Understanding LGBTQ2IA+ Trauma: An Overview
Trauma in the LGBTQ2IA+ community is a complicated topic to explore. The clinical research on this topic is extensive, but also limited, often focusing on white, cis, middle-class gay men in North America and Western Europe. This exclusion limits our understanding of trauma as it affects diverse LGBTQ2IA+ individuals from various backgrounds and identities.
Dr. Joe Kort, a pioneer in LGBTQ+-affirming psychotherapy, defines trauma as “an event or episode, acute or chronic, that causes overstimulation without an outlet or release for that overstimulation. This leaves individuals feeling helpless or overwhelmed.” He emphasizes that trauma can result from any situation that feels unmanageable or threatening to one’s sense of safety. It’s not only about what happens but how it leaves a person feeling—especially when there’s no safe outlet to process it.
The roots of our understanding of trauma run deep, and early theories highlighted how certain experiences breach our sense of safety, leaving us feeling profoundly helpless. In the early 20th century, Freud noted how individuals facing unprocessed trauma often fell into patterns of reliving these experiences, even unknowingly. This repetition can feel like an endless loop, where past trauma subtly shapes thoughts, behaviors, and even dreams.
In the LGBTQ2IA+ community, trauma can often show up in more incremental ways—like microaggressions or repeated experiences of exclusion. Even seemingly small, consistent slights over time can profoundly impact self-worth. Many LGBTQ2IA+ people grow up facing daily reminders that they are “different” in a society that may not fully accept or celebrate who they are. As these experiences accumulate, they can lead to internalized shame or a diminished sense of self, even when specific incidents might not be clearly remembered.
For the LGBTQ2+ person, they often experience, at the least, “incremental trauma, where slights happen over a period of many years, and children learn to internalize them” (Kort, 44). For instance, we often discuss microaggressions—these comments may not be terribly harmful in one instance, but constantly hearing them as a child leads to serious devaluing of the self.
Recognizing and addressing these past experiences is essential. Leading trauma researcher Bessel van der Kolk says unresolved trauma can become ingrained, leading people to relive or avoid situations tied to traumatic memories (cited in Kort). Without this understanding, therapy can feel incomplete, as underlying wounds remain unaddressed, impacting one’s quality of life.
If the traumatic experiences of the client are unaddressed, the client’s complete healing is jeopardized– some symptoms might be reduced, but the healing might be left unfinished.
Healing is not an overnight project. Jumping right into trauma work is not feasible or safe. Trauma-informed practice is about going at a slow, comfortable pace guided by the client. Trauma-informed work might begin with reconnecting with the body (e.g., somatic work), or skills building to support client success (e.g., dialectical behavioural therapy/DBT).
If you are interested in trauma-informed LGBTQ2IA+-affirming psychotherapy, I offer free 15-minute consultations. These are no-obligation meet-and-greets to learn more about me, my process, ask any questions you may have, and for both of us to see if we might fit together for this work. Please book here.
Further Reading & Sources
Joe Kort’s LGBTQ+ Clients in Therapy is the primary modern clinical source for this article.
Sigmund Freud’s Beyond the Pleasure Principle is an interesting, though wildly out-dated (and problematic) historical source on the first understandings of trauma.
For clients, Dr. Joe Kort also has a fun and informative TikTok account, check it out!