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Queer Couples Counselling — by Christina Wade

Free 15-Minute Consultation

    About the Therapist

    Christina Wade, LCSW

    Christina Wade, LCSW, is a licensed therapist with nearly 20 years of experience supporting adults in California through secure virtual sessions.

    She specializes in working with clients who feel stuck, emotionally overwhelmed, or disconnected — especially those dealing with depression, anxiety, trauma, and life transitions.

    Christina’s approach is collaborative and client-centered, drawing from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, mindfulness, and motivational interviewing.

    She offers evening telehealth appointments and provides a calm, respectful space where clients can explore challenges and feel supported.

    Christina is especially passionate about helping individuals move toward clarity, self-trust, and a renewed sense of emotional balance.

    Free 15-Minute Consultation
    Attachment Styles in LGBTQ+ Relationships

    A Safe, Affirming, and Deeply Human Space for LGBTQ+ Couples

    Queer relationships often carry layers of complexity that the world does not always see. The pressures of identity development, family expectations, discrimination, internalized shame, and past trauma can all shape how partners relate to each other. Beyond these shared challenges, every couple brings their own mix of history, communication styles, needs, and emotional wounds.

    Christina Wade, LCSW, provides queer-affirming, trauma-informed couples counselling designed specifically for LGBTQ+ individuals seeking stronger connection, emotional safety, and healthier communication. With nearly 20 years of clinical experience and deep commitment to queer mental health, Christina offers a therapeutic space where couples can explore difficult dynamics without judgment and rebuild closeness with intention and honesty.

    Christina’s Therapeutic Approach for Queer Couples

    Christina’s work is grounded in evidence-based models but shaped by the lived realities of LGBTQ+ clients. Her approach blends clinical expertise with a genuine human connection, ensuring therapy feels supportive, relevant, and accessible.

    Affirming Your Identity and Relationship Structure


    Christina honors all identities and relationship configurations including monogamous couples, open relationships, polyamorous partnerships, and relationships in transition. Therapy acknowledges the influence of culture, safety, language, and identity development, ensuring both partners feel validated.


    Healing Emotional Patterns Rooted in Trauma


    Many queer couples enter therapy carrying individual trauma histories that influence communication, trust, and emotional availability. Christina integrates trauma-focused approaches that help couples repair ruptures without re-triggering pain, creating space for healing that is slow, compassionate, and safe.


    Supporting Authentic and Honest Communication


    Therapy focuses on helping partners communicate what they feel rather than what they think they are “supposed” to feel. Christina gently guides couples toward curiosity, self-awareness, and deeper honesty in ways that reduce defensiveness and increase closeness.

    Recognizing these signs helps you take the first step toward change. Therapy is not about labeling you. It is about creating a space to make sense of these experiences and to build a plan that supports healing.

    Why LGBTQ+ Couples Chooses Christina Wade?

    Christina’s work stands out because she is not merely a therapist with experience in LGBTQ+ issues; she is a queer therapist who understands the emotional, relational, and cultural nuances from both the inside and the clinical lens.

    Her nearly two decades of experience as an LCSW include extensive training in trauma-informed practices, identity-focused work, and LGBTQ+ mental health. Clients appreciate her grounded presence, her ability to make difficult conversations feel manageable, and her warm, humorous, culturally aware style that creates an atmosphere of emotional safety.

    What Sessions Explore?

    While every couple’s journey is different, several themes commonly emerge in Christina’s queer couples counselling work. Each is explored with depth and nuance to help partners strengthen understanding and closeness.


    Identity Stress and Internalized Stigma


    Queer individuals often carry unspoken fears about rejection, belonging, or being “too much.” Therapy helps partners unlearn this pressure, reshaping how they show up with one another.


    Communication Blocks and Emotional Distance


    Arguments, shutdowns, and misunderstandings often reflect deeper fears or needs. Christina helps couples uncover what lies beneath these moments so conversations become less reactive and more connected.


    Navigating Relationship Agreements


    Whether defining monogamy, negotiating boundaries, or maintaining trust in open/poly relationships, Christina guides couples in creating agreements rooted in clarity, honesty, and genuine comfort.


    Family, Culture, and External Pressures


    Queer couples may navigate family rejection, cultural stigmas, or lack of social support. Therapy helps partners strengthen their bond and develop emotional resilience as a team.


    Repairing Ruptures and Rebuilding Trust


    When trust has been strained by dishonesty, emotional disconnection, or broken agreements, Christina uses trauma-informed relational work to help partners move forward with clarity and repair.

