients, but for all identities and experiences. Our team includes therapists with specialties in:

·       EMDR & trauma recovery

·       Play therapy for children

·       Relationship and couples therapy

·   Sex therapy

·       Neurodivergence (ADHD, autism, etc.)

·       Women’s and men’s mental health

·       And yes…we even help with the stress of being a fabulous human in a not-always-fabulous

world.

Catch us this weekend at Augusta Pride! We’ll be there with smiles, swag, and probably a few mental health puns (you’ve been warned). Come say hi—we’d love to meet you.

With pride and care,

The team at Holly Counseling