STAY WITH ME
A small, closed group for queer men who want to be met without having to perform, explain, or be fixed.
8 weeks · 8 men · online on Zoom · guided group space
What this is
Stay With Me is an 8-week online group for queer men who want a place to slow down, be real, and stay present with themselves and with other men.
It is not a course.
It is not group therapy.
It is not about fixing yourself.
It is a guided group space: held, structured, and carefully facilitated, where you’re supported to make contact, notice patterns, and begin to understand what’s happening in you and between you and others.
There is light teaching and framing woven through each session. Not lectures. Not slides. Just enough language to help you recognise familiar patterns, understand your nervous system, and name experiences many queer men were never taught how to make sense of.
Most men leave with more language for what they feel, more capacity to stay present, and a different experience of being with other men online.
What we do together
We meet once a week for two hours in a closed group of eight men.
Each session includes:
a short piece of orientation or teaching (10–15 minutes)
time to arrive in the body and settle
shared group space for speaking, listening, and silence
occasional dyads or small breakout rooms
grounding before leaving
The work is relational and embodied:
speaking honestly, at your own pace
listening without fixing or rescuing
noticing how you withdraw, self-blame, defend, soften, or reach
learning what it’s like to be seen by other men without explanation
There is structure, but no pressure.
There is guidance, but no agenda imposed on you.
What this is not
This group is not:
group therapy
a drop-in men’s circle
a motivational or self-improvement programme
a place where anyone will tell you who to be
It is guided. I’ll offer structure, gentle orientation, and occasionally a clear steer when it supports safety, pacing, and care.
Most of the change comes from what happens when men show up consistently and practise staying in real contact.
Who this is for
This group is for queer men who:
feel lonely even when they’re not alone
notice themselves disappearing in intimacy or closeness
are tired of performing or holding it together
want connection that isn’t organised around sex, advice, or fixing
are curious about what becomes possible when men stay together over time
This space suits men who are willing to show up consistently and take responsibility for their own pacing and support.
You don’t need to be in crisis.
You don’t need to be “good at groups”.
You just need to arrive.
The 8-week arc
This is a taster of the longer Stay With Me journey: enough time to build trust, feel something real, and meet your patterns in the room, without trying to cover everything.
Week 1 — Naming the Pattern
Why we run, how we disappear, what we do under pressure.
Week 2 — The Body as Home
Nervous system settling. Is it safe to be here, with other men?
Week 3 — The Fear of Being Seen
Shame, performance, identity armour.
Week 4 — Queer Intimacy
Closeness without obligation. Being held without it turning into something.
Week 5 — Desire Without Disappearing
Need, boundaries, rejection, and staying in the room.
Week 6 — Belonging
What inclusion feels like in the body. What happens when someone stays.
Week 7 — Anger, Grief and Softness
Emotional stamina. Holding what’s usually hidden.
Week 8 — The Voice and Integration
Asking, naming, repair. Marking what’s shifted and closing well.
The container
Format: Online group on Zoom
Schedule: Weekly, 2-hour sessions
Duration: 8 weeks
Group size: 8 men (closed once begun)
Start: March 11th (Wednesdays for 8 weeks consecutively)
Cost: €250
There is a dedicated WhatsApp group for logistics, reminders, and occasional prompts. It is not a support line.
Facilitation
The group is facilitated by James Byrne, psychotherapist, coach, clinical supervisor, and founder of Rainbow Minds and The Threshold Practice.
Over the years, I’ve worked with many hundreds of men — individually and in groups — many of whom arrive with similar experiences of shame, disconnection, longing, and difficulty staying present in intimacy. Stay With Me has grown directly out of that work.
My background includes training in counselling and psychotherapy, a master’s degree in adolescent psychotherapy (which strongly informs how I understand the unfinished emotional and developmental wounds many LGBT+ people carry), alongside further training in coaching, breathwork, and embodied practice.
I’m also the developer of the REPT approach (Relational Emotional Processing Transformation), a relational lens that focuses on how change happens through emotional contact, nervous system regulation, and integration over time.
My role here isn’t to direct the group or tell anyone who to be.
It’s to hold the structure, offer orientation when helpful, and protect the safety of the space so the group can do its work.
Interested?
Rather than an instant sign-up, this begins with a short conversation.
If this resonates, you’re invited to register your interest. I’ll then be in touch to arrange a brief, informal chat to see whether the group feels like the right fit for you — and whether it’s the right time.
The conversation is usually 10–15 minutes and focused on fit, boundaries, and any questions you have.
There’s no pressure to commit.
Places are intentionally limited to protect the group.
Stay With Me is an invitation, not an obligation.