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With over 15 years working in the mental health field, SC Nealy (they/them) has their second Master's degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and is on the Board of Directors at NOVA Pride. SC was also named the 2024 Humanitarian and Caring Person Award recipient from Virginia Counselors Association and recipient of Arlington County 2025 Women (Person) of Vision Award. With a person-centered, emotion-focused approach aimed at finding solutions, healing trauma, building resilience, improving interpersonal relationships, connecting the mind and body, and working through triggers and past pain, SC wants their clients to feel heard, understood, and valued in the therapeutic space and in their lives.
SC Nealy currently specializes in self-esteem, religious trauma or "church hurt," sexual trauma and other trauma, complex PTSD, body image issues, resilience building, depression/anxiety, mindfulness, LGBTQIA+ issues (especially premarital and queer couples counseling in LGBTQ+ relationships), queer family therapy, current and former sex workers, couples counseling, mixed orientation relationships (gender transitions or sexual orientation changes), premarital counseling, & women's issues.
Personally, SC identifies as non-binary, gender fluid, and queer/lesbian. They are a parent of 2 kiddos living in Arlington, VA and co-parent joyfully with their ex-husband. They also write queer romance novels on the side and work extensively in queer advocacy both politically and locally.
SC Nealy is currently not accepting new regularly scheduled clients, except for queer pre-marital counseling, lesbian/non-binary couples counseling, or group therapy participants. SC Nealy often has their therapy dog, Elly, in the office with them.
Returns Fall 2025. Email to join.
Run 3x a year virtually, this 12 week group focused on psychoeducation around religious trauma, breaking down shame/judgment, restructuring relational patterns, exploring identity outside of religious doctrines, purity culture, the impact on LGBT identities and shame, perfectionism, boundary setting, and increasing autonomy in individual choices toward or away from spirituality and/or religion. This group is open to anyone from any religious background and is intended to help clients reach their own personal goals for religion which may include staying in a religion, growing in a religion, or leaving a religion. All our welcome. Please email to be added to the next session.
Sarah Nealy leads two weekly process groups in person for those identifying as female in their 20s and 30s on Fridays at 4p or Mondays at 6:45p in Arlington, VA.
This group is capped at 8 participants each and focuses on self-compassion, trauma, self-esteem, relationships, interpersonal skills building, self-advocacy, identity formation, and more. Please email to schedule an evaluation for entry today.
Currently, only the Monday evening group is accepting new clients.
SC Nealy leads a virtual process and support group for partnerships who identify as mixed orientation, whether sexually or gender identity every other Fridays at 12p.
Mixed Orientation Relationships (M.O.R.E.) are partnerships where two or more people's sexual and/or gender identity are not the same. Every couple in the group is at some stage in transition, but has the end goal of making the relationship last. This group is capped at 8 partnerships.
Please email to be considered for membership today.
Led by SC Nealy, LPC, this group focuses on bisexual, multisexual, pansexual, etc. female identifying persons in a straight-passing relationship (or single!). The goal of this group is to bring together community with similar lived experiences to allow for group processing, interpersonal growth, and identity and self-confidence strengthening in affirming your identity.
To request an intake to join group, email snealy@lgbtcounselingdmv.com
SC Nealy specializes with families practicing non-heteronormative parenting models, including child-centered divorce, nesting models, polyamory relationships, cohabitating with the other parent, and other models of queer family living. As a parent themselves coparenting and utilizing the nesting model with their ex-husband and best friend, SC Nealy wants other queer families to feel empowered to create the situations that feel best to them and their family needs.
SC Nealy specializes with couples counseling particularly in female-identifying or nonbinary relationships, including lesbians, queer women, nonbinary persons, and more. The unique dynamics that occur in relationships not involving cis men or AMAB individuals is not often understood in the counseling space, so it's incredibly important to have a couples counselor who understands and has lived experience in those styles of romantic relationships.
SC Nealy has a passion for working with former and current sex workers of all types, including virtual and full service sex workers. In partnership with Pineapple Support as a volunteer provider, SC works with assisting clients along their mental health journey in non-judgmental and open spaces.
Run 2-3x a year, this is an 8-week sexual wellbeing and acceptance psychoeducational and therapy group for women and AFAB individuals, including cis-hetero females. We lightly utilize the Come As You Are Workbook by Dr. Emily Nagoski and focus on empowerment and self-advocacy in sexual situations and within one's own body. Email to be considered for membership in the next session today.
One of SC's biggest passions is working with other therapists, and they often have therapists on their caseload as clients. If you're worried about dual relationships or being understood in the field that you work in, SC focuses on helping therapists help themselves.
SC is also a licensed clinical supervisor in Virginia and Washington, DC for pre-licensed therapists to provide supervision hours.
2025 Supervision Summit Speaker on Supervising LGBTQIA+ Clinicians
May 2025 | https://www.supervisionsummit.com/
2025 Women (Person) of Vision Award Recipient
Commission on the Status of Women | Arlington County, VA
Religious Trauma: How to Recognize and Address it in LGBT+ Folx, Modern Military Magazine
December 2024 | Read it here
2024 Humanitarian and Caring Person of the Year Award by Virginia Counselors Association
November 2024 | Virginia Beach, VA
Most LGBT+ Friendly Workplace in Washington, DC Area to LGBT+ Counseling Collaborative
October 2024 | Washington Blade
Embracing Change: Navigating Identity and Relationships in the Queer Community, Conversations for Couples Podcast
April 2024 | Listen to it here
Board Member at NOVA Pride
Summer 2023 - Current
Religious Trauma Drastically Impacts Queer Community, Washington Blade
October 2023 | Read it here
Board Member at Postpartum Support Virginia
February 2022 - 2025
Looking for a written contribution to your publication or guest for your podcast? Email snealy@lgbtcounselingdmv.com.
Copyright © 2025 LGBT+ Counseling Collaborative, Inc - All Rights Reserved.
Read about the No Surprises Act here.