OSTC Community Initiatives
Pride is All Year Long!
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Photo credit: Tuffy PhotoWho We Are
Open Space Therapy Collective (OSTC) is a queer- and trans-led therapy collective specializing in mental health care for LGBTQIA+, TGI2+, and BIPOC communities in Los Angeles. Our vision for therapy is threefold: we believe in the health and wellbeing of our client community, our therapist community, and the broader queer, trans, and BIPOC community.
OSTC was founded to serve people who have historically struggled to find therapists who understand their communities and their specific needs, particularly LGBTQIA+, TGI2+, neurodiverse, and BIPOC individuals, people in non-traditional relationships, and those of diverse cultural backgrounds.
Since our founding in late 2022, OSTC has shown up across Los Angeles and beyond to make affirming mental health care accessible to the communities that need it most.
By the Numbers
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193
Events & Activations
across LA + beyond -
297
Staff & Volunteers
mobilized -
160
Therapists, Counselors & Coaches
providing FREE services -
490
People Served
free mental health services -
180,897
People Reached
via mental health education -
239,425
Total Community Members
attended, supported & connected -
7,352
People Received
therapy services in clinic -
$51,283.51
Scholarship Funds Provided
to people in financial need
OSTC's work lives across five interconnected program areas. Together, they reflect our conviction that mental health support must meet people where they are, not ask them to come to it.
How We Show Up
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Community Events & Outreach
From Queerly Connected, our signature free LGBTQ+ wellness festival, to townhalls, pride events, rallies, and grief walks, OSTC therapists and community builders into the spaces our community already inhabits.
We provide 1:1 therapy sessions, group workshops, crisis support, and resource tabling, all free, all affirming, all rooted in the belief that healing happens in community.
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Clinical Services & Scholarship Program
OSTC provides therapy to individuals, couples, teens, families, group therapy, and somatic and creative arts modalities to LGBTQ+, TGI, and QTPOC clients across Los Angeles and via telehealth statewide.
Our self-funded scholarship program currently serves 10% of our clientele, reducing session costs by up to 40% for clients in financial need. We are actively seeking partnership to expand this program.
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Professional Training & Education
OSTC trains the next generation of affirming clinicians. Our therapists teach master's-level coursework at CIIS and Adler University, lead LGBTQ+ competency training for practicing healthcare providers, and present at national conferences including ADTA.
We also provide ongoing clinical supervision for non-OSTC therapists pursuing licensure, expanding the ecosystem of affirming care beyond our own walls.
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Media & Public Education
OSTC extends mental health education through media: our podcast My Therapist is Out! and guest appearances on The Mental Illness Happy Hour, The Trauma Therapist Podcast, and others have collectively reached over 180,000 listeners.
We also contribute to local community organization’s staff, educational content that destigmatizes therapy and centers queer and BIPOC mental health experiences.
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Coalition & Advocacy Work
OSTC is a founding partner of the LA Queer Coalition (LAQC), co-hosting regular town halls and days-of-service that address the most pressing issues facing our community: LA fire recovery, ICE deportations, TGI rights, immigration allyship, and more.
We show up not just as service providers, but as organizers and advocates, recognizing that mental health and political liberation are inseparable.
Recent Blog Posts from
My Therapist is Out!
