My Story:

First, let me start off by introducing myself: My name is JP, I use they/them pronouns, I am Queer, Mexican American, Fat, Tatted & Pierced, Genderqueer, a Pet Parent, an Austinite, and I am diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Panic Attacks. I am proud of the person I have become but it has taken me a LONG time to get where I am at and that is thanks to therapy and many other things. Let me explain.

In middle school I started to struggle with my sexuality. I started to have feelings that were unknown to me and I tried to hide them because they were “wrong.” Well, that is what I have been told since I was really young as my family and I were very active in our Catholic church. So, I did what any good Catholic boy would do in that situation and I could suppressed my feelings and just went on.

In high school, these feelings continued and my attraction towards guys didn’t go away. I prayed for them to go away, I spent many nights crying and wishing I was “normal,” and I asked god, “why me?” Nothing worked, I had still had these feelings, so I decided to embrace them and explore my sexuality even though I was going against everything I had been taught. Embracing these feelings weren’t easy, I felt alone, no one was out in my high school, and I felt like no one would understand what I was going through and because of that I dealt with depression, anxiety, self-injuring behaviors, and suicidal ideation. I tried to be the good Catholic boy I was raised to be and to embrace the fact that I was not straight but it was too hard.

Luckily, I didn’t realize this at the time but someone at my school noticed I was going through something, a school counselor by the name of Jinx Lacey, and one day she reached out to me and said “something is up and we need to do something.” Jinx immediately put me into what I know now is group therapy and I got to have my first experience with a therapist but more importantly, I got to meet other teens who were dealing with the same or similar issues! This was the first time in years where I did not feel alone and I felt like someone understood what I was going through. In group therapy, I got to explore my sexuality in a safe and nonjudgmental space with other teens and I started to truly embrace who I was.

I moved from group therapy to individual therapy, to take more time to work on exploring myself and my sexuality, and because of therapy I was able to start coming out and feel proud of who I was! I remember coming out to my church pastor during a youth group retreat for guidance and support and the message I received from him was, “you’re going to hell” and at that moment I said to myself, “I’d rather be me than continue to suffer” and I turned my back on my religion to live my life as my authentic self. I could not have done that if it wasn’t for therapy!

High school continued on and I embraced being gay and proud throughout my time in school. Living my life as my authentic self was met with warmth, tragedy, love, depression, and just a mix of events of and feelings but with the help of my therapist and Jinx, I was able to make it! Even as rough as high school was, my high school, and my peers accepted slowly accepted me for me and I was even voted “most friendliest guy” in my senior superlatives! By the end of high school, I had a group of friends who loved me unconditionally, I was seen and accepted throughout my entire high school, more and more people were coming out and being themselves, and life was better. I was…happy!

Therapy SAVED me!

I continued my journey in therapy, on and off, throughout my adult life. Through therapy I was able to address trauma, depression, anxiety, body image issues, continue to explore myself as a gay man, etc. Therapy has truly helped me be more comfortable, confident, and proud of the person I am and have become! Today, I continue therapy with my therapist, Ryan, who I have been working with for over two years now. Therapy has helped me navigate my relationships with my family and friends, helped me to explore and understand my gender identity and sexual orientation, prioritize myself and my health, helped me to deal with life transitions, fall in love with myself, among many other things. Therapy has been a vital part of my life and I am extremely thankful for everything it has done for me and everything it will continue to do for me!

I decided to become a therapist because of that interaction I had with my high school counselor, Jinx Lacey. Jinx gave me a helping hand when I needed it the most and it truly saved my life! I want to do the same thing, I want to give a helping hand to anyone who needs it because I have been there and I know what it is like trying to do it on your own, it seems impossible at times! You don’t have to do it on your own!

I’m here when you are ready!