The therapeutic field has a long, shadowed legacy of perpetrating harm to those who do not embody the white supremacist, patriarchal, and colonizing idea of “normal” and who do not espouse those worldviews in this society. This includes race and ethnicity, however it also incorporates gender, sexuality, relationship models, family, community, work, life purpose, education, spirituality, emotions, physical/mental ability, body size/appearance, earth-connection, and more. It is my job to continue to practice decolonizing the practice of therapy by dismantling the values, privileges, and ways of being that I have internalized and experienced by growing up as a white person in a white supremacist society – and bringing that growth and understanding into my work and my field.
It is my commitment to engage in ongoing dialogue, decolonizing-self work, training, and education outside of my services – in order to be able to provide therapy that upholds, affirms, and celebrates the sacred gift of having many ways of being in this world, while de-centering white worldviews as the ideal or “normal” way of being.
This means that when you work with me, I will practice my commitment to hold space for your worldviews and identity, and how they impact your self and life’s path. If we discover areas that bring you difficulty or suffering, or where you disagree with what you’ve been taught, we will work together to find your voice and vision, how they relate to your legacies, and how to integrate those on your path.
Every culture has gifts and shadows. It is also my job to help you explore the shadows of your legacies. By doing this we will look to make a path of embodiment for all that aligns for your unique life’s path, while decolonizing what has been harmed and exploited. We will also create space to reclaim and integrate what may have been lost, and grieve and release that which does not serve.
This also means that in working with me, I will invite in opportunities for healing the impact of living in a society that centers and idealizes white, patriarchal, colonizing worldviews and identity (through all the layers), and imposes abuses, harm, negativity, and invisibility on those who do not assimilate or embody those worldviews and identities.
I practice from an understanding that experiences of oppression can be covert and shrouded in gaslighting just as often overt and escalated in layers of violence. Additionally, I practice from an understanding that the ways the trauma of oppression impact your present day self are often held within generational legacies of the trauma of oppression. This creates multidimensional layers of harm that deserve care, support, and healing.
At the same time, I practice from a belief in the healing power of centering and uplifting the incredible sacredness that you hold within you – from your own being and from all those who have come before you – that is more than anything that has been done to you. It is from connecting to and uplifting this place within, where we can find the internal support to heal even the most painful of places.
In this way, I hope to provide a space for you to experience your own path of healing and transformation, and to support you in discovering your unique, very necessary, and truly sacred way of being in this world.