Christina ‘Cece’ Blum is a currently a trainee marriage and family therapist building experience at the intersection of spirituality, sexuality, and sexual health focused on affirming LGBTQIA+ and other nonnormative individuals and families.
Navigating the world as a late-diagnosed autistic person, Cece understands firsthand the tension between authenticity and expectation. That tension, a constant thread woven through years of masking, unmasking, and reclamation, has given her a profound awareness of the spaces where mental health systems fail to see, hear, or hold those who do not fit neatly within normative frameworks.
Her clinical training at Psychological Counseling Services in Scottsdale, AZ, has provided her with extensive experience in individual, couple, and group therapy, particularly within trauma-focused programs integrating systemic approaches. In that environment, Cece developed a closed process group for LGBTQ+ couples, that enables community to support emotional and relational intimacy.
Guided by experiential, particularly Virginia Satir’s Human Validation Process Model and psychodrama techniques, they value the therapeutic process as an invitation to reclaim one’s own story. Her work is steeped in the belief that healing is an act of reclamation and liberation—of voice, of identity, of safety within oneself and within relationships.
Cece’s advocacy extends beyond the therapy room. As Chair Elect for the AAMFT Neurodiversity Interest Network and Secretary for the AAMFT Arizona Interest Network, she actively contributes to expanding inclusivity and accessibility within the field. Her presentations at the National University JKFSOPSS Research Conference and the AAMFT Queer and Trans Advocacy Network Conference reflect her commitment to providing therapy within the margins. She explores how cultural, religious, and societal structures shape the mental health and relational well-being of LGBTQIA+ individuals, particularly Christian gay and bisexual men, trans, and non-binary clients.
Cece approaches their work with intentionality and care, creating affirming environments that honor complexity. Her academic training in systemic sex therapy, including coursework in Couples and Sex Therapy and Systemic Sex Therapy Foundations, informs her ability to address the nuanced interplay between identity, trauma, and relational health.
Cece’s vision extends toward developing community-based programs integrating trauma processing, experiential group therapy, and sexual health education. At the intersection of sexuality, spirituality, and neurodivergence, she aims to create adaptive, accessible resources that honor the diverse realities of clinicians and patients that identify with neurodiverse processing experiences. After graduation they hope to continue working in mental health and gain experience towards program development using their dedication to systemic justice, intersectional advocacy, and experiential therapy as their guiding compass. Hoping that her career will contribute to the communal work to dismantle barriers, reframe narratives, and cultivate spaces where healing feels possible.