7 Los Angeles LGBTQ Therapists [No Waitlist]
Truly LGBTQ-affirming therapy goes beyond simple “tolerance”—it celebrates every part of your identity and honors your particular experiences. If you’re tired of explaining yourself, masking parts of who you are, or carrying the weight of identity-based stress alone, our Los Angeles team of queer and queer-affirming therapists is ready to meet you exactly as you are.
Jump to a therapist
- Jack Lam: Good fit for trauma
- Sarah Nam: Good fit for empaths & highly sensitive people
- Esther Lee: Good fit for LGBTQ couples
- Emma Lin: Good fit for anxiety
- Lily Tran: Good fit for neurodivergence
- Eliza Yoon Renner: Good fit for EMDR therapy
- Dalena Thai: Good fit for teens
Note that our therapists each have multiple specialty areas. If you’re unsure which therapist is right for you or your loved one, please contact our office so we can thoughtfully match you. you.
Meet our LGBTQ-affirming therapists
Jack Lam
Good fit for trauma
As a genderqueer Asian American therapist, I know firsthand what it’s like to grow up without seeing your full self reflected anywhere. My specialty is creating a space where fellow LGBTQ+ clients feel seen and work through past wounds, whether that’s childhood trauma, difficult family dynamics, religious harm, or the cumulative weight of living in a world that wasn’t built for you. Through a blend of ACT, mindfulness, and trauma-informed CBT, I’ll help you make sense of why you respond the way you do and find your way back to yourself.
- Credentials: Licensed Clinical Social Worker #127527
- Specialty Areas: LGBTQIA, Trauma and PTSD, Anxiety and Stress Management, Grief and Loss, Teens
Sarah Nam
Good fit for empaths & highly sensitive people
Hi, I’m Sarah, a proud queer Korean American therapist with a special place in my work for empaths and highly sensitive people in the LGBTQ+ community. So many of us learned to read every room, mask our emotions, and absorb other people’s feelings, and while those skills kept us safe, they also keep us hidden and stuck. Together, we’ll explore how to honor your sensitivity as the strength it is while helping you set the boundaries you need to thrive as your full, authentic self.
- Credentials: Associate Marriage and Family Therapist #136181
- Specialty Areas: LGBTQIA, Creatives and Highly Sensitive People, Anxiety and Stress Management, BIPOC and Asian American Experience, Teens
Esther Lee
Good fit for LGBTQ couples
I’m Esther, and I love working with LGBTQ couples, whether you’re newly partnered, decades in, navigating coming out together, or rebuilding after a rupture. Queer relationships often carry layers most providers don’t see: chosen family dynamics, intersectional identities, religious or cultural pressure. My work uses a blend of somatic therapy and other trauma-informed approaches to help you both process your experiences, feel more connected, and learn how to be yourselves within systems that aren’t often built to support you.
- Credentials: Licensed Clinical Social Worker #111697
- Specialty Areas: LGBTQIA, Couples, Anxiety and Stress Management, BIPOC and Asian American Experience, Trauma and PTSD
Emma Lin
Good fit for anxiety
I’m Emma, and as a queer therapist, I specialize in supporting LGBTQ+ clients experiencing anxiety, stress, overwhelm, and stuckness. While people of all sexualities and gender identities experience anxiety, I understand firsthand the particular challenges that members of the queer community often face. I use a feminist, intersectional lens to help you unravel the impacts of minority stress, explore your identity, and make space for real change.
- Credentials: Associate Marriage and Family Therapist #153571, Associate Professional Clinical Counselor #18921
- Specialty Areas: LGBTQIA, Anxiety and Stress Management, Trauma and PTSD, Children, Teens, Couples
Lily Tran
Good fit for neurodivergence
Hi, I’m Lily, a queer, neurodivergent Vietnamese American therapist who specializes in working with teens. After beind diagnosed with with ADHD-Inattentive in my early 20s, I became the therapist I wish I’d had growing up: someone who shares your identities and also makes space for you to define yourself in the way that feels right for you. I’ll meet your brain on its own terms, help you process late or new diagnoses, unlearn years of masking, and figure out what actually works for the way you’re wired.
- Credentials: Associate Social Worker #133071
- Specialty Areas: LGBTQIA, Neurodivergent Affirming Care, Anxiety and Stress Management, Trauma and PTSD, Teens
Eliza Yoon Renner
Good fit for EMDR therapy
My background as a medical social worker supporting people with chronic kidney failure has given me a deep understanding of how trauma can impact us—and the resilience of the human spirit. Now, I use trauma-informed methods like EMDR to help people—particularly members of the LGTBQIA+ and Asian American communities—process their experiences and take back control of their lives. We can’t change the past, but we can change how you respond to it.
- Credentials: Licensed Clinical Social Worker #125330
- Specialty Areas: LGBTQIA, EMDR Therapy, Anxiety and Stress Management, Depression, Grief and Loss, Life Adjustments and Transitions
Dalena Thai
Good fit for teens
As someone who identifies with the LGBTQIA+ community, I’m passionate about supporting LGBTQ+ teens through the specific challenges of being queer in a cis-heteronormative world. The teen years are already crucial in forming our identities, and adding queerness on top of cultural or family expectations can feel impossible to navigate alone. I create a non-judgmental space where you’re free to express exactly who you are, including your gender identity and sexuality along with any and all other elements of your being.
- Credentials: Associate Marriage and Family Therapist #153782
- Specialty Areas: LGBTQIA, Teens, Anxiety and Stress Management, Depression
Common areas we support members of the LGBTQ+ community with
- Navigating the process of coming out to family, friends, or coworkers
- Exploring or questioning gender identity, sexuality, or pronouns
- Internalized shame and masking parts of yourself to feel accepted
- Experiencing minority stress and microaggressions
- Anxiety, depression, and burnout, which can be compounded by identity-based stress
- Family rejection, religious tension, or cultural expectations that conflict with who you actually are
- Dating, intimacy, and partnership challenges that are both universal and unique to queer relationships
- Trauma and PTSD, including identity-based, relational, and intergenerational trauma
What sets our practice apart from other LGBTQ-affirming counseling providers
You deserve more than a therapist who tolerates your identity or doesn’t understand how it can impact all parts of who you are. Here’s what makes Yellow Chair Collective different.
- Many of our therapists personally identify as LGBTQ+, so the affirmation isn’t theoretical—it’s lived
- We center intersectionality, recognizing your queer identity exists alongside culture, faith, neurodivergence, and family role
- No waitlist for most of our LGBTQ-specialty therapists, so you can typically start within a couple of weeks
- In-network with Aetna, Cigna, and Anthem Blue Cross or United/Optum (with select therapists)
- A diverse team with multiple languages spoken and various cultural identities
- Hybrid availability: online across California with limited in-person sessions in Los Angeles County
- Trauma-informed, somatic, and rooted in our values of authenticity, belonging, joy, and community
Whether this is your first time in therapy or you’ve worked with affirming providers before, you’ll find a home here that takes who you are seriously—not as a footnote, but as central to the work.