Relationship Therapy for Couples, Polyamorous, Open Relationships & Families

Relationship therapy must meet you where you are, whether you're an LGBTQIA+ couple, in a polyamorous relationship, or in an open relationship. Queer LifeSpace keeps sessions on a sliding scale through donor support, so a clinician who understands your relationship is never out of reach.

Fund a Session
8,000+
Clients served since 2011
60,000+
Therapy sessions delivered
$60
Funds a full relationship session

What Is Relationship Therapy at Queer LifeSpace?

Queer LifeSpace goes beyond general LGBTQIA+ affirming care by training clinicians to work with different relationship structures. Your relationship deserves a therapist who understands its dynamics and agreements, not one who assumes every relationship works the same way. That foundation can make it easier to talk honestly about conflict, connection, boundaries, and what you want to change. 

You can expect:

  • 50-minute sessions

  • Sliding-scale fees starting at $60 per session

  • Support for every relationship configuration, including two-person couples, triads, polycules, and open relationships

If you think this could be a fit, submit a therapy intake form, and we'll match you with the right clinician!

Therapy for All Types Of Relationships

Every relationship has its own way of connecting and working through challenges. Queer LifeSpace’s relationship therapists are trained to understand different relationship structures, from romantic partnerships to family relationships, so you can work with someone who gets the dynamics of your relationship and what you’re hoping to work on together.

Couples Therapy for Monogamous Relationships

There are things queer couples may want to work through that can be deeply tied to their experiences of being queer, including discrimination, self-acceptance, coming out, family dynamics, and the ways those experiences can affect a relationship. Queer LifeSpace clinicians understand that context and bring specific training to working with queer couples. 

Polyamorous Relationship Therapy

Polyamorous relationship therapy covers the dynamics that come with loving more than one person at once, from day-to-day communication to the bigger agreements that hold a polycule together. Sessions bring in whichever partners are relevant to what's being worked through.

Open Relationship Therapy

There are things queer couples may want to work through that can be deeply tied to their experiences of being queer, including discrimination, self-acceptance, coming out, family dynamics, and the ways those experiences can affect a relationship. Queer LifeSpace clinicians understand that context and bring specific training to working with queer couples. 

Family Therapy for LGBTQIA+ Families

Family therapy can help LGBTQIA+ people and their families work through challenges like coming out, rebuilding trust after rejection, or building stronger chosen-family relationships. Sessions can include the family members who are most relevant, with a clinician who understands how identity can affect family relationships. 

Therapy for Every Other Romantic Type

Not every relationship fits neatly into "couple," "open," or "polyamorous." Plenty of people build something that works for them without a widely known label attached to it. Some relationships are built around connection instead of romance, a shared home instead of a title, or distance instead of proximity. Here are a few examples of what that looks like in practice, though plenty of others exist too.

  • Queerplatonic relationships (QPR): Committed, intimate partnerships that aren't romantic, regardless of the people's orientation

  • Solo polyamory: Multiple romantic relationships without merging finances, a home, or day-to-day life with any one partner

  • Nesting relationships: Partners who share a home, with or without a romantic or sexual relationship attached

  • Asexual relationships: Romantic or non-romantic relationships where sexual attraction isn't part of the connection

  • Long-distance relationships/transnational partnerships: Relationships sustained across distance or national borders

If your relationship doesn't match any label on this list, that's a normal place to start from too!

Our Approach to LGBTQIA+ Affirming Relationship Therapy

Queer LifeSpace clinicians are trained in queer relationship dynamics and minority stress, so you don’t have to spend your sessions teaching your therapist about the experiences that may be shaping your relationship.

That includes:

  • Clinicians with specific training in queer relationships

  • Sessions focused on your actual concerns

  • Relationship therapy as its own program, with dedicated support for the relationship

  • Kink-affirming care, so consensual kink and BDSM dynamics are treated as a valid part of your relationship

Healthy relationships can support people’s overall well-being. Research on female same-sex couples has found that better relationship quality is associated with fewer depressive symptoms, and early studies of LGBTQIA+-focused relationship programs are showing promise.

