Gay therapist

If he doesn't have an LCSW, LPC, or a masters or doctoral degree in psychology from a regionally accredited school, then if he's offering therapy, he is probably operating outside the scope of his licensure or certification (if he even has any; most people advertising hypnosis and spiritual counseling operate under a religious exemption and aren't licensed.)

There are also an awful lot of crap hypnotherapy "schools" that turn out people who believe they're qualified to use hypnosis, and often these people have a "masters" or even a "Ph.D" degree... but it is usually a substandard degree that doesn't have anywhere near the rigor a real graduate degree does, as it is not from a regionally accredited school. These people are not eligible for licensure as a psychotherapist by their state licensing board. And very, very few hypnosis training programs are actually recognized by ASCH, which is the only legitimate accreditor for hypnosis programs. The ones who are recognized generally won't allow anyone to attend unless they already have a masters or doctoral level psychology degree.

Bad therapy is easily worse than no therapy -- it can really mess you up. And hypnosis by someone who isn't a licensed psychotherapist (and not just a hypnotherapist) can also be really iffy, unless you really know what training they've had.

Additionally, a legitimate, properly trained and licensed therapist that does specialize in hypnosis (there are some) is probably not who you want to see; when you're a hammer, everything looks like a nail, and if you're looking for good therapy, someone who specializes in hypnosis will probably not have the skillset you need.

Here's something that may be helpful: As counterintuitive as it may seem, having a gay therapist really makes very little difference.

When I was in my coming out process (actually, *before* I even fully realized I was gay), I was seeing a wonderful straight female therapist. She had almost no experience working with gay clients, but she nonetheless did an extraordinary job helping me. My current therapist is a "fairy princess" (straight female, with a ton of gay friends) and she, too, is really good at dealing with gay issues. The "understanding at a deeper level" isn't really an issue, believe it or not. What's key is the ability to empathize with your experience and reflect back at you with a different perspective, to help you better process and understand yourself. And, honestly, I've met a number of gay (and straight) therapists who simply suck at that, so simply being gay is far less important than having the skills to deeply connect with you on an emotional and empathic level.

So, in short... this person doesn't sound, from your brief description, like he would be the best fit for what you need. If you want to PM me his website or whatever you have, I'll be happy to take a quick look at his credentials and tell you if his training is legit or not.

 

What Chip said. If he doesn't have PhD, PsyD, or LPC listed, steer clear. A lot of masters programs do not lead to any kind of licensure (it's state-dependent).

I went to my therapist through my school's counseling program so she was properly licensed. As a student looking to become a clinical psychologist, I would never go to someone who isn't licensed. Certifications are more than just letters behind someone's name.