Cultural and Systemic Oppression

As a first generation multicultural therapist creating a safe space for those that have been othered, marginalized, oppressed, and hold multigenerational trauma matters deeply to me. Since 2011 I have been working with and educating myself on DEI, multigenerational trauma and somatics, and have been working in large part with BIPOC/ the global majority. I am white passing, and welcome discussion about the impact of this; my intent is that a space is made for all of you, free of code switching.

Our therapists believe in addressing the global contexts that impact us and our clients.

Humans are brilliant learners, absorbing messages from our environments — families, society, culture — these external influences shape our identities based on creed, gender, colour, etc., which then shape our realities. Knowing who we are requires understanding these influences, and how it has influenced our lenses and behaviours. Only then, can we be empowered to feel in control of our lives.

I utilize a Treating Internalized Oppression (IO) framework as a foundation for all of my work with clients. This framework helps me to collaborate with my clients to hone in on how their interior world has been shaped by the identities they inhabit and the oppressions/traumas lived through in their lives, past and present. The goal of using the IO framework is to increase self-awareness toward liberation by identifying and metabolizing internalized messages that limit thriving.

Humans are brilliant learners, absorbing messages from our environments — families, society, culture — these external influences shape our identities based on creed, gender, colour, etc., which then shape our realities. Knowing who we are requires understanding these influences and how it has influenced our lenses and behaviours. Only with this deeper insight, can we feel empowered to regain control of our lives.

I believe that individual therapy is just piece in a pie of our overall healing, and that therapy has historically been a space to further individualize clients, and pathologize what is often a normal response to a system that is built on violence. I work to hold space for those impacted by this violence, while also advocating for the important work that can happen outside of the therapist’s office: that of communal healing and revolutionary activism.

Oppression can be covert or overt, but it is always unjust. Understanding how external factors, whether it be from legislative policies or society's perception, affect our lives makes it easier for us to learn how to navigate and break down these barriers. We must also mourn the ways in which our lives have been shaped due to oppression.

Have you experienced rejection because of your race, gender, or sexuality and are exploring what living as your authentic self looks like? Or are you wrestling with your faith as a result of experiencing the effects of racism, sexism, or other forms of injustice within your faith community? In our sessions, you will receive support in releasing the painful messages in your life. Together, we will sit in the tension and reconcile all parts of you so that you can embody authentic self with joy.

Cultural and systemic oppression are a pervasive element across our country and our world. These erode our spirit and sense of self. We my lived experience and training regarding strategies to attend to the sense of self and healing interventions, I strive to tend building the sense of self that they have chipped away.

My dissertation investigated body image across diverse populations including WOC. In particular I am interested in how WOC use their bodies as a commodity in order to compensate for systemic-level oppression and white-cis-heteronormative dynamics. Clinically, I work from a holistic, relational, empowerment focused and intersectional feminist perspective. I recognize that areas of oppression are linked and cumulative. I strive to use my privileges to help others create clarity and

Given that I approach therapy from an anti-oppressive lens, I am deeply committed to understanding how power and control manifest both within our sessions and throughout your life. Also, my training in liberation-focused therapy equips me with tools to address and dismantle systemic inequalities and power imbalances.

The need for social justice comes from the heavy emotional and physical toll that cultural and systemic oppression takes on us. Many of us carry the symptoms of oppression. It is in our bodies and spirits and shows up in work and in our relationships. I work with clients by teaching somatic techniques that help create inner support as well as strategize for ways to develop nourishing practices and cultivate interpersonal and community supports.

I utilize a Treating Internalized Oppression (IO) framework as a foundation for all of my work with clients. This framework helps me to collaborate with my clients to hone in on how their interior world has been shaped by the identities they inhabit and the oppressions/traumas lived through in their lives, past and present. The goal of using the IO framework is to increase self-awareness toward liberation by identifying and metabolizing internalized messages that limit thriving.

Are you feeling the weight of oppression more acutely? Social media and globalization has connected us all, but has also exposed us to more vicarious trauma by witnessing the victimization of members of targeted groups, especially with the rise of nationalism, xenophobia, and the effects of capitalism, globally. We can work together together to sort though your thoughts and feelings, and decide what kinds of action you'd like to take (if any) to heal and honor your culture and yourself.

I have a passion for working with those from diverse and intersecting ethnic, racial, cultural, and identity backgrounds and utilize a strengths-based lens in clinical work. As a member of the 2019-2020 Racial Equity Now (RENow) cohort of the nonprofit Dallas Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (Dallas TRHT), I am also steeped in local and national efforts to support equity.

I have expertise in assisting individuals who have experienced displacement and endured cultural or systemic oppression. My professional focus revolves around aiding them in the processing of trauma while fostering self-acceptance of their identities and facilitating the healing process.

Developed familiarity working with cultural and system oppression from necessity acquiring the skills to advocate for clients facing bias and discrimination as inherent parts of the therapeutic system, as well as from personal experience.

In my graduate education, I have both taken and taught classes on racism and systemic oppression. In my clinical practice, I see systemic oppression to be more then race; it also includes gender, sexuality, ethical non-monogamy, ability, citizenship, etc. Much of my experience working with cultural oppression include the manifestations of anxiety and depression.