Meet Bridge Cunningham, your Missouri LGBTQIA+ friendly counselor.

It’s time to write the next chapter of your story.

An open book, pages fluttering, on a dark foliage background.
Bridge Cunningham, LPC (therapist) sitting in orange chair, looking relaxed and comfortable.

Welcome! I’m Bridge.

Welcome to a space where you can let go of the fear of judgment about your queerness and what you’ve been through. It’s possible to become the author of your own story again and create a future that’s filled with hope and self-kindness.

As a fellow queer person (gender non-binary and in the asexual/aromantic spectrum) living in the Midwest who has navigated their own journey of healing from trauma, I know how difficult it is to try and tell your story, let alone try to heal from it. 

At Bridging the Gap Counseling, you come into a place that lets you come as you are, no questions asked. 

I am invested in your journey of healing from the start. Your goals and motivation to heal will drive our work together, peeling back the layers of your difficult experiences with being queer or experiencing trauma to start truly and deeply healing.

Never will I ask you to talk about the things that are too much for you to talk about. I trust that as you feel ready, we’ll heal the things you feel ready to heal. 

Healing can, and often is, very uncomfortable at times. However, it should never feel unsafe. During our sessions, usually held weekly and either in-person in Springfield, MO or online, we’ll integrate humor, curiosity, and safety into processing this discomfort.

Talk to someone who really gets it.

I live in the same world you do. 

Even if we have different experiences, I understand what it’s like to be LGBTQIA+ in more conservative areas, especially being gender nonbinary, and a-spec myself. The discriminatory remarks, constant changes in the political climate, and the struggle between coming out or keeping quiet are ones I know well.


When you talk about the struggles of dealing with trauma, my experiences with healing inform a deep sense of empathy for what you’re going through. The nightmares, the constant anxiety, blaming yourself, and difficulties trusting other people or good things in life have all been a part of my journey.

EMDR has been an integral part of my healing from a history of abusive relationships, and I invite you to give it a try and see if it can be a part of yours, too.

My approach to therapy includes being human and inviting you to explore what it means to live in your own full human-ness with compassion and curiosity. All emotions are allowed.

Our sessions can be filled with laughter, tears, and everything in between as we utilize metaphors, art and stories to help you write your own story again, one page at a time.

Specialties

  • AFAB person gazing up with a rainbow casted across her face.

    LGBTQIA+ Affirmative Therapy

  • Asexuality & Aromanticism

  • Trauma & EMDR

  • Self-Esteem

Guiding Principles

Holistic

Every facet of you matters when it comes to healing, from your physical health to your environment to your past and your future.

Strengths-Focused

I know you have what you need within you to accomplish your goals. We just need to uncover them so you can use them fully.

Goal-Oriented

I respect your time and that you came here for a reason - So let’s help you get there! We can take detours, and they should help us reach your overall therapy goals.

Hopeful

There’s always a way to help with what you’re going through, no matter how large and dark the obstacle may seem.

Humorous

Therapy can be fun! Finding joy in life is important, and therapy should be the same.

Transparent

You should understand what we’re doing and why every step of the way. I’ll also be honest with you every step of the way.

Bridging the Gap between head and heart, knowing and doing, and past to present to future.

In my years as a therapist, there’s always one part that’s the hardest for the people I work with - Translating knowledge into action and being. Maybe you know “what to do”, but not how to get there or to truly believe the things you know to be logically true. 

Bridging the Gap means no longer getting stuck there and moving to a place where you both see and believe in your own inherent worthiness and your ability to grow and change.

Credentials

Education & Licensure

  • M.S. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Eastern Illinois University

  • Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Missouri - License #2022020329

Training & Certifications

  • Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) trained by EMDR Consulting.

  • Motivational Interviewing (MI) from the Missouri Behavioral Health Council.

  • Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) from the Medical University of South Carolina

  • Health At Every Size (HAES) - aligned counselor.

You have so many chapters of your story left, and so many opportunities to make it vibrant, fulfilling, and empowering. Let’s pick up the pen and get to writing.