Michael Nee, M.A., CST, LMFT (#89379) is a psychotherapist and certified sex therapist in Los Angeles working with LGBTQ+ individuals and couples, in office and by telehealth anywhere in California.
Affirming Means the Structure Is Not the Diagnosis
Plenty of therapists describe themselves as affirming. In practice what clients report wanting is narrower and more useful: a therapist who does not treat orientation, gender, or the shape of a relationship as the thing to be explained, and who does not require a tutorial before the actual problem can be discussed. Sessions here start from the presenting concern, not from an introduction to your life.
That applies to relationship structure as well. Open relationships, polyamory, throuples and triads are worked with on their own terms; when there is a problem it is usually the same problem monogamous couples bring, which is that an agreement was made once and never revisited.
What People Bring
Coming out, or deciding not to, and the cost of either. Family relationships that have gone quiet or conditional. Dating after a long marriage in a different configuration. Questions about gender or identity held privately for years. Sexual function, desire and shame, which as a certified sex therapist are ordinary clinical material here. Anxiety and depression that are inseparable from having spent years managing other people’s comfort. And the more mundane material: work, money, attention, grief.
Couples Work
Couples therapy here is not limited to married, monogamous or heterosexual couples, and has not been for the length of this practice. Sessions are 50 minutes with both partners present; sex therapy for couples is available when desire, function or intimacy is the live issue rather than conflict.
Getting started
Consultations are free and run 15 to 40 minutes. Call (310) 927-1755, email michael@michaelneetherapy.com, or use the contact page. The office is at 13101 W. Washington Boulevard, Suite 454, Los Angeles, CA 90066, and telehealth is available anywhere in California. Office hours are Monday to Thursday, 10:00 to 20:00.