In partnership with them., PBS Digital Studios unveils the third season of its gender and sexuality series "First Person." Omar’s story is the third of five episodes to be unveiled on a weekly basis throughout June and July.
In his practice, New York City psychologist Omar says most of his clients are gay men — not because he set out to exclusively serve the LGBTQ+ community, but because clients tend to come to him looking for someone who truly understands their issues. He notes that clients appreciate that he already speaks their language: “When a client comes in and they say, ‘so I bottomed last night,’ I’m not like, what’s that?” Despite the unique experiences of gay men, though, Omar sees every session as a chance to do basically the same thing: to help clients get from where they are to where they want to be.
Being drawn to the psychologist profession, Omar says, was also rooted in his own curiosity about himself. He notes feeling different from a young age, and says, “I knew that I was staring more at the leading man in a movie. I didn’t have the language for it, but I knew that it was there. And I also knew that it was something I needed to hide.” When he finally summoned the courage to come out to his mother, he was surprised to find that she already knew he was gay.
Now Omar places importance on small acts of self-care scattered throughout the day, and recommends things like meditation or even remembering to take your lunch break at work. And of course, Omar recommends therapy: “it doesn’t have to be you laying down on a couch and sharing painful experiences. Therapy can also be a place for you to ask questions.” In sessions with his own therapist, Omar says, he was able to explore his experience as a Latino man in gay culture — something he says not everyone is comfortable talking about.
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Check out last week's episode of First Person, on the high school dean giving LGBTQ+ students the space they need to be creative and confident.