More Than a Partner: Building Queer Friendships That Actually Hold You

We talk a lot about romantic relationships in queer spaces. But what about everything else? In this episode of Queer Hearts Healthy Starts, OSTC therapists Kristen Crowe, LPCC, BC-DMT (they/them) and Raven Juergensen, APCC, ATR-BC (she/her) get into the queer social friendscape: what it actually takes to build meaningful friendships, why it's so much harder than anyone prepares you for, and what gets in the way for so many of us. They dig into the pressure to make one person be everything, how cishet norms around friendship leave queer folks without a roadmap, what it means to find community when you've spent years masking, and how to start trusting your own nervous system to tell you who your people are. This one is personal, practical, and deeply relatable. Especially if you've ever Googled how to make queer friends and meant it. Sound Bites "We need to let ourselves be nourished by each other in ways that aren't inherently romantic" "No one teaches you how to have healthy friendships, you're just kind of thrown in the deep end" "That's so much to put on one person" "To share yourself with others, you have to know who you are first" Referenced in this episode:    • Can you have healthy relationships if you ...   Queer Moment of Joy Guest 1: Sig Levin She/Her @twinhighmaintenancemachines Queer Moment of Joy Guest 2: Joselyn Romero They Them @josyfeocy Hosts’ Bio: Kristen Crowe LPCC, BC-DMT, CST (they/them) Is Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, Board Certified Dance/Movement Therapist, Certified Sex Therapist, and Clinical Supervisor with Open Space Therapy Collective. Kristen specializes in working somatically with adults and partners to help heal the mind-body connection so you can feel more grounded and vibrant every day. Raven Juergensen, APCC, ATR (she/her) is an Associate Professional Clinical Counselor and Registered Art Therapist. Raven works with teens, couples, and adults, drawing on creativity and geek culture to help clients process their internal experience and bring intuitive creativity into daily life. To find more from us visit: Website: https://www.openspacetherapycollectiv... Instagram: @openspacetherapycollective TikTok: @openspacetherapy Spotify: @MyTherapistisOut Apple Podcasts: @mytherapistisout YouTube: @openspacetherapycollective Keywords: queer friendship, chosen family, community building, social isolation, attachment styles, cishet norms, decentering romance, queer social life, authentic self, code switching, nervous system, body awareness, ACT therapy, late bloomer, masking, intersectionality, mixed relationships, secure attachment, queer community, boundaries, communication, values, intuition, social landscape