The effects don’t end when the session does, either. Our relationships can influence work, friendships, mental health, and how queer people feel about themselves. Queer LifeSpace gives relationships their own space in therapy so couples can focus on these issues directly, with support designed for the relationship itself.

Lesbian couple sitting together during a relationship therapy session.

How We Match Clients With a Therapist

Every relationship gets matched with a clinician chosen for three things: shared lived experience, clinical approach, and training in various relationship structures. This way, you can rest assured that your clinician is LGBTQIA+ affirming and has the training to support your specific relationship structure.

Every clinician here goes through Queer LifeSpace's own clinical training program built specifically around culturally affirming care and an understanding of different relationship structures. As part of that program, clinicians receive:

  • Weekly individual supervision

  • Group supervision

  • Ongoing training focused on recognizing and addressing bias and discrimination

And because Queer LifeSpace trains a new cohort of clinicians every year, the number of therapists available keeps growing alongside the waitlist, which means shorter waits and more openings for clients as the program grows.

How Much Does LGBTQIA+ Relationship Therapy Cost?

Sessions start at $60, with a sliding scale. For couples, the rate is based on both partners' combined gross monthly income. For larger relationships, your clinician works out a fair rate with everyone involved. Rates get reassessed periodically, or sooner if your financial situation changes.

How to Sign Up for Relationship Therapy

Prospective clients can apply by following these steps:

Step 1

Submit the Client Intake Form. If more than one partner is involved, one person can start the process on your relationship's behalf, and the rest of your information gets collected in the next step.

Submit the Form

Step 2

Fill out the intake questionnaire. Queer LifeSpace emails a questionnaire to learn more about your relationship's needs and goals, including who's involved and how the relationship is structured.

Step 3

Get matched with a clinician or added to the waitlist. Clinicians are matched based on shared lived experience and clinical approach. 

Step 4

Set a schedule and a sliding-scale rate with your clinician, starting at $60 per session.

Explore Other Therapy Services at Queer LifeSpace

Everyone comes to therapy with different needs. Here are some of the other ways Queer LifeSpace can support you:

Three people during group therapy.

Group Therapy

Group therapy offers a different kind of support, with sliding-scale sessions starting at $20 and a focus on shared identity and experience. Groups cover different topics and run on rotating schedules. Visit the Group Therapy page to see what’s currently available!

Individual Therapy

Individual therapy offers one-on-one support for working through something on your own, whether it’s related to your relationship or not. Sessions start at $30 to $40 on a sliding scale. See the full range of services available at Queer LifeSpace. 

Help Someone Access Relationship Therapy

A relationship can be a source of strength, connection, and support, but getting help isn’t always financially possible. Your gift helps make relationship therapy more accessible to people who need it, giving them a chance to work through challenges and build stronger relationships. 

Fund a Session

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

  • Yes. Clinicians are matched with clients, and sessions can include any combination of partners in a polycule.

  • Yes. Open relationship therapy centers on a primary committed relationship and the agreements around outside connection. Polyamory work supports multiple committed relationships at once, without treating one as primary by default.

  • Sessions start at $60 on a sliding scale, with rates set individually between each client and their clinician.

  • Not always. Some structures, especially larger polycules, may work with a clinician on a rotating or partial basis depending on what the group needs. This gets worked out during intake!

  • No. Queer LifeSpace provides services for all people, including straight allies, with a particular focus on the queer community. For a relationship where partners have different identities, this means the relationship as a whole is welcome here, not just the LGBTQIA+ partner.

  • This program is open to any relationship configuration, as long as everyone involved is a California resident. Couples, triads, polycules, open relationships, and families are all welcome!

  • Yes. Clinicians treat consensual kink and BDSM as a valid part of a relationship, and they can help partners with communication, boundaries, and agreements around kink without judgment.