Stella Nova Psychology: Feminist, Inclusive, and Queer-Owned Mental Health Care
Answers provided by: Maya Borgueta, PsyD (she/her), Founder of Stella Nova PsychologyI am excited to introduce you to Maya Borgueta, PsyD (she/her), the founder of Stella Nova Psychology. Stella Nova Psychology has been listed on Everywhere Is Queer since June 2024! Maya’s story is truly incredible and I am grateful to highlight and work alongside individuals who are making true positive change in our world. I am beyond grateful for the queer therapists that I have had myself.
Stella Nova Psychology is currently accepting new clients for online therapy across California and New York. They specialize in therapy for women, couples, and the LGBTQIA+ community, welcoming people of all genders and backgrounds seeking high-quality, inclusive care. Sessions start at $160, with a free 20-minute consultation to help match clients with the right therapist.
I hope you enjoy this deep dive with Maya and the Stella Nova Psychology Team!
Left to right this is: Dr. Justine Fan; Dr. Maya Borgueta; Dr. Alexis López
1. Tell us about your journey. how did your queer-owned business come to life?
When Dr. Maya Borgueta (she/her) set out to become a psychologist, she was passionate about mental health, and wanted to break the stigma that so many people face when they're struggling. She knew that she wanted to build a career around supporting people's mental and emotional well-being. But she didn't imagine that owning a business was in her future.
"Therapists get extensive training in how to assess and treat mental health issues,” she explained. "But we don't have the first idea about how to run a business.”
Her therapy clinic, Stella Nova Psychology, was born out of a solo practice she started as a side gig. At the time, she was working a full-time job in San Francisco at a mental health tech startup. “My practice was never meant to be more than a handful of clients I saw on evenings and weekends. I thought I'd keep my clinical skills sharp, and maybe make a little extra cash on the side.”
In her private practice, Dr. Maya attracted a lot of women who were also working in the tech sector. As a queer, Asian American woman—a demographic often underrepresented among mental health professionals—she tended to attract clients who looked a lot like her: Women of color and members of the LGBTQIA+ community who were working in professional settings where they didn't always feel like they belonged. Again and again, she heard clients’ stories about how workplace microaggressions, code switching from work to home, and stress related to navigating hostile spaces impacted their mental health.
When the unexpected happened and Dr. Maya was laid off from her main gig, she decided that she didn't want to go back to a traditional job. Taking what she learned about growing a business from her time at a startup, she decided to open a group practice focused on supporting women and the LGBTQIA+ community. She wanted to create a space where clients could not only receive high quality mental health care, but where they saw their own communities’ needs and identities reflected.
2. What mission or values guide your work and how does being queer-owned shape that vision?
Stella Nova's mission is to provide high-quality therapy for women, couples, and LGBTQIA+ people of all genders—for healthier lives and communities that thrive. They're an enthusiastically feminist practice that strives to incorporate an intersectional lens in everything they do.
"Mental health is a feminist issue,” according to Dr. Maya. “It’s impossible to talk about our emotional well-being without recognizing how oppressive systems impact our lives. Women and LGBTQIA+ people face unique challenges such as bias and discrimination, gendered role expectations in our families, and lack of access to appropriate medical care. Right now, queer and trans people especially are facing escalating threats to their safety and their rights. All of which contribute to anxiety, depression, trauma, and other mental health concerns.”
As feminist therapists, the Stella Nova team recognizes that mental health isn't just personal, it's political. They stand against sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, fatphobia, ageism, and other forms of oppression as an integral part of their mental health mission.
Left to right this is: Megan Sullivan-Tuba, AMFT, Dr. Justine Fan; Dr. Maya Borgueta; Dr. Alexis López
3. What challenges have you faced as a queer entrepreneur, and how have you overcome them?
Initially a brick-and-mortar clinic in downtown San Francisco, Stella Nova transitioned to online-only practice in 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It was a hard transition at first,” Dr. Maya reflected. “I had actually experimented a bit with online therapy before that, and wasn't a fan. So when we were forced to go online, I was dreading it. It was really hard and exhausting at first. And making that switch in the middle of a global pandemic was one of the most stressful periods of my career.
"But over time, I've come to adapt and actually prefer working online to being in person. There's something to be said for being able to meet with your therapist in the privacy and comfort of your own home. You can set up your space just the way you like it, make your favorite cup of tea, have your dog or your cat curled up next to you. There's no commute.”
And of course, online therapy can make care more accessible for a number of reasons. For LGBTQIA+ people outside of big cities like San Francisco or New York, it can still be hard to find an affirming therapist you can trust. That goes doubly for people looking to work with a queer-identified therapist who also shares other identities, like cultural background or disability, or a specialized expertise.
For Dr. Maya, going online has opened up new possibilities for her own life as well. She moved to Valencia, Spain in 2023, and has continued to run the clinic and see therapy clients from overseas.
"Working online is an enormous privilege—one that's allowed me to create a life I had never expected would be possible,” she says. “It's a joy for me as a business owner to be able to build a career that can shift and evolve alongside my life.”
Selfie of Therapist Sage Swiatek (she/they), LCSW. Image provided by Stella Nova Psychology Team
4. Who are some queer creators, leaders, or businesses that inspire you right now?
From the Stella Nova team (click any of the Stella Nova Team Members Names’ to learn more about any of them):
Yasmin Benoit: Asexual and aromantic activist
Jessie Earl: A trans creator on youtube who talks about trans issues and Star Trek
Rivers Solomon: A non-binary and intersex author, who writes incredibly rich and creative speculative fiction exploring race, gender, sexuality, neurodiversity and disability.
Alan Cumming: He is queer joy personified! I recently listened to his memoir, Baggage, which is all about choosing joy as an act of self-love and defiance.
“I am forever inspired by queer writer, performer, cultural worker & speaker, Kai Cheng Thom.”
“Everywhere Is Queer has helped me to feel inspired by how many queer businesses exist in my area! It has made it easier to be more intentional about supporting other queer businesses and finding like-minded folks.”
“I'm currently enjoying the novel Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar who's a queer Iranian-American writer. It's rich in existentialism and identity development.”
Billy Porter: He's a vocal advocate for social justice who uses his platform to speak for marginalized communities. His activism centers around issues regarding LGBTQ+ rights, racial equality, and the arts.
5. How do you foster inclusivity and community through your business?
Inclusivity and community are core to Stella Nova's mission. One way that they foster those values are by being very, very intentional about the people they hire to their team.
"We know that to serve our diverse communities in a way that's aligned with our mission, we need to bring on people who share those values with us. Everyone who joins our team is hired because they’re excellent at the work they do and are actively aligned with our goals of providing inclusive, intersectional care.”
The Stella Nova team reflects the diversity of the communities they serve, with 85% of their staff identifying as a member of a BIPOC or LGBTQIA+ community—or in many cases, both. A significant number of team members also identify as disabled or neurodivergent.
“It's not about filling some kind of a quota. It's about recognizing that representation matters in mental healthcare, for the quality of care we're able to offer and meeting the needs of people who fall outside the narrow boundaries of who Western psychology sought to serve.”
Reminder that, Stella Nova Psychology is currently accepting new clients for online therapy across California and New York. They specialize in therapy for women, couples, and the LGBTQIA+ community, welcoming people of all genders and backgrounds seeking high-quality, inclusive care. Sessions start at $160, with a free 20-minute consultation to help match clients with the right therapist. Sign up for a consultation call via their website: https://stellanovapsych.com/
