What does trauma-informed care actually look like when you’re queer, navigating identity, safety, relationships, culture, and systems that weren’t built with you in mind?

In this episode of the Queer Magic Podcast, host Luis Cornejo (he/they) sits down with Janae R. Borrego, M.A., LMFT, CCTP, C-EMDR, CIMHP, CMIP (she/all) to break down what trauma-informed care really means for LGBTQ+ folks ... beyond buzzwords, checklists, and surface-level inclusivity.

Together, they unpack the difference between “big T” and “little t” trauma, how microaggressions, chronic stress, and systemic harm compound over time, and why many queer people don’t always recognize their experiences as trauma until it shows up in their nervous system, relationships, or sense of safety.

Janae shares how trauma-informed care shows up in real therapeutic practice: building trust, honoring lived experience, understanding cultural and identity-based stressors, and creating spaces where clients don’t have to educate their therapist just to feel seen. The conversation also explores therapist self-awareness, implicit bias, accessibility in mental health care, and what it truly means to center client autonomy and safety, especially for marginalized communities.

Whether you’re a queer person navigating your own healing, a clinician wanting to deepen your practice, or someone curious about how trauma actually lives in the body and mind, this episode offers clarity, compassion, and practical insight.

Because trauma-informed care isn’t just a framework... it’s a way of showing up.

 Connect with Janae / Learn More

• 🌐 Website: janaeborregolmft.com

• 📸 Instagram (Personal): @janaeborregolmft

• 🧠 Instagram (Practice): @jbpsychotherapycc

• 🌈 LGBTQ+ Affirming Program: rainbowhillrecovery.com

What You’ll Hear in This Episode

• The difference between “big T” and “little t” trauma — and why both matter

• How microaggressions and systemic oppression impact mental health over time

• What trauma-informed therapy looks like beyond buzzwords and surface allyship

• Why safety, trust, and autonomy are foundational in queer-affirming care

• The role of therapist self-awareness, bias, and lived experience

• How trauma can show up in relationships, identity, and the nervous system

• What LGBTQ+ folks deserve from their mental health providers

• How to advocate for yourself in therapeutic spaces