Gender Identity Therapy

A safe, open place to explore questions about your gender, at your own pace, with an accredited therapist by secure video.

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Accredited therapists Fully confidential Evening & weekend times

Everything is confidentialWhat you say in a session stays in the session.

Secure video, Ireland-wideFrom wherever you feel comfortable, on any device.

No GP referral neededBook online in a couple of minutes.

Evening and weekend timesSessions that fit around work and family.

Maybe you have been turning something over about your gender for a long time and never said it out loud. Maybe you said it once and it did not go well. Or maybe there is no big revelation at all, just a quiet, persistent sense that something does not fit.

You do not need the right words for it before you start. Online gender identity counselling is a private, confidential space to talk about how you feel, with someone who will not be startled by it.

The work is led by you. Nobody will push you towards a label, a coming out conversation, or any decision about your body. If you want to sit with uncertainty for a while, that is a legitimate use of the time.

What is online gender identity counselling?

It is supportive talk therapy focused on your own internal sense of gender, delivered by secure video. People come to it from all sorts of starting points: transgender, non-binary, gender-fluid, questioning, or cisgender and simply unsettled by something they cannot name yet.

It helps to separate two things that often get muddled together:

Gender identity is your internal sense of yourself, which may or may not match the sex you were assigned at birth. Being trans or non-binary is not a mental illness. The World Health Organization's ICD-11 moved gender incongruence out of the chapter on mental and behavioural disorders.
Gender dysphoria describes distress that some people feel about that mismatch. Some experience it intensely, some mildly, and some not at all.

Where distress does show up, it rarely comes from one place. It can come from the mismatch itself, from discrimination or hostility, from what people expect of you at home or at work, from isolation, or from being tolerated rather than accepted.

One thing this is not: an assessment. Your counsellor is not there to diagnose your identity, decide whether you are trans enough, or steer you towards transition.

How can counselling help me explore my gender identity?

Mostly by giving you somewhere to think out loud without managing anyone else's reaction. Language, pronouns, how you dress, what you want to be called, what you are afraid of: all of it is fair ground, at whatever pace suits you.

Common things people bring:

Working out who to tell, when, and how, including the conversations you are dreading
Thinking through social or medical transition, and what you actually want rather than what you feel you should want
Relationships, family, a partner who is struggling, parents who have gone quiet
Work and college: names, records, changing rooms, the daily small stuff that wears you down
Anxiety, low mood, shame, loneliness, the after-effects of bullying or trauma

Those last ones matter. The HSE notes that LGBTI+ people can face additional mental health pressures linked to stigma and discrimination rather than to identity itself. Anxiety and depression are very treatable, and you can work on them alongside everything else.

A counsellor helps you get clear on your own wishes. They do not prescribe medication and they are not a substitute for specialist medical advice, so anything involving hormones or surgery belongs with your GP and specialist services.

Worth saying plainly: gender-affirming counselling is the opposite of so-called conversion therapy. Conversion practices try to suppress or change who someone is, and they are associated with real harm. Exploring your gender with curiosity is not that.

Not sure if this is the right fit?

A first session is just a conversation.

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What happens in my first online counselling session?

The first appointment is mostly a conversation about what brought you here and what you would like to get out of it. You are also sizing up the counsellor, which is entirely reasonable.

Roughly what gets covered:

What is going on for you at the moment, and how you are sleeping, coping, managing
Who is around you: family, friends, a partner, anyone who knows
How often you would like to meet, usually weekly or fortnightly, in 50-minute sessions
Confidentiality and its limits, and how you would like to be addressed
What you are hoping for, and how you will both check whether it is helping

You control what you share and when. You do not need to turn up with a label, a plan, or a tidy explanation of how you feel. "I don't really know how to say this" is a perfectly good opening line.

How do online gender identity counselling sessions work in Ireland?

Sessions happen by encrypted video. A private link arrives by email and there is nothing to install. You need a reasonably steady internet connection, a phone, tablet or laptop, headphones if other people are in the house, and somewhere you will not be overheard.

Being online matters more here than for most things. Affirming therapists are thin on the ground outside the bigger cities, and this way you can work with one from anywhere in Ireland: a village in Leitrim, a house share in Cork, a parked car on your lunch break.

Practical point	What it means for you
Location	Anywhere in Ireland with a private space and a connection
Privacy	No waiting room, nobody to bump into
Timing	Evening and weekend slots around work, study or caring
Continuity	Sessions carry on if you move, travel or change job
If the tech fails	Agree in advance how you will reconnect, usually by phone

Some people still prefer a room, and that is a fair preference. Check too that your therapist is qualified to work with people based in Ireland and has a plan for urgent concerns between sessions.

How do I find an LGBTQ+ affirming counsellor in Ireland?

Look for a qualified counsellor or psychotherapist with actual training and experience in gender diversity, not just a line on a profile saying all are welcome. Accreditation with the Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, or registration with the Psychological Society of Ireland for psychologists, tells you someone is qualified and accountable.

Questions that are reasonable to ask before you book:

How do you approach identity exploration, and have you worked with trans or non-binary people before?
How do you handle names and pronouns, including the ones I have not settled on?
What are your fees, availability, and cancellation terms?
What happens if I want to talk about transition?

Fit is not a luxury. It should feel respectful and collaborative, and if it does not feel safe after a session or two, changing counsellor is a normal thing to do, not a failure.

What other gender identity support is available in Ireland?

Counselling often sits alongside other things rather than replacing them.

Support	What it offers
LGBT Ireland	National helpline, peer support and family support
TENI	Information and advocacy for trans and non-binary people and families
BeLonG To	Services for LGBTI+ young people and their parents
The Switchboard	Listening and information service for LGBTQ+ people
Your GP	Wider mental health support, referrals and medical information

Counselling is not an emergency service. If you are in crisis, contact your GP or out-of-hours doctor, call Samaritans free on 116 123, or go to your nearest emergency department. In an emergency, ring 112 or 999.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to have gender dysphoria to seek counselling?

No. Plenty of people come simply because they are curious, confused, or tired of carrying something alone. You do not need distress, a diagnosis, or a certain level of difficulty to qualify for a conversation.

Is online gender identity counselling confidential and private?

Yes. Sessions are private and encrypted, and what you say stays between you and your counsellor, with the usual narrow legal and safeguarding exceptions explained to you at the start. Personal information is handled under GDPR, overseen in Ireland by the Data Protection Commission.

Is online counselling as effective as face-to-face gender identity therapy?

Research to date generally finds video therapy comparable to in-person work for common difficulties such as anxiety and low mood, and the relationship with your therapist appears to matter more than the format. That said, some people simply prefer a room, and it is fine to try online and decide it is not for you.

How much does online gender identity counselling cost in Ireland?

Private counselling in Ireland commonly costs somewhere in the region of €60 to €110 per session, though it varies by therapist and service, so check the current fee before booking. Some health insurance policies contribute towards sessions with an accredited therapist, and it is worth asking your insurer what your plan covers.

How can I take the next step?

You can book an initial online session, or send a confidential enquiry first if you would rather ask about availability, fees or who you would be speaking to.

Booking takes about two minutes and no GP letter is needed
You give your name, contact details and a short note on what you would like help with
Your details are stored securely and used only to arrange and provide your sessions, in line with Irish and EU data protection law
Evening and weekend appointments are available, from anywhere in Ireland

Booking does not commit you to a label, a diagnosis, a transition, or months of therapy. It commits you to one conversation. Whenever you feel ready, book a session, or get in touch first if you have questions you would like answered before you do.