Community Highlights: Meet Drew Simri of Lumenso Wellness

Today we’d like to introduce you to Drew Simri.

Hi Drew, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Providing a safe and affirming space for LGBTQIAP+ folks is what led me to pursue a career as a mental health therapist over a decade ago, and it’s been my true north ever since. As a gay man myself, I was deeply aware of how difficult it could be to find providers who truly felt safe, affirming, and able to understand my experience beyond just surface-level. Even entering graduate school, I knew my long-term goal was to eventually create a practice rooted in helping fill that need.

With that focus in mind, I intentionally shaped my education, clinical experiences, and professional development around the needs of the LGBTQIAP+ community. Early on, I tried to gain experience in many of the areas people might eventually come to private practice carrying. For example, knowing the LGBTQIAP+ community experiences higher rates of substance use and addiction, I worked at a residential substance use treatment facility, where I eventually became Clinical Director.

After opening my practice in 2018, the work increasingly evolved toward trauma-informed care and helping people understand themselves with greater compassion rather than shame. That path led me toward approaches like IFS, EMDR, mindfulness, and self-compassion, which continue to shape the way I practice today. Over time, the practice itself also evolved and eventually became what is now Lumenso Wellness.

Today, Lumenso Wellness is a small group practice focused on LGBTQIAP+ affirming and trauma-informed care. What I love most about the work we do is helping people move beyond survival mode and develop a compassionate and loving relationship with themselves.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I might describe the road more as full of unexpected turns, hills, and varying terrain with each obstacle teaching me something new. And there have certainly been challenges. One of the biggest has been learning how to balance being both a therapist and a business owner. Those are very different skill sets, and building a practice requires a lot of risk, uncertainty, and learning as you go.

I also think there’s a unique emotional weight that comes with serving a community you deeply care about. Working with LGBTQIAP+ clients means sitting closely with experiences of shame, trauma, rejection, identity struggles, and systemic stress, and I’ve always felt a strong responsibility to continue growing so I can meet those experiences with as much care and competency as possible. That commitment has pushed me toward ongoing training, consultation, and deep personal and professional growth throughout my career.

One of the things that helped me most along the way was finding an incredible community of mentors, colleagues, and other therapists who believed in collaboration rather than competition. Having spaces where I could ask questions, receive support, and continue learning made a huge difference for me early on. That experience deeply shaped the kind of culture I wanted to create at Lumenso Wellness. I wanted it to feel supportive, connected, and human for both clinicians and clients alike.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Lumenso Wellness?
Lumenso Wellness is a trauma-informed counseling practice providing compassionate and affirming care to people of all genders and sexual orientations. At the core of our work is a non-pathologizing approach to mental health, meaning we strive to understand people as resilient given the context of their lived experiences rather than viewing them as “broken” or defined by diagnoses.

We specialize in working with trauma, anxiety, depression, identity exploration, self-worth, shame, life transitions, and the unique experiences often faced by LGBTQIAP+ individuals. While each therapist brings their own perspective and specialties to the work, our shared foundation is affirming, trauma-informed care rooted in authenticity, curiosity, and compassion. My own work integrates approaches such as IFS, EMDR, mindfulness, and self-compassion, while other clinicians at the practice may draw from Jungian and other approaches.

One thing that sets Lumenso Wellness apart is the intentionality behind the environment we’ve created, both emotionally and physically. We want people to feel genuinely safe, welcomed, and understood when they walk through our doors. I think one of the things I’m most proud of brand-wise is that Lumenso has grown into a space that feels like it truly reflects our values not only in the therapy we provide, but also in the culture we create. We’ve worked hard to build a practice that feels warm, grounded, collaborative, and authentic for both clients and clinicians alike.

More than anything, I want people to know that Lumenso is a space where all parts of themselves are welcome. Healing often begins when people feel safe enough to show up fully, without shame or the pressure to hide parts of who they are. Our hope is to create an environment where people feel respected, understood, and supported as they move toward healing and a deeper connection with themselves.

Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
I’ve been involved with theatre and the arts since I was a little kid, and those memories still stand out as some of my favorites. I remember standing backstage, hearing the orchestra begin, all of us in costume waiting to go onstage, and feeling this incredible mix of excitement, awe, and connection.

What I loved most was the opportunity to play, imagine, and step into different perspectives and experiences. Theatre gave me a space to express emotion, explore different parts of myself, and connect deeply with others through storytelling.

Looking back, I can see how much that shaped the work I do now. So much of both theatre and therapy involves imagination, empathy, expression, and the courage to explore parts of ourselves that might otherwise stay hidden. I think that’s part of why the arts and storytelling still feel so meaningful to me today.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.lumensowellness.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lumensowellness/

Image Credits
Headshot by KDalton Photography. Additional photos by Jessica Cohen and Lumenso Wellness.