We Are a Network of Queer and Trans-identified Mental Health Professionals Who Serve the 2SLGBTQIA Community
LGBTQ mental health counseling in Troy connects queer, trans, and two-spirit individuals with therapists who understand the specific challenges of living authentically in a world not built for you. Umbrella Mental Health Network provides this specialized care across Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area, including Troy, with registered psychotherapists and social workers trained in trauma-informed, anti-oppressive practice. Troy residents seeking this service include gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, non-binary, asexual, and aromantic individuals navigating identity, relationships, and mental health. Many come from religious backgrounds or family structures where queerness was not welcomed. Others are processing trauma, managing anxiety or depression, or exploring their gender identity for the first time. Queer couples in Troy benefit from relationship counseling grounded in understanding of diverse family structures, including ethical non-monogamy and polyamory. Young people and young adults in Troy often seek support from therapists who affirm their identity rather than pathologizing it. Umbrella Mental Health Network works with all of these populations, centering their lived experience rather than imposing clinical frameworks that erase queer joy and resilience. Trauma-informed LGBTQ counseling rests on understanding that many queer people carry wounds from family rejection, peer violence, medical gatekeeping, or religious harm. Umbrella's therapists recognize these as injuries to heal, not deficits to fix. The work involves creating genuine safety-emotional, relational, and physical-where clients can name what happened and rebuild trust in themselves and others. Because many 2SLGBTQIA individuals have experienced systemic oppression, effective counseling must name that context rather than individualizing pain that has structural roots. This means the therapist does not ask you to accept a system that harmed you; instead, you work together on what resilience looks like for you, grounded in your own values and community. Individual psychotherapy at Umbrella addresses depression, anxiety, C-PTSD, and identity exploration with clinicians trained in queer experience. Gender identity exploration therapy supports people in Troy at any stage-questioning, early transition, or deepening their understanding of themselves-without the gatekeeping that characterizes many medical pathways. Couples therapy and ethical non-monogamy counseling help queer and polyamorous partners in Troy navigate communication, boundary-setting, and conflict with therapists who view these relationships as valid and worthy of care. Youth and young adult counselling creates space for people navigating school, family, sexuality, and gender during formative years when affirmation or rejection shapes mental health for decades. Trauma and PTSD treatment draws on evidence-based approaches including somatic work, recognizing that trauma lives in the body and that healing must include the nervous system, not only talk. Finding a therapist matters everywhere, but it matters differently in different places. Troy and surrounding areas of the GTA have their own geography of LGBTQ+ community, resources, and invisibility. A therapist in Troy who specializes in queer mental health understands the specific texture of your experience-the particular ways heteronormative and cisnormative culture shows up in workplaces, families, and social spaces where you live. Umbrella Mental Health Network operates across the GTA precisely because queer people do not fit into neat municipal boundaries; they live, work, study, and partner across the region. Having a practice grounded in the GTA means therapists understand local resources, community spaces, and the relational landscape of your actual life. It also means someone in Troy can access care without traveling into downtown Toronto if that does not work for your schedule, finances, or comfort. If you live in Troy or the surrounding area and have been searching for a therapist who gets it-who understands queerness not as pathology but as part of who you are, who centers your healing over institutional comfort, who brings feminist and decolonial values to the work-Umbrella Mental Health Network invites you to reach out. You deserve mental health care that affirms rather than converts, that listens rather than lectures, and that recognizes your resilience alongside the real harm you may have endured. Contact Umbrella to learn more about how their therapists can support your healing journey. Affirming therapy explicitly recognizes queerness and transness as healthy variations of human experience, not disorders to treat. It centers your lived experience and values rather than pathologizing your identity or relationships. The therapist does not attempt to change your sexual orientation or gender identity and understands systemic oppression as context for your distress, not individual failure. Umbrella Mental Health Network serves Troy as part of its Greater Toronto Area practice. They offer virtual and in-person options, so you can access care whether you prefer meeting in your local community or connecting online. Contact them directly to discuss what works best for your location and preferences. Trauma-informed LGBTQ counseling recognizes that many queer and trans people carry injuries from rejection, violence, or medical harm. Therapists build safety, help you process what happened, and support you in reclaiming your sense of agency and belonging. The approach honors your resilience and situates your pain in real systems, not inside your identity. Yes. Umbrella Mental Health Network specializes in counseling for queer couples and those in alternative relationship structures, including ethical non-monogamy and polyamory. Therapists work with you on communication, boundaries, and navigating the unique joys and challenges of your relationship model. Gender identity exploration therapy creates space to understand your relationship to gender without pressure to label, transition, or conform to external timelines. Therapists help you clarify your own truth, navigate social and medical systems if you choose, and build community and self-compassion along the way. Yes. Umbrella Mental Health Network offers youth and young adult counseling specifically for people exploring gender and sexual identity. Therapists work with the developmental stage you are in and can help you navigate school, family, peer relationships, and your own sense of self. Anti-oppressive practice names that systems-racism, heterosexism, transphobia, ableism, classism-cause real harm and shape your experience. Rather than treating you as an individual problem to solve, therapists recognize structural barriers and work with you on resistance, resilience, and healing grounded in your own values and community connections.Lgbtq Mental Health Counseling Troy
Who LGBTQ Mental Health Counseling in Troy Serves
Core Approaches in Trauma-Informed Practice
Specialized Services Addressing Queer-Specific Needs
Why Location and Specialization Matter in Troy
Taking the First Step
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes LGBTQ-affirming therapy different from general counseling?
Does Umbrella Mental Health Network offer counseling specifically in Troy?
How does trauma-informed care work in LGBTQ counseling?
Can couples therapy help if we practice ethical non-monogamy?
What does gender identity exploration therapy involve?
Is counseling available for youth and young adults questioning their identity?
What does anti-oppressive practice mean in mental health care?

