What is the difference between queer/LGBTQIA+ psychologists, counsellors and LGBTQIA+ friendly therapists?

These terms refer to different registration pathways and levels of training, but the most important distinction for LGBTQIA+ clients is often not the title — it's the depth of lived and clinical experience with your community. A psychologist holds a university degree in psychology and is registered with the Psychology Board of Australia. A registered mental health social worker like me holds a social work degree plus specialist psychotherapy training, and is registered with AASW — and can offer Medicare rebates via a GP Mental Health Care Plan. An LGBTQIA+ affirming therapist is a broader term that simply signals a commitment to inclusive practice, but doesn't specify registration or training level. When choosing a therapist, ask about their specific experience with LGBTQIA+ clients, not just their title.

Why seek LGBTQIA+ psychologists or counsellors with lived experience?

Therapy works best when you don't have to spend your session educating your therapist about who you are. A therapist with lived experience in your community brings an understanding of minority stress, identity-based shame, the impact of discrimination, and the specific ways LGBTQIA+ people have often adapted to navigate environments that weren't safe — without needing it explained. This means sessions can go deeper, faster, and with less of the emotional labour of making yourself legible to someone who doesn't share your context.

How LGBTQIA+ psychologists and counsellors create a safe place for you.

Safety in therapy comes from consistency, honesty, and genuine understanding — not just a rainbow flag on a website. In practice, it means you don't have to explain your pronouns, justify your relationships, or translate your experience into language a non-queer therapist can follow. It means I understand what internalised homophobia actually feels like from the inside. And it means the therapeutic relationship itself is grounded in over a decade of working specifically with LGBTQIA+ adults in Melbourne, including in community health and advocacy settings.

How do you find a LGBTQIA+ counsellor in Melbourne you can trust?

Here are some tips to help you find the LGBT counsellor in Melbourne for you. Reach out to your community and ask for recommendations. Someone close to you may know a LGBT counsellor in Melbourne who could be a good fit for you. Make sure to ask for details about their experience working with the therapist. You can also browse therapist directories, such as Psychology Today, Good Therapy, and Australian Psychological Society. These directories have filters that can help you narrow down your search based on your preferences. You can also check out Vic Inclusive Practitioners, a list of therapists and practitioners working with diverse populations, including LGBTQIA+ counseling in Melbourne. Be cautious of therapy profiles that include long specialty lists and look for specific LGBTQIA+ experience and training. Don't be afraid to ask questions and have a conversation with potential therapists before scheduling an appointment. Its ok to ask your potential new therapist if there are also LGBTQIA+.

What are your specialties as a LGBTQIA+ Counsellor in Melbourne?

My core specialties are trauma, complex trauma, shame, and the negative core beliefs that form when we've been hurt, dismissed, or made to feel like we're too much or not enough. I work with gay, queer, bisexual, trans, non-binary, and gender-diverse adults. My therapeutic approach is grounded in Gestalt psychotherapy, with specialist training in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) and IFS (Internal Family Systems). I am a registered mental health social worker and offer Medicare rebates.

Do you offer Medicare rebates?

Yes. As a registered mental health social worker, I offer Medicare rebates to clients with a valid Mental Health Care Plan from their GP. This gives you access to rebates for up to 10 sessions per calendar year. You don't need a specific diagnosis — a general mental health referral is sufficient. If you're unsure how to get a referral or what to say to your GP, I'm happy to talk you through it.

Do you offer online therapy?

Yes. I offer online sessions to LGBTQIA+ adults across Victoria. Online delivery works well for the approaches I use, and Medicare rebates apply to online sessions just as they do to in-person sessions.

IFS Therapist in Melbourne for LGBTQ+ Adults

Matthew Austin | Registered Mental Health Social Worker | Thornbury, Inner North Melbourne

Most of us have parts of ourselves we'd rather not look at. The part that shuts down in conflict. The part that's never quite good enough, no matter what. The part that carries shame about who you are or where you've been. Internal Family Systems therapy — IFS — offers a way to turn towards those parts with curiosity rather than judgement, and to understand what they've been protecting you from.

I'm Matthew Austin, a registered mental health social worker based in Thornbury, inner north Melbourne. I work with LGBTQIA+ adults using an IFS-informed approach to help you build a different relationship with the parts of yourself that have been driving distress, self-criticism, or patterns you can't seem to shift — no matter how hard you try.

What is IFS therapy?

Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a well-researched, evidence-informed therapeutic model developed by Dr Richard Schwartz. It's built on the idea that the mind is naturally made up of multiple "parts", each with its own perspective, feelings, and protective role, and that beneath all of them exists a core Self: calm, curious, compassionate, and capable of healing.

In IFS, we don't try to eliminate or suppress the parts that cause problems. Instead, we get to know them, what they're carrying, what they're afraid of, and what they've been trying to protect. When parts feel seen and understood rather than pushed away, they can begin to relax, and the Self can take a more grounded role in how you move through the world.

IFS is used to work with trauma, anxiety, depression, shame, relationship patterns, and the deeply held negative beliefs that form when we've experienced pain, rejection, or environments where it wasn't safe to be ourselves.

How IFS can help LGBTQIA+ adults

For many LGBTQIA+ people, the inner critic isn't just an internal voice — it's been shaped by years of external messages about who you are and whether you belong. Parts that learned to hide, perform, shrink, or protect you from rejection didn't develop in a vacuum. They developed because they had to.

