Ryan Hartley shares how therapy helped him unpack the trauma and abuse of his childhood where he grew up isolated in an extremely religious household and with years of ex-gay, conversion therapy. He also discusses how therapy helped him come out, come to terms with his sexuality, and finding the tools to survive as an adult.

Ryan Hartley (he-him-his) is a theatermaker from Southern California. As a director and dramaturg, his areas of interest include macro-history, queer stories, intimacy, post-colonization, and empathy. Ryan is the chief dramaturg & founder of The New Cosmopolitans, developing and producing inclusive theater in dialogue with the present moment, toward a dynamic global future. Most recently, he’s been curating their ongoing development series, New Queer Works.