Say often, especially at first, “I love myself unconditionally.”

On a phone sex info hotline, I and others asked that of callers who needed support. A few had trouble saying “unconditionally”, and we made sure they knew it was important to say.

I am a social worker working in outpatient psychiatry. Several months ago I attended a 1 day seminar that could easily have covered a week and then some. The presenter was Dr. Joe Kort, and it was the best seminar I have seen in many years. I recently bought one of his books, "LGBTQ Clients In Therapy: Clinical Issues and Treatment Strategies, 2018. I love his insights and straightforward writing and speaking style. It is a sizeable book of over 400 pages, intended primarily for therapists, though it is quite readable, avoiding overly cryptic professional jargan. Several of the book's sections deal indirectly or somewhat directly with elements relevant to internalized homophobia, without ignoring the fact that we continue to live in societies that pile on layers of anti-lgbtq messages and that our social survival needs continue to press many many people to adopt coping strategies that are compromizing emotionally, because despite many welcome societal changes in recent years, our societoes remain dangerous places to be fully open.
Anyway, great book! I got mine on Amazon.