Acknowledgement
Tkaronto and the surrounding areas that we serve are within the Dish With One Spoon Territory. The Dish With One Spoon is a treaty between the Anishinaabe, Mississaugas and Haudenosaunee that bound them to share the territory and protect the land. Subsequent Indigenous Nations and Peoples, Europeans and all newcomers have been invited into this treaty in the spirit of peace, friendship and respect.
We at Umbrella recognize that the professions of psychology, psychotherapy, and social work have roots in colonial violence. As psychotherapists and social workers, we understand that we have a responsibility to continuously work to decolonize the practice of psychotherapy/social work and acknowledge the origins of the various healing practices we utilize.
Our therapists actively engage in regular training that emphasizes professional development, team support, and sharing the current knowledge in 2SLGBTQIA mental health, to ensure the highest level of care for our clients.
Meet Our Team
Christopher Shillington
MA, CCC, RP
(they/them)
Clinic Director/ Registered Psychotherapist
Areas of focus:
- Healthy Relationships
- Intersectional Identities
- Trauma & PTSD

Andrés Gayoso Descalzi
MSW,RSW
(he/him)
Registered Social Worker
Areas of focus:
- Gender Identity & Embodiment
- Life Changes & Transitions
- 2SLGBTQIA+ Youth & Families

Aysha Natsheh
MSW, RSW
Registered Social Worker
Areas of focus:
- Food, Body, Self-Image
- Trauma
- Gender & Sexual Identity
Bushra Ahmed
MSW, RSW
Registered Social Worker
Areas of focus:
- 2SLGBTQIA+ Youth
- Exploring Neurodivergent Identities
- Impact of Oppression & Trauma on Mental Health

Clara Doucette
MA, RP (Qualifying)
(she/her)
Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying)
Areas of focus:
- Relational Styles & Attachment
- Friendships & Kinship
- Stress
Cressida Frey
MSW, RSW (she/her) Registered Social WorkerAreas of focus:
- Children, Adolescents and Adults
- Violence, Trauma and Healing
- Stress and Anxiety
Derek Cassidy
MSW, RSW
(he/him/they/them)
Registered Social Worker
Areas of focus:
- Relationships and Attachment
- Complex, Relational Trauma
- Sexuality and Sexual Health

Jesmen Mendoza
C.Psych. (he/him) Adjunct PsychologistAreas of focus:
- Complex Mental Health
- Consultation

Jett Peters
MSW Candidate
(they/them)
Student Therapist
Areas of focus:
- Gender Identity
- Relationship(s) with Food & Body
- Trauma
Kathryn Bargis
MSc, RP (she/her) Registered PsychotherapistAreas of focus:
- Relationships
- Trauma
- Gender and Sexual Identity
Maxine Bower
MSW, RSW (she/her) Registered Social WorkerAreas of focus:
- Attachment in Individuals and in Relationships
- Complex Trauma
- Deepening Connections
Nicholas Sorg
MSc, RP
(he/him)
Registered Psychotherapist
Areas of focus:
- Stress, Anxiety, and Depression
- Sexual Identity Development
- Alternative Relationships, Relationship and Family Stress
Rae Griffin-Carlson
MSW, RSW
(she/her)
Registered Social Worker
Areas of focus:
- 2SLGBTQIA+ Youth & Adults
- Stress, Anxiety & Depression
- Sexual & Gender-based Violence

Rahim Thawer
MSW, RSW
(he/him)
External Clinical Supervisor
Areas of focus:
- Identity Conflict & Shame
- Dating, Relationships, Single by Chance/Choice
- Sexualized Substance Use

Saadia Khan
BA (they/them) Administrative and Social Media Assistant
Stephanie Wu
RP, Professional Art Therapist
(they/them)
Registered Psychotherapist
Areas of focus:
- Intimate Partner Violence, Sexual Assault & Childhood Abuse
- Impacts of Oppression
- 2SLGBTQIA+ Youth & Adults







