There are many who live a life that is different from the one they were brought up to live, and different from the one that society recommends they live. There are also those who don't live the way they would prefer, trying hard to "fit in" to what is considered "normal." This can have a profound psychological impact. Denying an intrinsic feeling to live and to be a certain way sets up an internal conflict that can mutate into an internalised self-loathing. Such a situation can easily lead to feelings of depression and anxiety, especially in those who find themselves in other additionally stressful circumstances as well.
These self-limiting internalised feed back loops can develop in almost anyone, and indeed can be a major limiting factor in the psychological well-being of many women, and increasingly, men who are seeking to negotiate the complexity of masculinity in the modern world, negotiating what it is to be assertive without being aggressive.
For Gay, Lesbian, Intersex or Transgendered people, living a life in opposition to social norms can be a traumatic and exhausting experience. Some typical difficulties (and therefore chances to grow from counselling) are:
The Coming Out process: Individual, frightening, filled with potential
Who am I? The difficulty of formulating a "self" in a hostile world
Internalised homophobia: Sabotaging your own happiness because of a belief you are flawed
These difficulties can easily lead to a medical diagnosis of Anxiety or Depression for which you may be medicated. But the symptoms don't go away because being Gay, Lesbian, Intersex or Transgendered doesn't change. Symptoms persist because being gay persists. Counselling has a unique ability to assist people experiencing these difficulties to lead happier, more fulfilled lives, and to develop resilience and energy that carries on into your future, and can be pivotal in either avoiding medication, or getting off it. Narrative Therapy is particularly suited to counselling Gay and Lesbian individuals, and can be of enormous benefit to Transgendered or Intersex people as well.