Affirming Psychological Services

At APS, we spend a lot of time talking about the importance of connection, community, and belonging. Last week, we had the chance to step away from our offices and spend some time together at Pride Night with the Angels.

One of the things we’re most proud of is the culture we’ve built. Our clinicians support one another, learn from one another, and genuinely enjoy spending time together. That kind of connection is so important, not just for our team, but for the people we serve.

Healthy teams create healthier workplaces. Healthier workplaces help clinicians do their best work.

We’re grateful for an evening of baseball, laughter, and celebrating Pride together.

Pride is not just celebration. It exists because LGBTQIA+ people have had to fight to be seen, protected, and treated with dignity.

Many LGBTQIA+ people still experience higher rates of anxiety, depression, and trauma, not because of who they are, but because of stigma, rejection, discrimination, and unsafe environments. That distinction matters.

Affirming mental health care means more than acceptance. It means understanding the realities of identity development, coming out, family rejection, minority stress, and navigating systems that have not always been safe or supportive. Therapy should not be a place where you have to educate your provider or defend your identity.

Affirming care focuses on safety, respect, authenticity, and helping people build lives that align with who they are.

Everyone deserves mental health care that is informed, inclusive, and affirming, during Pride Month and beyond.

If you’re looking for LGBTQIA+ affirming therapy, our clinicians are here to help.

Finding a therapist can feel weirdly high-stakes. You’re supposed to open up to someone you just met and hope it clicks.

The truth is, that “click” matters more than most people realize.

You’re not just looking for someone who knows what they’re doing. You’re looking for someone you can actually talk to. Someone you don’t feel the need to edit yourself around. Someone who gets it, or at least genuinely tries to.

And if you leave a session feeling misunderstood, dismissed, or like you had to shrink parts of yourself, that’s important information.

It doesn’t mean therapy isn’t for you. It means that therapist might not be.

You’re allowed to be selective here. You’re allowed to take your time. You’re allowed to find someone who feels like a real fit.

If you’re starting that process and want a place to begin, consultations can help you get a sense of whether it feels right before you commit.

Please join us in welcoming David Walsh, AMFT, to Affirming Psychological Services.

David brings a steady, down-to-earth presence into the room and focuses on helping clients feel comfortable being themselves from the start. He works with individuals and relationships navigating anxiety, life transitions, and relational challenges, and he approaches therapy with curiosity, respect, and a focus on real, practical change.

We’re really glad to have him on the team.

Please join us in welcoming Aaleah Brown, AMFT, to Affirming Psychological Services.

Aaleah brings a genuine, down-to-earth presence into the therapy room. She focuses on creating a space where clients feel safe, understood, and able to show up as themselves. When it fits, she also brings in humor and lightness to help ease anxiety and build connection.

She works with adolescents and adults navigating anxiety, depression, trauma, relationship concerns, and identity exploration. Aaleah has extensive experience supporting neurodivergent individuals and members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and she approaches her work in a way that is both affirming and culturally responsive.

Her work is trauma-informed and integrative, drawing from Attachment-Based Therapy, Internal Family Systems (IFS), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). She helps clients build insight, strengthen coping skills, and move toward meaningful, lasting change.

Aaleah is supervised by Sara Hoadley, LMFT ( #116971). We’re really glad to have her on the team.