Cultural and Systemic Oppression

My work is justice-minded counseling. The conversations we have will always focus on your experiences in the context of our world. You may have experienced injustices based on any axis of your identity. You may have experienced the consequences of being perceived as a woman or just as different. I want to create a safe space with you for every part of you that feels less than or not good enough because you're different. Let's build the world that fits your unique needs!

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. To know who we are requires understanding these influences, and how it has shaped who we are. By doing so, we can tease out who we are at our “core,” from what we’ve been taught. Let’s sift through these layers to find your true self.

The unprovoked deaths of women and men of color have exposed again the challenges that many of us face to have true equity in the United States. This, along with COVID-19 and the resulting economic impact have had a disproportionate impact on families of color. Understanding the systemic issues and how to address them proactively is essential for our mental health.

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.

"Racial Trauma" is REAL and "microaggressions/microinsults" are not your imagination. They are equally as REAL! When you suffer form "racial Trauma," you move through the world with a slight feeling of being gaslit and/or not believed. Let's confront this trauma and offer you some relief from systemic, systematic and institutionalized oppression, vis a vis "racism."

I believe in calling out and speaking the truth to the systems of oppression that surround and us and impact our healing journey. This may look like us having a conversation about your frustrations at work being compounded by the overt sexism in your industry or it could involve a safe place to unpack the microaggressions your mother in law drops at every famiy gathering. I think it's important to discuss these moments in therapy and I work to be an ally and a advocate for my clients.

Being bicultural/biracial, and having worked with the refugee and immigrant population for over 22 years, I have a deep-seeded passion for social justice and advocacy. I believe in being an agency of change and for providing safe spaces for individuals to explore and address ways in which they have been oppressed, marginalized, and disenfranchised.

I work with individuals facing cultural and systemic oppression because I believe in the power of compassion and understanding to create meaningful change. Many people experience discrimination and marginalization based on their ethnicity, race, gender, sexual orientation, or socio-economic status. These systemic barriers can lead to a host of emotional and psychological challenges, including anxiety, depression, and a diminished sense of self-worth.

Systems of oppression including but not limited to racism, heterosexism, cisgenderism, sexism, and ableism are often at the root of many of the suffering that bring people to therapy. I have 20 yrs of experience holding space to witness these experiences, to counter and prevent internalization, and develop strategies of disruption. I have trained and supervised therapists and other human services professionals to address oppression as an essential part of clinical work.

I chose to complete my studies in Social Work, specifically to study systems of oppression in our society, with a strong focus on religious systems of oppression. I am well-versed in religious systems of oppression, but this understanding translates to any hierarchical system: racism, workplace discrimination, family systems of oppression, interpersonal oppression (abuse and neglect), and financial oppression (capitalism). Where you have humans in societies together, there is always risk.

I consider myself a strong activist and work hard to understand how issues of oppression impact the problems presented in therapy. I understand how racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and any form of bigotry both on an institutional level and personal level, create huge amounts of stress in different populations. I taught for over a decade in a masters level course around understanding issues of oppression and internal biases and how they impact therapy.

As intersectional beings, intersecting systems of oppressions influence our experience incessantly. With the ever expanding technological and historic globalization, the oppression we face daily may even feel overwhelmingly debilitating. It's no wonder that many of us are experiencing burnout, insecurities, and overall disconnection in relationships. My approach to therapy values your insectional experience and how these systems influence your life, so that you can heal and engage differently.

Seeking out a therapist who understands systemic oppression, cultural factors related to identity, and how they may exacerbate organic symptoms should be easier. With this in mind, I orient my therapeutic work (and life) in acknowledgement of the many systems (overt and covert) that impact folks whose identities fall along the margins.

I specialize in Culture Shock & Cultural Identity Issues. Cultural assimilation is not just some fun theoretical concept one learns in school. Doing it successfully can mean the difference between getting a job and going hungry, between having friends or not having friends, between being shunned or being accepted in your new community, and between surviving and thriving.

Racism, patriarchy, able-ism, and other old tricks hurt, use, dis-empower, and silence human beings in the legacy of a "power-over." These tricks are in our language, religion, business, and other institutions. Even non-profits. Even families. Their subtle manifestations can hurt like the obvious ones, especially when they happen repeatedly. A "power-with" way of thinking supports equality, respect, and cooperation. I love to help people find support for power-with.

"Power-over" tricks like racism, patriarchy, and able-ism oppress, dis-empower, and silence human beings. These tricks are everywhere: in our language, religion, businesses, non-profits, even in families. Even in our own minds. Both the obvious and subtle manifestations cause harm, especially when they happen repeatedly. Together we can question oppressive assumptions, and replace "power-over" with "power-with" relationships of equality, respect, cooperation, and empowerment.