LGBTQ+ Group Therapy
Understanding Ourselves
An LGBTQ+ DBT-Informed Therapy Group
What if there were another way to understand ourselves? What if the emotions, behaviors, and relationship patterns we’ve struggled with could be approached with curiosity rather than judgment?
Our patterns don’t develop in isolation. They’re shaped by our biology, experiences, relationships, identities, and the environments we’ve learned to navigate. By learning to recognize these patterns, understand what shapes them, and explore new ways of responding, we can begin developing a more compassionate relationship with ourselves and greater freedom in how we navigate our lives.
Understanding Ourselves is a 12-week virtual, DBT-informed therapy group for LGBTQ+ adults who want to explore these possibilities together. Through guided reflection, practical skills, and meaningful connection with others, we’ll practice observing without judgment, understanding with compassion, and choosing with intention.
Who this helps
You might recognize yourself here.
- You experience emotions intensely and sometimes struggle to understand what you’re feeling or why.
- You notice familiar patterns in relationships, such as withdrawing, people-pleasing, becoming defensive, or fearing rejection.
- You frequently question yourself, feel responsible for other people’s reactions, or struggle with self-criticism and shame.
- You’ve learned to hide parts of yourself to feel accepted, safe, or connected to others.
- You understand intellectually why you respond a certain way, but find it difficult to respond differently in the moment.
- You sometimes feel caught between what you need, what others expect, and what feels safe to express.
- You want to better understand how your experiences and LGBTQ+ identity have shaped the way you relate to yourself and others.
- You’d like to feel more connected to yourself and develop greater confidence in how you navigate everyday life.
You don’t have to identify with every experience on this list. You also don’t need to be in crisis or have a particular diagnosis to benefit from exploring yourself more deeply. You might simply be curious about why certain patterns keep showing up in your life—and what might become possible if you understood them differently.
Our guiding approach
A Different Way of Understanding Ourselves
Observe Without Judgment
We learn to notice what’s happening before deciding what it means.
Understand with Compassion
We explore how our experiences and patterns came to be.
Choose with Intention
We create more room to respond in ways that reflect who we are and what matters to us.
What Our Approach Looks Like in Practice
Throughout our 12 weeks together, we’ll return to three interconnected practices. Open any section to read more.
01Observe Without Judgment+
Learning to notice what’s happening before deciding what it means.
- We begin by developing the ability to observe our emotions, thoughts, physical sensations, urges, and behaviors with greater awareness.
- Rather than immediately labeling an experience as good or bad, right or wrong, we’ll practice slowing down and describing what’s happening.
- This helps us recognize patterns that might otherwise go unnoticed.
The question we’re exploring: What am I noticing about myself?
02Understand with Compassion+
Exploring how our experiences and patterns came to be.
- Once we begin noticing patterns, we can become curious about what shapes them.
- We’ll explore how emotions, past experiences, relationships, environments, and protective responses influence our reactions.
- We’ll also consider the particular experiences of LGBTQ+ individuals, including identity development, invalidation, social expectations, rejection, belonging, and resilience.
- Understanding ourselves compassionately means recognizing that our responses often make sense in context—even when they create difficulties today.
The question we’re exploring: What might help me understand why I respond this way?
03Choose with Intention+
Creating more room to respond in ways that reflect who we are and what matters to us.
- Greater awareness and understanding can help us recognize opportunities to respond differently.
- We’ll practice skills for navigating intense emotions, communicating needs, establishing boundaries, and approaching relationships with greater intention.
- The goal isn’t to eliminate difficult emotions or always make the “right” choice. It’s to expand our capacity to recognize our options and choose responses that better align with our needs, values, and circumstances.
The question we’re exploring: Given what I understand, how do I want to respond?
What We’ll Explore Together+
Over 12 weeks, we’ll combine guided reflection, DBT-informed skills, and meaningful group discussion to better understand the patterns unfolding in our everyday lives. We’ll explore questions like:
- What happens inside us when we feel hurt, rejected, overwhelmed, or misunderstood?
- How do our thoughts, emotions, physical sensations, urges, and behaviors influence one another?
- What have our patterns helped us manage, avoid, express, or protect?
- How have our relationships, identities, and experiences shaped the ways we respond?
- What might it look like to respond to ourselves with more compassion?
- How can we create more space to act in ways that reflect our needs and values?
We’ll draw from Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), including mindfulness, emotional awareness, understanding behavioral patterns, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness. Rather than simply learning skills in isolation, we’ll explore how these ideas connect to our own experiences.
Group Details
- Who
- LGBTQ+ adults ages 18 and older
- Where
- Virtual, for eligible participants located in New York State
- When
- Tuesdays, 6:00–7:30 PM Eastern
- Duration
- 12 weeks
- Group Size
- Approximately 4–6 participants
- Anticipated Start
- January 2027
- Cost
- $60/session; Aetna & Cigna are accepted
- Sliding Scale
- Limited reduced-fee spaces anticipated
Before joining, we’ll schedule a brief individual conversation to learn about your interests, discuss your goals, and explore whether the group is a good fit for you. Reach out today to learn more.
Common questions
The group, answered.
Do I need to know anything about DBT?+
Not at all. We’ll introduce relevant concepts and skills throughout the group. Previous experience with DBT is welcome but not required.
Is this a traditional DBT skills group?+
No. This is a DBT-informed therapy group that integrates DBT concepts with guided reflection, discussion, and exploration of emotional and relational patterns. It is not a comprehensive DBT program or a substitute for one.
Will I have to talk about my trauma or share personal experiences?+
No. The group focuses on understanding everyday experiences and patterns rather than processing traumatic memories. You’ll be invited to reflect and participate, but you won’t be required to disclose experiences you’re not comfortable sharing.
Can I participate if I’m already seeing a therapist?+
Yes. This group may complement individual therapy by providing opportunities for reflection, skills development, and learning with others.
What if I’m nervous about joining a group?+
It’s common to feel uncertain about participating in a group, particularly when discussing personal experiences. We’ll work together to establish a respectful and supportive environment, and you’ll have opportunities to participate at a pace that feels manageable.
Is this group appropriate for everyone?+
This group is intended for adults who can participate safely in an outpatient group setting and are interested in exploring emotional and relational patterns.
It may not provide sufficient support for individuals currently needing intensive crisis intervention, comprehensive DBT, or a higher level of care.
We’ll discuss your needs and whether the group is a good fit during the initial screening conversation.
For Referring Clinicians
Understanding Ourselves is a 12-week, LGBTQ+ affirming, DBT-informed therapy group focused on developing emotional awareness, self-understanding, self-compassion, and greater capacity for intentional responding.
The group integrates mindfulness, behavioral pattern recognition, validation, emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness with a contextual understanding of LGBTQ+ experiences.
It may be appropriate as an adjunct to outpatient individual therapy for adults who would benefit from guided self-reflection, skills development, and interpersonal learning.
The group is not a comprehensive DBT program, trauma-processing group, or higher level of care. Prospective participants complete an individual screening to assess appropriateness and readiness.
Collaboration with referring and treating clinicians is welcomed with appropriate client consent.
An Invitation to Begin
You don’t have to understand everything about yourself before you begin. You don’t have to know exactly what you want to change. Sometimes, a meaningful first step is simply becoming curious about something you’ve experienced many times before—and discovering that there may be more to the story than you once believed.
Join us in learning to observe without judgment, understand with compassion, and choose with intention.