Your queer story is sacred

I am beyond humbled when a client decides to share their queer story with me. Not just the coming out, but the early clues. The feelings and thoughts. The sometimes pain, sometimes excitement. The desires. The denial. The acceptance. The relationships. The experiences or sometimes lack thereof. All of it. Our queer stories. 

Historically (and even for so many people still), queer stories have gone unshared for a  myriad of reasons. In the last decade, we’ve seen a cultural shift into hearing and seeing more queer stories represented in media. But there is yet so much homophobia, shame, and judgment to contend with. 

Queer stories are a part of us. And they are integral to shaping our identities in one way or another. So when a client decides to share their queer story with me, it feels sacred. A story and experience that lives in you now lives in me. And I carry your story with me. I don’t share any of your story with anyone because of confidentiality, of course. But I marvel at the vulnerability my clients courageously embody to share their story, their identities, their piece of history for me to carry on. It feels like an act of resistance & like we’re making history openly sharing queer stories. And we work to accept and understand them nonjudgmentally when many before us couldn’t (and many still can’t). 

Our stories aren’t always gift-wrapped boxes with ribbon. Sometimes they’re scrappy, dented, painful, and miraculously-here things that take a lot of effort to recount and pass on to someone else. And while no one is entitled to our stories (not even your therapist), it’s always an honor to hear them when my clients decide they want to share. 

So to my clients and anyone else who has ever shared their queer story, thank you. Your queer story is sacred and it’s an honor to carry that history with me.