    How Christina Creates an Emotionally Safe Space

    Christina’s sessions are intentionally structured to help clients feel calm enough to explore difficult material without overwhelm. She brings together grounding practices, somatic awareness, and relational attunement. Couples often describe her sessions as a rare space where they can finally breathe, name what they have been avoiding, and feel truly heard.

    Clinical Methods Christina Uses With Queer Couples

    Christina incorporates a blend of modalities chosen for their effectiveness with LGBTQ+ clients and relational work.


    Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)


    To help partners understand how thoughts and beliefs shape emotional reactions.


    Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)


    To support emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and grounded communication during conflict.


    Motivational Interviewing


    To help partners understand their values, strengthen self-awareness, and shift unhelpful patterns with agency.


    Mindfulness-Based Approaches


    To cultivate presence, soften reactivity, and build emotional attunement.


    Attachment and Relational Therapies


    To help partners understand how early experiences shape current relationship dynamics.
    These modalities are integrated seamlessly, depending on the couple’s needs, goals, and emotional capacity.

    What to Expect in Queer Couples Counselling

    Initial Consultation


    Christina offers a free consultation to help both partners understand the process, ask questions, and get a feel for whether her therapeutic style is the right fit.


    Assessment and Goal Setting


    The early sessions focus on understanding your relationship dynamics, communication patterns, emotional triggers, and shared values. Together, you will identify short-term and long-term goals.


    Ongoing Sessions


    Ongoing work emphasizes emotional safety, understanding the root of recurring conflict, healing old wounds, strengthening communication, and rebuilding intimacy. Sessions unfold at the pace that feels right for both partners.

    Growth and Maintenance


    As the relationship stabilizes, sessions help partners sustain new patterns, reinforce healthy communication, and navigate new challenges with confidence and clarity.

    Frequently asked questions

    Counselling may help if you experience recurring conflicts, emotional distance, communication breakdowns, or identity-related stress. Many couples seek therapy to strengthen their foundation, even when they are not in crisis. It offers clarity, support, and tools for deeper connection.

    Yes, Christina affirms all relationship structures. She helps partners explore boundaries, agreements, and emotional needs without judgment. Therapy focuses on strengthening communication, trust, and clarity so the relationship structure supports both partners’ well-being.

    It is common for partners to feel unsure at first. Christina uses a collaborative, non-pressuring approach that helps each person express concerns and slowly build comfort. Therapy becomes a shared, supported space rather than a place of blame or discomfort.

    Yes, trauma can shape communication patterns, trust, emotional regulation, and attachment. Christina integrates trauma-informed approaches to help couples understand these patterns safely, build emotional resilience, and create new ways of relating that feel grounded and connected.

    The timeline varies depending on goals, the depth of issues, and how often you attend sessions. Some couples benefit from short-term work focused on specific patterns, while others prefer longer-term support. Therapy progresses at a pace that respects your emotional capacity.

    Final Thoughts

    Queer couples deserve therapy that understands their experiences deeply and honors their relationship without assumptions or judgment. Christina Wade offers a space grounded in expertise, compassion, and lived understanding, helping partners strengthen connection, rebuild trust, and create the kind of relationship that feels emotionally safe and truly supportive.

    Whether your relationship is struggling, shifting, or ready to grow in new ways, Christina’s approach helps you explore those changes with clarity, curiosity, and genuine care.

    If you are ready to move toward a more connected and grounded relationship, a free consultation is a meaningful first step.

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    About the Therapist

    Christina Wade, LCSW

    Christina Wade, LCSW, is a licensed therapist with nearly 20 years of experience supporting adults in California through secure virtual sessions. She specializes in working with clients who feel stuck, emotionally overwhelmed, or disconnected — especially those dealing with depression, anxiety, trauma, and life transitions.

    Christina’s approach is collaborative and client-centered, drawing from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, mindfulness, and motivational interviewing. She offers evening telehealth appointments and provides a calm, respectful space where clients can explore challenges and feel supported.

    Christina is especially passionate about helping individuals move toward clarity, self-trust, and a renewed sense of emotional balance.

    Free 15-Minute Consultation

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      We’re Here When You’re Ready.

      Phone Number

      (510) 686-3839

      Email Address

      cwade.consultation@gmail.com

      Location

      112 W 25th Ave, Suite 2 San Mateo, CA 94403

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