4 Los Angeles LGBTQ+ Couples Therapists

ou love your partner but feel like something’s not clicking lately. Maybe you keep having the same arguments or you’re just orbiting around each other, there but not present. Intimacy feels harder to reach or you’re struggling with differences around identity, gender, sexuality, family, or a relationship structure that’s starting to feel complicated. Or maybe you just want a therapist who understands queer relationships without having to educate them first.

At Therapy on Fig, our Los Angeles LGBTQ+ couples therapy is affirming, non-pathologizing, and created for you and your relationships. Our approach to LGBTQ+ couples therapy isn’t about making your relationship look like anyone else’s. It’s to help you create a relationship that feels more connected, honest, and right for you.

Meet our Los Angeles LGBTQ+ couples therapists

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• Best for polyamorous and ethically non-monogamous relationships: Emily Gaston

• Best for queer couples wanting an emotionally focused therapist: Bret Hansen

• Best for neurodivergent LGBTQ+ couples: Gabriella Elise Giorgio

• Best for trans, non-binary, and queer couples redefining what partnership looks like: bert wright

Not sure who might feel like the right fit? Reach out, and we’d be happy to thoughtfully match you with the right provider for you.

Best for polyamorous and ethically non-monogamous relationships

Emily doesn’t just make space for queer identities and expansive relationships—she celebrates them. She understands the importance of chosen family, and the way stigma, trauma, family relationships, and loss can become intertwined with how we give and receive love. Using a relational, depth-oriented, and IFS-informed approach, she’s a great fit for LGBTQ+ couples who want to understand what lies beneath their conflicts.

• Credentials: Associate Marriage and Family Therapist #155211 and Associate Professional Clinical Counselor #19502, supervised by Philip Chang, LCSW #92156

• Location: 5619 N Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA 90042

• Virtual therapy: Yes, in addition to in-person

Best for queer couples wanting an emotionally focused therapist

As a gay man, Bret brings a lived understanding of what it means to grow up feeling different, searching for belonging, or to just be accepted. Combining that perspective with training in Emotionally Focused Therapy, IFS, Hakomi Mindful Somatic Therapy, and psychodynamic therapy, he’s a great fit for LGBTQ+ couples who want to understand emotional patterns, deepen relationships, and build more authentic relationships.

• Credentials: Associate Marriage & Family Therapist, 155624, supervised by Courtney Watson, LPCC, #21190, IFS Level I Trained

• Location: 5619 N Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA 90042

• Virtual therapy: Yes, in addition to in-person

Best for neurodivergent LGBTQ+ couples

As a late-discovered and highly masked autistic woman, Gabriella understands firsthand how people can care deeply for each other yet experience the same interaction in completely different ways. With a direct and grounded approach that combines Gottman Method with IFS, she’s a strong fit for LGBTQ+ couples in which autism, masking, sensory differences, or very different nervous systems affect how partners communicate and connect, and who want to better understand each other’s inner world.

• Credentials: Associate Marriage & Family Therapist #140682, supervised by Sharon Yu, LMFT #50028, Gottman Method & IFS Level I trained

• Location: 5619 N Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA 90042

• Virtual therapy: Yes, in addition to in-person

Best for trans, non-binary, and queer couples redefining what partnership looks like

As a transgender, non-binary, queer therapist, bert brings lived understanding of gender exploration, identity shifts, and relationships that don’t follow traditional scripts. They also specialize in ethical non-monogamy, polyamory, consensual non-monogamy, and kink, making them a strong fit for partners building relationships around their own values. Their collaborative approach draws from Gottman Couples Therapy, IFS-informed work, relational-cultural therapy, liberation psychology, narrative therapy, and somatic approaches to help couples understand patterns, communicate more openly, and feel more connected.

• Credentials: Associate Marriage and Family Therapist #164075, supervised by Courtney Watson, LPCC #21190, trained in EMDR,  Level 1 and 2 Gottman Couples Therapy

• Location: 5619 N Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA 90042

• Virtual therapy: Yes, in addition to in-person

What sets us apart from other Los Angeles LGBTQ+ couples therapy providers

Queer couples don’t need to be squeezed into assumptions about what a relationship is “supposed” to look like. Our approach helps you go beyond the surface and understand the relationship the two, or more, of you want to build. Here’s what makes us different:

• LGBTQ+ affirmation that’s more than being open. We celebrate and recognize the way LGBTQ+ identity, community, sexuality, and relationships are meaningful parts of your life that deserve to be understood and acknowledged.

