Taking care of ourselves means prioritizing mental health alongside physical health, and access to safe, affirming spaces is a crucial part of that work. For LGBTQ people, that might mean grabbing a coffee at a queer-owned café, working out in a space that’s safe for all genders or seeking therapy with a provider who understands their lived experiences. Those spaces foster belonging and make self-care just a little bit easier.
Prism Therapy Solutions owner and therapist Hilary Johnson wanted to create a practice where LGBTQ people can access mental health providers who understand the queer experience firsthand. Photo: Duane Tinkey
Prism Therapy Solutions
A first-of-its-kind clinic is a safe place for expression and healing
Prism Therapy Solutions, Iowa’s only all-queer therapy center, opened its doors in February in the East Village with a mission to provide accessible, safe and culturally aware mental health care for LGBTQ clients.
Owner and therapist Hilary Johnson has worked in the mental health field for over a decade and said she dreamed of hiring a team of other queer therapists to work with her. She explained how important it was to open this clinic, “given the political climate and how generally unsafe a lot of marginalized communities are feeling.”
At Prism, inclusivity extends beyond therapy sessions. Johnson said that everyone who works at the practice identifies as queer, creating what she describes as a baseline sense of safety for clients.
“If someone is coming in for gender-affirming health care or needs a letter, they’re just met with inclusivity,” Johnson said. “Nobody is questioning names or identities. It’s just respected.”
Before founding Prism, Johnson spent several years working in nonprofit mental health care and later in private practice. As the end of her office lease approached, she decided to expand her vision into a fully queer- and trans-identifying practice committed to inclusion not just in theory but in lived experience.
That commitment even shapes Prism’s building. It’s designed to be accessible for clients with mobility challenges and sensory needs. Therapists are encouraged to practice culturally sensitive and responsive care.
Prism hosts therapists with a range of specialties, including experts in couples and family therapy, substance use, obsessive-compulsive disorders, eating disorders, neurodivergence and other areas of care.
“I didn’t want a cookie-cutter group of therapists that all do the same thing,” Johnson said. “Each therapist brings different passions and training, which allows us to support clients in a lot of different ways.”
Beyond individual therapy, Prism hosts support groups, too. Johnson hopes to expand the offerings to include groups for transgender clients, parents of gender-diverse children and “late bloomers,” who are diagnosed with autism or ADHD later in life. She also wants the practice to partner with local organizations to strengthen support networks and create safer spaces for Iowans.
While Prism offers in-person therapy in Des Moines, its statewide telehealth services enable the staff to reach clients in rural Iowa, where affirming options for mental health care can be scarce. The practice is also committed to supporting uninsured or underinsured clients.
“I’m most excited about the passion that all of the therapists are bringing,” Johnson said. “It’s important for people to know there are providers who are on the same page, who understand what they’re going through and who are here to help.”
As Prism grows, it shines a spotlight on what inclusive mental health care can look like in Iowa by being grounded in both clinical expertise and shared understanding.
— Jinessa Lewis
There’s an app for that
As uncertainties fill the headlines every week, finding spaces where you feel safe and accepted can be challenging. For many in the LGBTQ community, these places aren’t just social spots; they’re essential for mental, emotional and physical well-being.
Enter: an app called Everywhere Is Queer. It’s a comprehensive map of queer-owned businesses, created to help you discover queer-owned and queer-affirming businesses and spaces near you. From cafés and clothing stores to therapists and gyms, EIQ connects users with a range of businesses that serve and openly celebrate the LGBTQ community.
For allies, choosing queer-owned businesses is a tangible way to show support and increase their visibility. For queer business owners, EIQ offers a platform that helps customers find them more easily.
In uncertain times, tools like EIQ make it easier to connect with businesses that reflect your values and remind us that community and care go hand in hand. Supporting queer-owned spaces strengthens local economies and reinforces the networks that help communities stay visible and resilient.
