LGBTQ+ therapists in Santa Barbara, CA
Browse LGBTQ+ therapists in Santa Barbara, California. Compare credentials, specialties and therapeutic approach. Contact a therapist to learn more.
View nearby cities
Serving LGBTQ+
Melanie Simms
Marriage and Family Therapist, LMFT
I believe that everyone is capable of change. However, we must believe in our worth and treat ourselves with kindness in order to create that change. If life feels hard right now, that's because it is! The bodies and brains that we have were not built for the world we currently live in. Everyone grows up in an environment where their needs were not perfectly met. The ways we dealt with those unmet needs as children become unhealthy coping strategies in adulthood. With conscious effort, reflection, and practice, we can heal those wounds and learn better strategies. That's what therapy is for and I am here to help!
11 Years Experience
In-Person Near Santa Barbara, CA
Online in Santa Barbara, CA
Serving LGBTQ+
Mona Saba Valeriano
Licensed Clinical Social Worker, LCSW
Even with insight and past therapy, you may still feel caught in patterns that leave you depleted—overextending yourself, avoiding conflict, striving to get everything “right,” or feeling disconnected in your relationships and from your own body. At some point, coping strategies that once protected you can begin to feel constricting.
In our work together, we delve into the deeper emotional and relational roots of these patterns. I bring 18 years of direct experience into the room, helping clients cultivate greater clarity, steadiness, confidence, and self-trust so they can move through relationships with more authenticity and assertion. My approach integrates experiential and depth-oriented therapies—including psychodynamic psychotherapy, ISTDP, EMDR, Brainspotting, and EFT—to support meaningful, lasting change at both the emotional, physiological and spiritual levels.
I see this work as especially important in a society that often prizes productivity over presence and autonomy over connection. By questioning dominant cultural narratives and inherited systems of disconnection, therapy can become a space for reclaiming connection, dignity, and care—within ourselves and across differences.
It is a privilege to accompany clients into their most tender and defended places. I trust that through this process, you can cultivate deeper self-understanding, greater inner coherence, and a more grounded sense of safety and belonging—within yourself and in the relationships that matter most.
18 Years Experience
Online in Santa Barbara, CA
Serving LGBTQ+
Erin Powers
Counselor/Therapist, APCC 9590
I believe that we all have the capacity to heal. I take a trauma-informed, body-based, and spiritually grounded approach to working with clients. I have experience working with clients (primarily women) from a variety of backgrounds, including those experiencing anxiety and co-occurring health issues impacting mental health. I enjoy incorporating mindfulness, expressive arts, and other holistic modalities into my sessions and will provide you with resources to utilize in your everyday life. As Carl Jung states, "I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become".
6 Years Experience
Online in Santa Barbara, CA (Online Only)
Serving LGBTQ+
Iva Taylor Hypnosisbloom Hypnotherapy
Hypnotherapist, CHt. Certified Hypnotherapist, Life Coach
Iva Taylor, CHt: Hypnotherapist Specializing in Subconscious System Alignment
Ending Inner Conflict and Creating Effortless Clarity
Are you exhausted by constant inner conflict? Do you feel like your brilliant, strategic mind and your wise intuition are locked in an endless argument, leading to anxiety, indecision, and burnout?
My practice is built on the philosophy that lasting transformation is systematic, not random. My work focuses on fixing the root cause of this conflict: subconscious incoherence.
My Core Programs: A System Upgrade for Mind, Heart, and Youth
I specialize in three proprietary, structured therapeutic programs designed to resolve specific areas of inner conflict and behavioral patterns:
The Integrated Inner Child Program (IICP): Resolves emotional stagnation and self-sabotage by addressing the source of limiting beliefs and subconscious patterns. We heal the past so it can no longer compromise your present.
The Teenager’s Project Program (TPP): An 8-module therapeutic program specifically engineered for adolescents navigating modern emotional crises, anxiety, and self-harming tendencies. By combining subconscious alignment with compassionate therapy and coaching, this blueprint helps teenagers resolve internal chaos, safely process overwhelming emotions, and rebuild a resilient sense of self-worth from the inside out.
The Heart-Mind Integrated Coherence Program (HMICP): This six-session blueprint is for clients ready to move from healing into mastery. It teaches you to harness the heart's energy to train your mind and nervous system to work in perfect synchronicity. The result is Effortless Decision-Making, Unstoppable Focus, and profound Self-Worth.
My Approach: Coherence, Not Compromise
I do not offer generalized relaxation. I provide a precise, therapeutic system for mastering emotions and the mind. My clients are successful professionals, creators, and parents who are ready to stop managing their anxiety and start eliminating it at the root.
As the expert on your life, you already hold the wisdom to succeed. My role is to provide the blueprint and the tools to install a new, coherent operating system.
I am a certified Hypnotherapist (AHA Member) and Certified Life Coach committed to ongoing professional development. If you are ready to stop arguing with yourself and start living with confident, purposeful action, I invite you to contact me for a consultation.
2 Years Experience
Online in Santa Barbara, CA (Online Only)
Serving LGBTQ+
Heidi Hartston
Psychologist, PhD
I have been a practicing psychotherapist in the San Francisco bay area since 1998. I am very experienced in helping adults navigate OCD, anxiety, job stress, burnout, trauma, addictive behaviors and relationship distress. I combine thoughtful depth work with practical tools for a scientifically informed, skillful, intelligent approach. I use effective tools such as EMDR, exposure and response prevention (E&RP), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and emotion focused therapy for couples (EFT) to support you through the difficulties you are navigating. Collaborating with an experienced psychologist can be a game changer. It can dramatically reduce suffering, create clarity and build a tool box specifically tailored to help you thrive through any challenge. My professional expertise is enhanced by my personal experience as a working mother, advocate for neurodiverse children, and long term relationship partner of 20+ years.
35 Years Experience
Online in Santa Barbara, CA (Online Only)
LGBTQ+ therapists in Santa Barbara, CA Statistics
LGBTQ+ therapists in Santa Barbara, CA average 15 years of experience and charge around $214 per session. 100% offer online sessions. The most commonly treated issues are Anxiety or Fears (78%), Trauma and PTSD (66%), and Depression (65%).
Average years in practice
15 Years Experience
Average cost per session
$214
Accept insurance
33%
Offer sliding scale
56%
Gender ID
| 64% |
Female |
|
| 27% |
Male |
|
| 5% |
Non-Binary |
|
| 4% |
Gender Fluid |
|
Session Type
| 58% |
In Person and Online |
|
| 42% |
Online Only |
|
Top Specialties
| 78% | Anxiety or Fears |
| 66% | Trauma and PTSD |
| 65% | Depression |
| 54% | Stress |
| 53% | Loss or Grief |
| 50% | Relationship and Marriage Counseling |
| 47% | LGBTQ+ Issues |
Ages Served
| 99% | Adult |
| 70% | Young Adult |
| 58% | Senior |
| 51% | Teen |
| 26% | Children |
Client Focus
| 100% | LGBTQ+ |
| 83% | Women |
| 57% | Men |
| 46% | Hispanic / Latino |
| 42% | Black / African American |