• Support for expansive, non-traditional relationship structures. We welcome LGBTQ+ couples and partners in polyamorous, open, and consensually non-monogamous relationships without assuming monogamy is the goal.

• Neurodivergent-affirming therapy. Autism, ADHD, sensory differences, masking, and different communication styles are approached with curiosity rather than something to be fixed.

• Specialized training in evidence-based couples therapy. Our LGBTQ+ couples therapists are highly trained in a variety of evidence-based couples therapies, including IFS, Emotionally Focused Therapy, and the Gottman Method.

• Flexible scheduling. We offer online and in-person couples sessions 7 days a week at our Highland Park office because we know that coordinating schedules can be a struggle and want to make getting care realistic and accessible.

• Trauma-informed care. We approach through a non-pathologizing lens that acknowledges how past hurts can shape how safe closeness feels today without turning either partner into the problem.

With us, LGBTQ+ couples therapy goes beyond just addressing the symptoms. We’re committed to helping you build the kind of relationship where you can show up fully.

Common reasons why people seek LGBTQ+ therapy

• Feeling more like roommates than romantic partners.

• Differences in emotional or physical intimacy.

• Rebuilding trust after betrayal, infidelity, or broken trust.

• Exploring ethical non-monogamy, polyamory, or open relationships.

• Managing boundaries within an open or non-monogamous relationship.

• Different levels of outness between partners.

• Navigating gender exploration or transition within a relationship.

• Parenting, co-parenting, fertility, or building an LGBTQ+ family

• Figuring out whether you want to stay together

• Minority stress and discrimination spilling over into the relationship

  You don't have to wait until your relationship feels like it's falling apart. LGBTQ+ couples counseling in Los Angeles can also give you a dedicated space to strengthen a relationship that already matters deeply to you.

How LGBTQ+ couples counseling can help

The argument about dishes may not really be about dishes. Rather than deciding who’s right, your LGBTQ+ therapist helps you notice what each of you is protecting, needing, and responding to. Over time, you may become better able to recognize the cycle before it takes over.

Los Angeles LGBTQ+ couples therapy may help you understand recurring patterns of conflict and communicate needs without escalating or shutting down. Couples therapy can also help you feel safer being vulnerable with each other, develop the boundaries that fit your relationship, and understand each other’s nervous systems and communication styles.

The goal isn't a conflict-free relationship. It's being able to move through differences without losing yourselves, or each other, in the process. 

Our approach to LGBTQ+ couples counseling

Our Los Angeles LGBTQ+ couples therapists draw from several relationship-focused and experiential approaches. Therapy is personalized rather than forcing every couple through the same formula.

Internal Family Systems and Intimacy From the Inside Out

Internal Family Systems (IFS) helps you understand the different “parts” of yourself that show up in relationships. One part may become defensive when you feel criticized, while another shuts down to avoid conflict, and another desperately wants reassurance that everything is okay.

Intimacy From the Inside Out (IFIO) takes those same IFS ideas and applies them directly to couples therapy. Instead of only focusing on what you and your partner are arguing about, IFIO helps each of you recognize the vulnerable feelings and protective reactions underneath the conflict. 

As you become more aware of what is happening inside you, it can become easier to speak from a calmer, more honest place and respond to your partner with greater understanding. For example, rather than saying, “You never care about what I need,” you may begin to recognize that a part of you feels afraid of being unimportant or abandoned. That shift can make room for a very different conversation.

Emotionally Focused Therapy

Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) looks at the attachment needs underneath relationship patterns. Instead of getting stuck on who started it, you begin noticing the cycle itself. You might discover that the more one partner seeks reassurance, the more overwhelmed the other becomes, and the more they withdraw, the more urgently their partner seeks connection. Understanding that pattern can help you respond to each other differently.

Gottman Method couples therapy

The Gottman Method provides practical tools for understanding conflict, friendship, intimacy, and the ways partners attempt to connect with each other. Couples may work on handling solvable and ongoing disagreements, repairing after conflict, responding to bids for connection, and creating shared meaning in their relationship.

FAQs about couples counseling

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Other Therapy Services Offered at Therapy on Fig in Highland Park, Los Angeles, and Throughout California

At Therapy on Fig, we offer therapy services that fit each couple's unique needs. In addition to Couples Therapy in Highland Park, we also offer Therapy for Empaths, Trauma Therapy, and Grief and Loss Therapy. We also address related issues such as anxiety, stress management, and relationship issues. Whether you're seeking support for a specific issue or looking to strengthen your relationship overall, our therapists are here to help. Contact us today to learn more about our services and how we can support you on your journey towards a healthier, happier relationship.