🧠 How to Find a Therapist (Especially If You're Trans, Queer, or New to Oregon)

Finding a therapist can be a whole freakin’ THING—especially if you're trans, neurodivergent, queer, poly or all of the above. But mental health care should feel supportive, not stressful. So we’ve rounded up a few trusted resources and tips to help you get started, whether you’re brand new to Oregon or just ready for something that fits better.

💻 Start With These Tools

GenderGuide.org

This is one of our favorite resources for finding gender-affirming care in Oregon. It’s searchable, community-vetted, and full of helpful tags so you can filter by what you need. You can try search terms like:

• “OHP” (for Oregon Health Plan)

• “Kaiser”

• “Couples”

• “Sliding scale”

• or even identities like “nonbinary” or “BIPOC”

It’s all the heavy lifting done for you when it comes to Oregon queer-care. Seriously, give it a whirl.

Affirm 2STNB at Portland Mental Health & Wellness

This program is built specifically for Two-Spirit, Trans, and Nonbinary folks. It’s more than just therapy—it’s a wraparound support model that centers healing, community connection, and mental health transformation. They accept OHP and offer case management, peer support, and therapy all under one roof.

InclusiveTherapists.com

If you’re looking for a provider that gets it, this national directory centers BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, neurodivergent, and disabled communities. You can search by state, insurance, specialty, and more.

🏥 Other Places to Look

• Ask your Coordinated Care Organization (CCO) if you have OHP. They can send you a list of mental health providers in your network. Not all will be affirming, but you can ask follow-up questions or check them on GenderGuide.

• Community orgs like Equi Institute! Drop-in and connect with a Peer Navigator to get a referral.

• Support groups (like Trans PDX!) are also a great place to ask around and share experiences.

🪷 A Few Tips

• You’re allowed to shop around. You can do consultation calls and decide not to move forward if it doesn’t feel right. You don’t owe anyone your story if it doesn’t feel safe.

• Ask about lived experience. It’s okay to ask a therapist if they have experience working with trans folks, queer folks, disabled folks, or people navigating trauma.

• You can filter by insurance or sliding scale. Many therapists don’t take insurance but offer sliding scale rates. If you’re low income or on OHP, name that. Your care matters.

🌈 You're Not Alone

This stuff can be exhausting. If you’re feeling stuck, we get it—and we’re here to help. Reach out to the Trans Relocation Fund & Aid Network or join the Trans PDX Discord to connect with others who’ve been through this too.

Getting care is not always easy, but it’s worth it. You deserve support that sees you, respects you, and affirms every part of who you are. 💖