The Tennessee Equality Project (TEP) has used the time created by social distancing to relaunch its Counseling Unconditionally project. Counseling Unconditionally is an online mapping tool that helps folx of all gender identities and sexual orientations find affirming mental healthcare practitioners.

Chris Sanders, TEP executive director, says:

“The ‘Counseling Discrimination Law’ (formerly HB1840) passed in 2017 highlights the need for counselors, therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, and other mental health providers to speak out for inclusive and affirmative practices.” 

If you are a mental health professional and can endorse the following statement, please apply for inclusion on this map by visitng Counseling Unconditionally:

As counselors, therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, and social workers serving clients in Tennessee, we affirm that we do not discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity and we will not use our own sincerely held principles as a reason to turn clients away.

So why is a sexuality education organization promoting inclusive mental healthcare? Because humans are complex with a vast variety of “perfectly normal.” It is perfecty normal to seek to address the affects of abuse, trauma, or addiction. It is perfectly normal to experience rage, anxiety, or depression. It is perfectly normal to struggle with relationships. And mental health and physical health both contribute to healthy relationships and sexual health for all folx.