Pride Month, Queer History, Therapy within the Community
Every June, cities across the world, including Denver are adorned in rainbows and joy, celebrating Pride Month — a time to honor the resilience, joy, and ongoing struggles of the LGBTQIA+ community. At Denver Couples Center, we believe Pride is more than a celebration; it's also a moment of reflection and recommitment to creating safe, affirming spaces for healing and connection, through community, dance, and yes, therapy.
But to understand the significance of therapy in queer spaces, we must first look at the history of Pride itself — a history rooted in resistance, identity, and the journey toward wholeness.
A Brief History of Pride
Pride Month commemorates the Stonewall Uprising of June 1969, when LGBTQIA+ patrons of the Stonewall Inn in New York City — many of them trans women of color, drag queens, and homeless queer youth — stood up against police brutality and discrimination. It wasn’t the first act of resistance, but it became a catalyst for the modern LGBTQIA+ rights movement.
Over the decades, Pride has evolved. It now serves as both a celebration of queer life and a protest against the inequalities that still exist — from legal disparities to health inequities and social stigma.
The Early Relationship Between the Queer Community and Mental Health
Historically, mental health institutions were not safe for LGBTQIA+ individuals. Until 1973, homosexuality was classified as a mental disorder by the American Psychiatric Association. Wild (and not okay). Queer identities were pathologized, often leading to traumatic “treatments” like conversion therapy. These practices left deep wounds and created a mistrust of mental health providers.
At the same time, queer people were building their own networks of support — informal peer counseling, underground discussion groups, and community-run health clinics became essential lifelines.
How Therapy Began to Emerge in Queer Spaces
The movement for LGBTQIA+ rights gradually opened doors to more affirming mental health care. In the 1980s and 1990s, the AIDS crisis not only devastated communities but also catalyzed activism that included mental health as part of holistic care. Queer therapists and allies stepped up to fill the void, offering grief counseling, trauma support, and couples therapy for those often left out of mainstream services.
As societal understanding grew, more therapists began receiving training in LGBTQIA+ cultural competency. Some were queer themselves, bringing lived experience into their practices. Therapy began to shift from something imposed on queer people to something co-created with and for them.
What Affirming Therapy Looks Like Today
At Denver Couples Center, we embrace this lineage of healing. Affirming therapy today means:
Recognizing and respecting the diversity of LGBTQIA+ experiences, including how intersecting identities (race, gender, disability, class) shape relationships and mental health.
Creating a nonjudgmental space where clients don’t have to educate their therapist about their identity.
Supporting queer couples in navigating both everyday dynamics and the unique challenges they may face, including family rejection, coming out, parenting, trauma, sex, opening up their relationship, etc.
Centering resilience, connection, and joy, not just pain.
We’re proud to serve queer couples and individuals in Denver with the understanding that therapy is not just a tool for crisis — it’s a path toward thriving.
Honoring Pride, Embracing Healing
As we celebrate Pride Month, we honor those who fought for the rights and visibility we have today. We also recognize that healing is an essential part of justice. Therapy in queer spaces is an act of reclamation — transforming what was once used to harm into something deeply healing and empowering.
To the LGBTQIA+ community: Your love, your relationships, your struggles, and your joy matter. We're here to walk with you on your journey — in June and every month of the year.
With Pride,
The Denver Couples Center Team
