
Andrés Gayoso Descalzi
MSW, RSW
(he/him)
Registered Social Worker
AREAS OF FOCUS
- Gender Identity & Embodiment
- Life Changes & Transitions
- 2SLGBTQIA+ Youth & Families
I am a queer and trans-identified Registered Social Worker hailing from lands currently known as Peru, also known as Tahuantinsuyu. I am a settler and immigrant to this Northern part of Turtle Island, currently living and working in Tkaronto.
“Co-creating attentive and affirming spaces to connect with the (hi)stories, experiences, values, practices and knowledges in and around you will be our work together.”
My therapeutic practice is at its foundation connected to trauma-informed, intersectional, anti-racist, anti-capitalist, decolonial, and more generally anti-oppressive principles. In our work together, this in part means naming and challenging often harmful normative narratives and structural oppressions (eg. racism, misogyny, transphobia) that affect clients’ lives, and honouring and supporting the ways in which they cope, resist, and care for themselves and their communities.
Some of the values that inform my practice are harm-reduction, and sex- polyam- kink- positivity. The modalities I draw from are varied, and include: narrative, emotion-focussed, and strength-based approaches. When we initially connect, we will talk about your hopes, goals, and vision for our work together, and we will discuss how I may be able to support you with them.
I believe in the transformative potential of intentional space and story sharing. In our work together, you can expect to share a space that affirms all of the important parts that make you who you are (including your gender, race, culture, sexuality, role in your community, your personal and community experiences, your thoughts, feelings, and beliefs—whatever is important to you!) and (re)connects you to your values and experiences in ways that I hope are helpful in your inner and outer life.
I have worked in individual and group support with 2SLGBTQ+ folks for more than a decade. It is my joy and honour to support and accompany you through the spaces and times you choose to share with me. I look forward to meeting you!