Supporting LGBTQIA+ Clients with Confidence and Personal Growth
At Daybreak Counseling, we provide compassionate, trauma-informed care for LGBTQIA+ individuals navigating challenges with self-esteem, personal identity, and overall mental health. Our team understands the unique experiences of the LGBTQIA+ community, including societal pressures, discrimination, and minority stress, and we create a safe, affirming space for exploration, growth, and empowerment.
Our counseling services for LGBTQIA+ clients focus on:
Building confidence and self-worth
Navigating gender identity and sexual orientation questions
Managing anxiety, depression, or internalized stigma
Strengthening relationships with family, friends, and partners
Coping with minority stress or discrimination
We meet each client where they are, providing guidance and strategies that honor their identity while supporting personal growth.
Daybreak clinicians draw from a wide range of evidence-based modalities, including CBT, DBT, ACT, Play Therapy, EMDR, and Brainspotting. By combining these approaches with our LGBTQIA+ affirming lens, we create individualized care plans that fit your life and unique identity—not a generic template.
All of our therapists and medication providers at Daybreak are knowledgeable and attuned to the needs of the LGBTQIA+ community, ensuring affirming care across the practice. For clients seeking specialized support, Rachel T., Alex B., and Salvi A., (Medication) are a few of our clinicians who focus specifically on self-esteem and identity navigation for LGBTQIA+ individuals:
These providers bring expertise, empathy, and a deep understanding of the unique mental health challenges faced by LGBTQIA+ clients.
MS, LMHC, SOTP-II, AASECT
Accepting Clients Ages 18 & Up
Rachel is a licensed mental health counselor (LMHC) who is a Sex Therapist certified by the American Association for Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT) as well as a Sex Offender Treatment Provider (Level II) recognized by the Iowa Board for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (IBTSA). She holds a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology from the University of Kansas (2017) and has over eight years of experience supporting teens, adults, couples, and families. Rachel has worked in community mental health, residential adolescent care, private practice, and telehealth platforms, with extensive experience collaborating with juvenile court and HHS systems around sexual abuse. Her training includes Level 2 Gottman Couples Therapy as well as sex therapy training through The Buehler Institute and Modern Sex Therapy Institute. She is also a clinical member of the Association for the Treatment and Prevention of Sexual Abuse (ATSA) and serves as Secretary on the Iowa Mental Health Counselors Association (IMHCA) board.
In a safe and supportive environment, Rachel works with individuals, couples, and families to explore and challenge difficult emotions, beliefs, and behaviors while building on their unique strengths. Her approach is collaborative, trauma-informed, and focused on empowering clients to lead healthier, more functional lives. As a sex therapist, she works with a diverse range of clients addressing topics such as sexual shame and trauma, sexual functioning, couples work, LGBTQ+ concerns, kink and BDSM, and sexual wellness, education, and development. Rachel is passionate about reducing the stigma surrounding mental and sexual health and creating space for meaningful growth and change.
Outside of work, Rachel enjoys traveling, rewatching Parks and Recreation, and spending quality time with her spicy cat, Poppy.
T-LMHC
Accepting Clients Ages 9 & Up
Alex Bitting is a passionate and dedicated Licensed Mental Health Therapist (T-LMHC) with experience supporting individuals across the lifespan, including children, adolescents, and adults. Alex uses a varitey of modalities including CBT, DBT, ERP, and ACT. As a transgender male, military veteran, adoptee, adoptive parent, and former mobile crisis first responder with the Des Moines Police Department, Alex brings a wealth of personal and professional experience to his counseling practice. His approach is trauma-informed, relational, and practical, providing care that is inclusive, affirming, and tailored to each client’s needs.
Alex works with a diverse range of clients, including queer youth and adults, trauma survivors, parents and military veterans, addressing issues such as identity exploration, trauma, self-harm, suicidality, relationship challenges, and life transitions. He is known for balancing deep empathy and compassion with direct, honest, and practical guidance, creating a space where clients feel affirmed, understood, and supported. Sessions are collaborative, flexible, and designed to provide real insight, clarity, and tools that clients can use in their everyday lives.
Outside of work, Alex enjoys spending time with his family, playing board games, exploring new foods, and embracing the excitement of everyday life. He also enjoys DIY projects, sports, concerts, traveling, and building lasting memories through a strong support system and regular self-care. Alex is excited to continue his journey as a counselor and looks forward to supporting his clients in their pursuit of healing and growth.
MSN, ARNP, PMHNP-BC
Accepting Clients Ages 18 & up
Salvi Alday is a Board Certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner licensed in Iowa, Texas, Wisconsin, and Maryland. Guided by the belief that mental health is just as vital as physical health, Salvi is deeply committed to providing accessible, compassionate, and stigma-free mental health care. She offers virtual appointments for adults navigating depression, anxiety, trauma, PTSD, substance misuse, panic disorders, bipolar disorder, ADHD, and related concerns.
Salvi brings both personal insight and extensive professional experience to her work. On a personal level, she has witnessed firsthand how mental health challenges and substance use disorders can affect individuals, relationships, and families. Professionally, she has a diverse background in behavioral health nursing, including experience as an Intensive Care Unit RN, Psychiatric and Forensic RN, Child and Adolescent Psychiatric RN, Acute Inpatient Adult and Geriatric Psychiatric RN, and in a variety of outpatient treatment settings. These roles have shaped her deep understanding of trauma-related, mood, psychosis, depressive, and anxiety disorders, and allow her to meet clients with both clinical expertise and genuine compassion.
As a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, Salvi is dedicated to walking alongside individuals facing mental health challenges while delivering evidence-based, holistic care. She has a particular focus on pharmacological treatment for alcohol and substance use disorders and is Suboxone-certified (X-waivered) through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Salvi is also an active member of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI, Texas chapter), where she advocates for children, adolescents, and the LGBTQIA+ community. Additionally, she is a member of the National Society of Leadership and Success (NSLS, Minneapolis chapter) and upholds the mission of the National Association for Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors (NAADAC) in guiding and empowering addiction-focused clinicians.
Outside of clinical work, Salvi enjoys spending time with her husband, staying connected with her three adult children who are currently attending college in Texas, and diving into professional development reading. She also enjoys unwinding with a good Netflix series, with Wednesday being a recent favorite, and maintains her lifelong love of swimming after competing as a collegiate swimmer.