— Jinessa Lewis
Leah Embrey found her confidence through lifting, and she wants to help others find their confidence in the gym, too. Photo: Duane Tinkey
Pride Fitness
A gym without mirrors, scales or negative self-talk
Leah Embrey loves lifting heavy things and wants you to love it, too.
“I always loved the way it felt to be strong,” she said. “I found my confidence through lifting. It was always the best part of my day.”
For members of the LGBTQ community, that confidence can be hard to develop. Walking into the gym for the first time can be intimidating under the best of circumstances; worrying about prejudice can compound those anxieties.
That’s why Embrey created Pride Fitness, a Drake neighborhood gym for the queer community and anyone else who worries they won’t fit in at the typical gym.
“Having spaces where people can be exactly who they are without having to put a mask on or worry that they’re getting judged, by how they present, what they look like or how they do their hair, is really important,” Embrey said.
She builds her philosophy on the concept of radical acceptance, for oneself and others.
You can feel it pumping through Pride Fitness. Each client who walks in the door begins their journey with a comprehensive consultation, where they assess mobility and discuss goals. Clients can choose from one-on-one personal training, unstructured gym hours or small classes that encompass full-body strength-training sessions.
Embrey opts not to hang mirrors or use scales, to encourage clients to focus on the mind-body connection over aesthetic ideals or numbers. Conversation in the gym is free-flowing and boisterous, with clients cracking jokes and cheering one another on. Everyone is encouraged to show up as themselves, whether they’re working to accomplish a superhuman powerlifting goal or practicing how to get up from the floor without using their hands.
The one thing that’s not allowed? Negative self-talk, in any form.
“We can be our own worst critic or our own best supporter,” Embrey said. “The mind can be a very powerful tool in both directions. With lifting and fitness, that self-talk can make all the difference on whether you try for another rep or even show up that day.”
For Dawn Molloy, a client of three years, Pride Fitness has been a game changer. Before she discovered it, her relationship with fitness was non-existent. She said the fact that Pride Fitness is a safe space for gender and sexuality was just the key to get her in the door.
“I feel comfortable here, maybe a little too comfortable at times,” she joked. “I love the fact that she never weighed me, never did measurements.”
Embrey dreams of expanding, to make Pride Fitness a one-stop wellness experience for fitness, gender-affirming medical care and mental health care.
“We’re here as a place people can go if they’re new, or if they want somewhere else where they can truly feel comfortable,” she said. “We’re building that community for any and everybody that has not felt safe or welcome in the fitness space.”
— Mathany Ahmed
Join the team with the Pride Sports League
On any given weeknight in Des Moines, gyms, fields and even sand courts come alive with laughter, sweat and noisy camaraderie. Teammates trade high fives, music drifts across the court and rainbow T-shirts converge in a blur.
That scene has become increasingly familiar thanks to the Central Iowa Pride Sports League, an LGBTQ-affirming recreational league that brings queer athletes and allies together through sports, community and a whole lot of joy.
Founded nearly a decade ago to fill a gap in inclusive athletic spaces, the league has grown into a safe haven for queer adults, many of whom often struggled to find welcoming places to compete. The focus here is on fun and belonging rather than elite performance, with opportunities for athletes of all skill levels. From intense sand volleyball to walking clubs, the league’s programs emphasize participation over pressure.
In a region with few LGBTQ-focused rec sports options, the Pride Sports League fills an important gap. Players come from across Central Iowa and beyond for leagues that affirm gender and sexual diversity, creating a mix of ages, identities and skill levels united by a shared desire to move, connect and feel safe.
Beyond weekly games, the league also builds community through social gatherings, tournaments such as the “Let Love Serve” volleyball event and partnerships with local LGBTQ organizations.
This summer, active leagues include kickball, sand volleyball, basketball, walking, cycling and tennis. To reduce financial barriers, the Pride Sports League also offers a player assistance fund for those who need help covering registration costs, reinforcing its welcoming mission.
— Jinessa Lewis
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