LGBTQ+ Therapist in Sacramento: Relationships, Trauma & More
Embrace Therapy provides compassionate counseling for LGBTQ+ adults with a focus on relationships, trauma, identity stress, and emotional health. Our work is always respectful and informed by real-world experience, and we support clients navigating both internal challenges and the external pressures that often shape mental health for LGBTQ+ people. To schedule a consultation or learn more about our practice, get in touch.
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We Appreciate and Understand Context
By working with an LGBTQ+ affirming therapist, you will receive care that reflects an understanding of identity, relationships, and lived experience. Therapy does not exist in a vacuum. Social context, family dynamics, and past experiences all shape emotional health. Support here is informed, thoughtful, and grounded in how these factors intersect over time.
Support for Relationships, Trauma, and Identity Stress
Many LGBTQ+ clients seek therapy for relationship strain, trauma, or chronic stress rather than identity exploration alone. Therapy addresses communication patterns, past experiences, and emotional responses shaped by navigating systems that are not always safe or affirming. The work focuses on stability, insight, and building healthier relational patterns.
Therapy That Respects Your Lived Experience
You are not expected to educate your therapist, explain basic concepts, or justify your identity. Our therapy is grounded in respect and attentiveness to your experience, and sessions focus on understanding what has impacted you and how those experiences continue to affect relationships, emotional regulation, and day-to-day function.
"Many LGBTQ+ clients seek therapy not because of who they are, but because of what they have had to navigate. Therapy offers a place to talk honestly about relationships, stress, and past experiences without being minimized or misunderstood."
Meet Our LGBTQ+ Affirming Therapist
Alex Palacio, AMFT provides in-person and virtual therapy for adults and couples across Sacramento and California. Alex works with LGBTQ+ clients navigating relationships, identity, anxiety, and long-standing patterns that affect how they show up with others and with themselves.
Alex frequently supports clients in LGBTQ+, interracial, open, poly, and sex-positive relationships, as well as individuals exploring gender or identity transitions. Their work also includes helping clients navigate family, cultural, and community dynamics, particularly for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ clients dealing with belonging, boundaries, and self-esteem. Alex also works with anxiety, depression, body image concerns, and the lasting impact of religious trauma or high-demand groups.
Alex's approach is warm, easygoing, and non-judgmental. Many clients come to therapy feeling exhausted from performing, editing themselves, or avoiding conflict in order to be accepted. Therapy with Alex focuses on understanding where those patterns came from and practicing more honest, steady ways of relating that reduce self-censorship over time.
Sessions are collaborative and tailored rather than rigid. Alex draws from person-centered, CBT, DBT, and narrative approaches to support both insight and practical coping skills. Clients often describe Alex as calming, easy to talk to, and thoughtful. The goal is for therapy to support greater clarity, confidence, and a stronger connection to yourself.
Alex offers in-person and virtual sessions. Sessions are $180. Availability can be requested by email.
Relationships and Communication
Relationships can be shaped by past experiences, attachment patterns, and stress related to identity or safety. Therapy supports clients in understanding communication breakdowns, recurring conflicts, and emotional distance within partnerships or families. Sessions focus on identifying patterns and building healthier ways of relating without assigning blame or oversimplifying complex dynamics.
Make An AppointmentTrauma, Safety, and Past Experiences
Many LGBTQ+ clients carry the impact of experiences related to rejection, discrimination, or feeling unsafe. Trauma can affect trust, emotional regulation, and relationships long after the original experience has passed. Therapy offers structured support to process these experiences and reduce how much they continue to shape present-day reactions.
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Identity Stress and Minority Stress
Living in a world that was not designed with LGBTQ+ people in mind can create chronic stress. This may include vigilance, pressure to explain oneself, or ongoing concerns about acceptance and safety. Therapy helps address the emotional toll of this stress and supports clients in developing steadier internal grounding.
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Anxiety, Low Mood, and Emotional Exhaustion
Long-term stress often shows up as anxiety, depression, or emotional fatigue. Many clients describe feeling worn down or disconnected after years of managing external pressures. Therapy focuses on stabilizing emotional health, understanding contributing factors, and supporting sustainable coping strategies that reduce burnout.
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Therapy Without Assumptions
This work avoids stereotypes and surface-level affirmation. Therapy is individualized and grounded in curiosity about your specific experiences. Clients are approached as whole people rather than representatives of a category. The goal is thoughtful, respectful care that supports real change rather than checking boxes.
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Clinicians Experienced in LGBTQ+ Mental Health
Our therapists have experience working with LGBTQ+ adults and understand the clinical and social factors that often influence emotional health.
Thoughtful and Direct Therapy
Sessions balance emotional exploration with practical support, avoiding scripted responses or performative language.
Consistent and Flexible Scheduling
Virtual therapy and flexible scheduling help reduce barriers to care and support continuity.
A Respectful Therapy Experience
Care is steady, grounded, and focused on meaningful progress rather than surface-level affirmation.
Support Designed for LGBTQ+ Adults
In addition to ongoing therapy, we offer consultations, therapist matching, and future group offerings to support LGBTQ+ adults seeking thoughtful mental health care that respects complexity and lived experience.
Make An AppointmentTherapy Consultations
Consultations allow you to ask questions, discuss concerns, and decide whether this therapeutic approach aligns with your needs.
Coordinated and Responsive Care
Our practice prioritizes clear communication and reliability to support trust and consistency in care.
Future LGBTQ+ Group Offerings
Planned group sessions will focus on shared experiences, relationships, and emotional health within LGBTQ+ communities.
Supporting Our Therapists
We invest in training, consultation, and sustainable workloads so therapists can provide attentive, consistent care.
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Have more questions? Send us an email and get the answers!
FAQs About LGBTQ+ Therapy in Sacramento
Yes. We work with clients across the LGBTQ+ spectrum and approach care with respect for each individual's experience rather than assumptions or categories.
No. Many clients seek therapy for relationships, anxiety, trauma, or emotional exhaustion. Identity is part of context, not the sole focus.
Yes. Therapy supports clients in understanding communication challenges, attachment patterns, and recurring relational dynamics.
Yes. LGBTQ+ affirming therapy is offered through secure video sessions across California.
Yes. Therapy can support processing past experiences and reducing how they affect emotional health and relationships today.
That experience matters. Therapy here focuses on rebuilding trust and approaching care thoughtfully and collaboratively.
Yes. Care is grounded, respectful, and focused on meaningful support rather than surface-level affirmation.
Some clients work short-term around specific concerns. Others choose longer-term support. There is no required timeline.