Queer Therapist Network: "Political Resistance in the Therapy Space"

A 4-Hour Continuing Education Training for Queer Therapists working with Queer Clients brought to you by the .

Trainers: Aaron Testard, LMFT (He/Him) & Kelly George, LCPC (They/Them)

Training Session: 11:00 AM-4:00 PM

Format: This training will be offered for those seeking to attend in-person at the Center on Halsted or virtually through Zoom.

Solidarity Networking Time: There will be two (2) 30-minute breaks intended for Community building (1:00-1:30 PM and 3:30-4:00 PM).

Are you feeling the weight of this political moment in your sessions? Struggling to balance validation with hope? Wrestling with your own trauma as your clients face discrimination, legislative attacks, and systemic erasure?

You're not alone—and this work requires more than standard clinical skills.

In this training, you'll learn:

• Why LGBTQ+ mental health work is inherently political (and always has been)
• How to recognize and challenge institutional, systemic, and discursive power in the therapy room
• The history of queer political resistance as an essential tool
• A framework for navigating the dynamics of queer therapist working with queer clients
• Concrete strategies to help clients resist oppression while staying grounded
• How to use narrative therapy to externalize and de-center oppressive narratives

This training is for you if:

• You refuse to "stay neutral" when your clients' lives are under attack
• You want clinical tools that match the urgency and complexity of this moment
• You recognize that your client’s mental health and your work with them is directly tied to the political events in the world right now.
• You're experiencing burnout, countertransference, or compassion fatigue from this work
• You want to connect with other therapists who understand that therapy IS political action

We'll explore how colonial frameworks erased gender and sexual diversity, why they still shape oppression today, and how our therapy practice can be an act of resistance. You'll leave with solid tools grounded in resilience work and narrative therapy approaches.

This is not 101 training. We assume you're already doing LGBTQ+ affirming work. This is about deepening your practice, caring for yourself, and recognizing that every session where we name injustice, validate impact, and support action is an act of political resistance.

Continuing Education

For those interested in receiving Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for their participation in this training, we are grateful to our community partners at Howard Brown Health Center and the Center on Halsted to be able to provide up to 4.0 CEU hours.

Howard Brown Health Center is approved by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation to offer continuing education for professional counselors (License # 197-000041) and psychologists (License # 286-00005).

Center on Halsted is licensed by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation to offer continuing education for social work and is able to provide CEs under their license.

Charitable Contribution:

When you register for this event you are helping to support organizations that impact the mental health and wellbeing of the LGBTQ+ Community:

• 50% of funds collected will directly benefit the Network
• 50% of funds collected will be donated to benefit a mental health nonprofit, this training will benefit a mental health organization.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

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