Meet Curiosity, LMSW, who leads our virtual LGBTQIA+ PHP/IOP group in Texas.
What inspired you to become a licensed master social worker?
Originally my aim was just to become a counselor, no matter which path I took to get there. It became clear pretty quickly, though, that my natural approach to mental health vibed very well with the social worker’s core values of service, social justice, dignity, human relationships, integrity, and competence.
I’ve been personally disappointed before by the lack of queer and neurodivergent competence among therapists practicing in the American South as I was seeking therapy for myself back in the mid 2010s. That lit a fire under me to do my best to make sure as many other people as possible don’t have to do what I did—that is, get a whole master’s degree and related certifications, and then go on to make it my entire life’s purpose—just to understand themselves and the people around them better. Nobody should have to be their own therapist. I mean, nobody CAN be their own therapist, ethically and practically speaking, but when no other options exist, you make do.
I just wanted to be at least one option so that queer and neurodivergent adults in the South potentially don’t have to make do.
What might participants of your group experience or feel when having a group leader who is non-binary and neurodivergent vs. someone who is not?
Emotional safety, for one thing. That’s my ultimate goal. Healing can’t happen in an environment where you don’t feel safe, with people who don’t make you feel safe. I also more specifically aim to help people feel seen in a world that really just refuses to even try to see them sometimes, because I remember what that chronic invisible feeling was like. It can be difficult beyond words to learn how to offer understanding to yourself and other people when you’ve rarely—if ever—experienced that and don’t even have a solid concept of what it looks like.
Describe some of the benefits of group therapy for LGBTQIA+ community.
Connecting with community is a vital human need no matter who you are, but it’s especially important when you’re being directly excluded from community in very hateful ways from various directions. Group therapy is one way to practice being in community for people who maybe weren’t sincerely allowed to participate by their peers throughout developmentally significant periods of life. It’s also a habitual reminder that you’re not alone, no matter how alone you feel, and there are people out there who feel for you and value what you naturally contribute to the world just by living in it.
What’s a fun fact about you or something that you share about yourself that might put nervous group members at ease?
I love Dungeons and Dragons! Specifically, I’m very used to 5e, and I’ve played everything from an irritable old archmage with a DIY complex to a perpetually positive artificer holding his starship together with duct tape and dreams. I find the contrast in personalities very fun to play with at the table, especially when we collectively find a satisfying moment of character development that feels earned. Rule number one is everyone has fun! I’m also a fan of other TTRPGs, various video games from Hades to Stardew, just about every type of music (with a soft spot for indie folk and punk), interactive art museums, almost everything about camping, and anything soft and fluffy—food, animals, clothes, you name it.