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For Millions of Lesbians, Hope Is Often at the Bottom of a Haystack

Dr. Lynda Spann guides lesbian couples from all over the world to find love again, in just three or four clicks of a mouse.

It’s 2:00 a.m and Jamie is lying awake in bed, tossing back and forth but not wanting to wake her partner, Susan, not from a desire to let her sleep but from the fear that awaking her may lead to yet another argument. Jamie gets up and does a google search for “lesbian couples therapists” only to see a search return riddled with porn sites and half a dozen irrelevant search returns. Her desperation increases as she wanders from page to page, her dread growing.

Such is the experience of most lesbian couples in the U.S. where finding help is just as difficult as searching for a needle in the proverbial therapist haystack, and  Jamie is not alone. In the United States, there are upwards of 2.5 million lesbian couples (U.S. Census, other reports).  Clearly there are a significant number of couples who likely need help, yet only a handful of therapists in the U.S. operate solely with a focus on lesbian relationships. No data exists to put an exact number on these specialized therapists, and many straight therapists say they work with gay couples. A quick Google search returns many options but few give a strong impression that they truly understand lesbian couples. This fact illustrates the complex and intimidating work that most couples must go through just to identify the right therapist for them. And unfortunately, many lesbian couples have experienced unsuccessful therapy experiences with straight, well-meaning therapists.

Dr. Lynda Spann is known in her hometown of Denver for her love of helping lesbian couples achieve the level of joy, love and happiness in their existing relationship it took her years to find. Spann is known for her intensive breakthrough sessions that take place at the Lesbian Couples Institute. Hearing stories like Jamie’s time and time again, Spann decided it was time to help the millions of lesbians worldwide having similar experiences. 

With over 20 years experience as a licensed marriage therapist she has worked with over 600 couples. And since opening the Lesbian Couples Institute in 2018, she boasts a success rate of 88 percent. Spann’s success led her to think … if this many couples are looking for help and finding success with her methods, there must be more couples like them. But maybe traditional therapy or location alone prevents them from even seeking guidance. She felt called to create and develop a specifically tailored online coaching course that lesbian couples from all over could participate in to become the happiest couple in the room, again. She modified her unique therapy techniques in a way that allows her to individually (and in a group setting) coach lesbian couples who are looking for help but not available to do in-person therapy sessions. 

Her course, Transforming Lesbian Couples (TLC), is a six-week online coaching class complete with couple and group sessions that allow for couples to connect with others doing similar work and provides homework to assist in a deeper connection beyond the online classes. Dr. Spann’s course is the first of it’s kind for lesbian couple, as far as we’ve found. After watching an introductory video and scheduling a two-on-one  45 minute Zoom call, Spann vetts couples for their suitability for the limited-seat, group coaching program. The course comprises six modules (each module is a week’s class) containing specifics garnered from the experience of working with more than 600 couples over the multiple decades. 

With names like “Perks of Change,” and “Peace-Making,” classes are designed for those truly committed to taking the journey to love alongside their significant other while trusting in Dr. Spann as their guide. And Dr. Spann has proven herself trustworthy. Identifying as a lesbian herself, she is all too familiar with the nuances of the relationship between two women and has done the work on her own. Her own struggles in previous relationships provide the skills to confidently guide women who face similar issues to do the work that has led to a sixteen year relationship with her wife, and fellow therapist, Lisa Yaeger.

“We loved that Dr. Spann provided a safe and welcoming space for us instantly. We felt open to sharing and she provided wonderful exercises for us to practice. Dr. Spann brought us closer together and we are very grateful.” – Satisfied Client 

According to Spann, “one thing that sets my course apart from similar programs is, I am a licensed marriage therapist with over 20 years of experience helping couples achieve true connection and joy in their relationships. A quick Google search illustrates just how few options lesbian couples have when it comes to finding a therapist or coach that understands the nuances of the lesbian relationship. Research shows that lesbian couples are more emotionally expressive than straight and gay male couples. However, one of the major struggles of a lesbian relationship is the concept of merging. Because of this, most lesbian couples need guidance to create a secure relationship where they are safe to grow individually and together. Through my work and relationship experience of my own, I guide them to a place where they can enjoy a life-long journey of love, joy, connection, and expansion.”
For more information visit: www.lesbiancouplesinstitute.com

About Dr. Lynda Spann
As a lesbian herself who struggled with coming out and establishing fulfilling and healthy relationships with women, Dr. Lynda Spann knows firsthand the struggles two women may face in an intimate and romantic relationship. Dr. Spann learned how to love in a way that freed her to be her true self and she felt called to help other women, specifically lesbian identifying, to do the same. In 2018 when she opened the Lesbian Couples Institute in Denver, CO, this dream became a reality.  Lynda Spann has over 20 years experience as a marriage and couples therapist and counselor and decided it was time to take not only her educational experience but her own unique life experience to help the community she belongs to. Her new online coaching program is the first of it’s kind, as far as we’ve found and is formulated to fit the needs of lesbian couples and their issues specifically by providing step by step guidance from someone who knows firsthand how to do the work to take a stale relationship from okay to great and thriving.