IFS offers a framework for understanding those parts with compassion rather than shame — recognising that what might look like self-sabotage or emotional reactivity is often a part doing its best to keep you safe, based on what it learned a long time ago.

With over a decade working specifically with LGBTQIA+ individuals, including roles at Thorne Harbour Health and Queerspace. I bring a deep understanding of the external forces that shape how LGBTQIA+ people see themselves, and I carry that understanding into every IFS session. My IFS-informed practice draws on introductory and deepening IFS training completed at the Bouverie Centre with trainer Simon D'Orsogna, integrated with my broader training in Gestalt psychotherapy, EMDR, and social work.

What I can help you with

Using an IFS-informed approach, I work with LGBTQIA+ adults navigating:

Shame and self-criticism — including the inner critic that tells you you're too much, not enough, or fundamentally flawed
Trauma and complex trauma — including childhood experiences, identity-based trauma, and sexual trauma
Emotional reactivity — parts that take over in relationships, conflict, or moments of stress
Patterns you can't shift — behaviours or responses you understand intellectually but can't seem to change
Negative core beliefs — deeply held beliefs about yourself that keep showing up no matter what you do
Grief and loss — including the losses that come with navigating identity, family, and community as an LGBTQIA+ person

How IFS and EMDR work together

IFS and EMDR are a natural pairing, and I often use both within the same therapeutic relationship. IFS is particularly effective for building the internal safety and self-compassion needed before trauma processing begins, helping you identify and work with protective parts that might otherwise block or resist EMDR work. In practice, this might look like using IFS to get to know a part that carries shame or fear, then using EMDR to process the underlying memories that part has been protecting. Together, the two approaches can reach places that either therapy alone might not. If you're curious about EMDR, you can read more on my EMDR therapy page .

What to expect from IFS-informed therapy with me

IFS therapy is exploratory and paced; there's no script and no pressure to move faster than feels safe. Sessions typically involve slowing down and turning attention inward, noticing what comes up, and approaching whatever arises with curiosity rather than judgment.

My approach is warm and collaborative. I'll guide the process, but you're always in the driver's seat; nothing happens without your consent and readiness.

Sessions are available in person in Thornbury, inner north Melbourne, and online across Victoria. Medicare rebates are available with a GP Mental Health Care Plan.

Frequently asked questions about IFS therapy in Melbourne

IFS stands for Internal Family Systems. It's a therapeutic model that views the mind as made up of multiple parts — each with its own feelings, beliefs, and protective roles — and a core Self that is naturally calm, curious, and compassionate. In IFS therapy, we work to build a relationship between the Self and the various parts, particularly those carrying pain, shame, or protective burdens. Rather than trying to eliminate difficult parts, IFS helps them feel understood so they can begin to relax and unburden what they've been carrying.
Yes. IFS has a growing evidence base and is listed as an evidence-based practice by the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). It has been studied in the treatment of PTSD, depression, rheumatoid arthritis, and a range of trauma-related presentations. It is widely used by therapists internationally and is increasingly integrated with other evidence-based approaches, including EMDR.
CBT focuses primarily on identifying and changing unhelpful thought patterns. IFS goes deeper, rather than challenging a thought, it asks where that thought comes from and what part of you is holding it. EMDR works to process and integrate traumatic memories through bilateral stimulation. IFS and EMDR are often used together: IFS builds the internal safety and self-compassion needed for trauma processing, while EMDR addresses the memories that parts have been protecting. In my practice, I draw on all three approaches depending on what you need.
Yes. As a registered mental health social worker, I offer Medicare rebates to clients with a valid Mental Health Care Plan from their GP. This entitles you to rebates for up to 10 sessions per calendar year. You don't need a specific diagnosi, a GP referral for mental health support is sufficient.
This depends on what you're working on and the complexity of your history. IFS is not a short-term, symptom-focused therapy, it works at a deeper level and tends to unfold over time. Some clients work with me for several months; others continue longer as they move through different layers of their experience. I'll give you a clearer sense of what to expect once we've spoken.
Yes. I offer online sessions to clients across Australia. IFS adapts well to online delivery, he work is primarily internal and relational, so it translates effectively to a video format. Many clients find online sessions just as meaningful as in-person work, and more accessible.
IFS is well-suited to adults who feel stuck in patterns they can't shift, who carry a strong inner critic, who struggle with shame or self-compassion, or who have experienced trauma, particularly complex or developmental trauma. It's particularly resonant for people who've tried other therapies and felt like something was missing, or who find purely cognitive approaches don't reach the emotional depth they're looking for. In my practice, I work specifically with LGBTQIA+ adults in Melbourne.

About Matthew Austin

Matthew Austin is a Melbourne-based counsellor and psychotherapist who has worked with LGBTQIA+ individuals for over a decade. He has held roles at both Thorne Harbour Health and Queerspace, where he developed a deep understanding of the external forces that shape how LGBTQIA+ people see themselves. His background working with children and adolescents who have experienced trauma and neglect informs his understanding of how early experiences shape the lens through which we view ourselves, others, and the world.

Matthew holds a Bachelor of Social Work, a Certificate in Developmental Psychiatry, and an Advanced Diploma in Gestalt Psychotherapy, and has completed EMDR Levels 1 and 2 training and IFS introductory and deepening training at the Bouverie Centre. He is a registered mental health social worker and offers Medicare rebates.

His approach draws on IFS, EMDR, and Gestalt therapy to help LGBTQIA+ clients access the compassion, calm, and clarity that has always been there — beneath the self-criticism and distress.

You have more questions?

Get in touch and let’s chat