LGBTQ+ Counselling in Eastbourne and Online
You may want counselling specifically to explore sexuality or gender. Or you may be here because of anxiety, relationships, work, loss, low confidence or something else entirely - and simply want a counsellor who gets the context without you having to explain or defend it.
I'm Nicki Wakefield, the integrative counsellor and psychotherapist based in Eastbourne. I have a longstanding personal connection to the LGBTQ+ community, and offering genuinely affirming and trans-inclusive counselling is important to me.
Someone who gets the context
There is no single LGBTQ+ experience. Your sexuality or gender may be central to what you're going through, one part of a much bigger picture, or simply something you want your counsellor to understand without making assumptions.
My own connection to the community includes many years with the Pink Singers, one of the UK's longest-established LGBTQ+ choirs, where I was previously a trustee and member of the management committee. During that time I supported work to better recognise and include bisexual, trans and non-binary people and to increase diversity within the choir.
That doesn't mean my experiences are the same as yours. It does mean LGBTQ+ life isn't an abstract subject to me.
What might bring you to LGBTQ+ counselling?
Questioning or exploring your identity
Are you questioning your sexuality or gender, trying to find language that fits, or wondering whether you need a label at all? You don't need to arrive with an answer. We can explore what feels right for you without assuming where that exploration should lead.
Coming out - or deciding if you want to?
You may be considering telling family, friends or colleagues, and worrying about how people will respond, or deciding that there are situations where you don't want to be open. You may also be coming out later in life. We can explore what you want without pressure to disclose anything before you're ready.
Relationships, dating, sex and intimacy
You might be navigating dating, intimacy, communication or commitment, including monogamy, open relationships, polyamory or other forms of consensual non-monogamy. We can explore your boundaries, values and what you want from your relationships, without assumptions about what a relationship should look like.
Belonging and not quite fitting
You may sometimes wonder where you fit, or feel not quite at home in either LGBTQ+ or straight spaces. Age, culture, faith, neurodivergence and other parts of who you are may intersect with sexuality or gender in ways that matter to you.
Living outside a large city can add another dimension, with smaller dating pools, overlapping social circles or less access to LGBTQ+ community.
Trans and non-binary experiences
If you're trans, non-binary or questioning your gender, gender may be exactly what you want to explore - or completely unrelated to why you're here.
If you do want to explore your gender, we can make space for uncertainty, questions or change without assuming what the answer should be.
When being LGBTQ+ isn't the issue
Sometimes the most important thing about affirmative counselling is knowing that your sexuality or gender doesn't have to become the focus.
You can talk about whatever has brought you to counselling without wondering whether mentioning a partner, your sexuality or your gender will change how your counsellor sees you.
Thinking about counselling?
I offer face-to-face counselling in Eastbourne and online. You can read more about counselling and how I work, or if you'd like to explore whether working together might be helpful, the first step is a free introductory call.