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LGBT therapists in Tennessee


Top LGBT-friendly therapists and psychiatrists in Tennessee
Headway empowers LGBTQIA+ individuals in Tennessee to access compassionate, evidence-based mental health care from 310 warm and affirming providers. Take advantage of free intake consultations, insurance coverage, and sessions as soon as next day.
My name is Mark and I have come to this introduction today with the benefit of a professional background which includes: 2 Masters degrees in Counseling and Divinity; TN licensure as a Licensed Professional Counselor, Mental Health Service Provider; United Methodist and Multi-Faith Chaplain; Certifications in Dialectical Behavior and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy modalities; Grief and Bereavement Certifications; 5 yrs of Private Practice in Counseling; 3 yrs in Community MH clinic as a Licensed Professional Counselor
As a Licensed Professional Counselor, I'm committed to providing a safe and nonjudgmental environment for exploring pathways to psychological and emotional healing. Specializing in Dialectical and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, I believe everyone is worthy of love and happiness. I encourage people to see themselves through that same lens.
I am a board-certified Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner who provides compassionate, trauma-informed mental health care to adolescents and adults. Value building a trusting therapeutic relationship and meeting clients where they are. I use both medication and supportive therapy to help clients manage anxiety, depression, mood disorders, stress, and life transitions. Believing that healing happens when people feel heard, understood, and empowered to take steps toward change at their own pace.
You can START therapy THIS week! You don't have to get on anybody's waiting list. My first priority is to relate to each person or couple as unique. Everyone has strengths that can be drawn on to help make therapy a positive, enriching, and productive experience. Let's work together so you can live your best life. No matter where you've been, what you've been through there's ALWAYS hope!
Hi, I'm Dr. Deborah DeFrieze, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with more than 15 years of experience helping people work through anxiety, stress, trauma, grief, depression, and life's hardest transitions. If anxiety or overwhelm has been running the show lately, I'm here to help you take the reins back — with a warm, honest, and practical approach.
My path to this work has been a rich one. Alongside my social work career, I spent 33 years in public education — as a teacher in both regular and special education, an assistant principal, a principal, and an assistant professor — and I served as a missionary in Africa for 18 months. Those experiences taught me to meet people where they are, across every walk of life and stage of change. I hold a Master of Social Work from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and a doctorate in education from the University of Georgia, and I'm also a Licensed Massage Therapist, which deepens my appreciation for the mind-body connection in healing.
I draw on evidence-based approaches including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), EMDR, and Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, tailoring our work to what will help you most.
I’m a therapist based in Memphis who works with high-achieving women navigating anxiety, burnout, identity transitions, and complex relationship dynamics. Many of my clients are successful on the outside and exhausted on the inside. They are often the responsible one, the strong one, the reliable one — and quietly overwhelmed.
My work is grounded in Internal Family Systems (IFS), an evidence-based model that helps clients understand and heal the different “parts” of themselves — the driven part, the critical part, the anxious part, the part that feels unseen. I am Level 1 trained in IFS and integrate attachment-informed and trauma-responsive care into my practice.
There’s much more to your story.
I believe therapy should be a place where you feel seen, supported, and empowered to grow. Drawing on decades of experience, I provide a compassionate, practical, and holistic approach to therapy. I began my work as a spiritual and addictions counselor in 1981 and became a state-licensed mental health therapist in 2007. Since then, I have partnered with individuals, couples, families, and groups to help them build on their strengths, clarify their values, and create lasting change.
Before moving into private practice, I spent 20 years serving the Cleveland, Tennessee community as an outpatient therapist with Volunteer Behavioral Health.
About our LGBTQIA+ affirming therapists in Tennessee



- 100%LGBTQIA+
- 96%Anxiety
- 95%Stress management
- 94%Depression
- 90%Trauma

- 99%Aetna
- 90%Cigna
- 87%Carelon Behavioral Health
- 65%Ascension
- 50%BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee

- 100%English
- 3%Spanish
- 1%German

- 78%Online only
- 21%In-person or online
- 1%In-person only

- 79%Woman
- 20%Man
- 1%Non-binary

- 38%Licensed Clinical Social Worker
- 36%Licensed Professional Counselor Mental Health Service Provider
- 13%Licensed Marriage/Family Therapist
- 9%Advanced Practice Registered Nurse
- 3%Psychologist

- 100%Individual therapy
- 40%Family therapy
- 30%Couples therapy
- 15%Child or adolescent therapy
Frequently asked questions


Find the right LGBTQ-friendly therapy provider for you
Headway makes it easier to connect with affirming therapists who understand your identity — from finding the right therapist, to understanding costs, to scheduling with ease.
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