Queer Intimacy Processing Group
Our Queer Intimacy Processing Group is for members of the LGBTQIA+ community who have questions about dating, sex, and relationships.
This could include those who are in relationships but have questions about whether it is healthy, safe, or nourishing for them. This could also include people who are dating - or looking to date for the first time.
All LGBTQIA+ folks navigating intimacy are welcome to join us.
Group goals will be defined by members but group topics may include: dating, relationships, sex, sexuality, identity, attachment, and codependence.
Cost: $20/session
The date and time for this online group will be announced soon!
Meet Your Therapist
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He/They
Michael John Hughes is a Licensed Master Social Worker, receiving his degree from the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College. With an extensive background in the performing arts, Michael John utilizes a creative and collaborative approach to therapy that aims to foster an individual’s self-worth and cultivate their authenticity. Using a client-centered, relational approach, clients can expect to strengthen their capacity for insight and self-awareness, while exploring and modifying ingrained behavioral and emotional patterns that keep us feeling limited.
Michael John strongly acknowledges that every client is inherently unique and requires a tailored approach to treatment, created mutually through psychotherapy sessions. With consideration for all aspects of a person’s life, Michael John recognizes how systemic issues, interpersonal relationships, as well as biological and environmental circumstances shape our lives and sense of self.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kinds of challenges may show up in queer intimacy?
Intimacy brings us to uncharted places. We may regress and find younger “parts” of ourselves showing up to run the show. We may get lost in limerence, or alternatively, want to avoid being truly seen by another. No matter the form it takes, intimacy places a mirror in front of us and shows where we have room to grow.
Partnering, dating, and loving as a queer person can be particularly vulnerable. Due to the lack of care for our community at large, when placing our trust in another’s hands, things often feel especially tender.
Additionally, queer dating can feel siloed in community circles. (Ever feel like you’ve met every potential match in a 5 mile radius?) Plus, a recent flourishing of non-monogamous dating approaches, particularly vibrant in queer spaces, has further nuanced conversations around intimacy, boundaries, and loving.
Our group is here to walk with you through it all.
What if I am LGBTQ+, but in a straight or straight presenting relationship — can I still join this group?
Yes.
Queer folks in straight or straight presenting relationships are still queer. We are here to affirm the validity of your identity no matter what your relationship(s) structures currently look like. In fact, you may have a particular need for affirmation if you are experiencing bi-erasure, or struggling to identify with fellow community members.
Why is processing queer intimacy in a group helpful?
While may of us have become fans with rising media like Couples Therapy or Where Should We Begin? With Esther Perel, it’s far too uncommon that we get to see the inner workings of other’s relationships in our real, day to day lives.
Interpersonal conflicts, struggles with intimacy, and relational patterns are often kept behind closed doors. While it’s important to honor the privacy of intimate dynamics, we can find more ways to work through challenges when we do it together.
Joining our Queer Intimacy Processing Group will give you the chance to have sounding boards, positive examples, and direct therapeutic support in service of your relationship with intimacy.