Culturally Sensitive Therapy

We strive to provide culturally responsive and affirming services that are sensitive to the unique needs and challenges faced by marginalized communities, including Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) and to gender, sexuality or relationship minorities. In our clinical work, we utilize an intersectional, culturally-grounded approach to understand dynamics of power, privilege, and oppression that have shaped our clients identities and lived experiences.

In a culturally responsive and humble approach, I work to bring all aspects of your identity as strengths in the counseling environment. I believe that when we are in touch with all aspects of our identity, we are better able to proactively address the challenges that are facing us.

We have a diverse staff with different backgrounds that help understand your unique experiences based on the intersectionality of your identities.

To paraphrase Ignacio Martin-Boro, for psychology to be truly emancipatory it must first sever itself from its own idealogical chains, from psychology itself. Dominant psychologies implicitly serve the status quo by defining health as adjustment to white, middle class, heteronormative, colonialist social norms. I aim to support you in reconnecting to your own cultural-historical-ancestral sources of health, healing, & resilience towards a deep integration of heart, body, spirit, story, & culture

John has extensive education and clinical experience working with diverse populations.

Many of the clients who see me experience identity issues or trauma symptoms related to racially based or intergenerational traumas. My professional training and experience as an activist and advocate spanning decades underlies much of my focus on racial and social justice. I'm particularly attuned to issues of "difference" among those whose experiences do not reflect dominant thinking regardless of whether that experience reflects marginalization: Mixed-race, interracial and multicultural.

I use a culturally sensitive lens to allow clients to be the experts in their own lives, as coming from a place of non-judgement and understanding.

I work with clients in a collaborative relationship to identify goals for therapy and treatment or growth plan. Together, we will identify what will be helpful, to explore how you relate to yourself (your thoughts, feelings, body, identity), the context within which you live, and how the heck to manage the societal structures we have to navigate. As a therapist I aim to practice with cultural humility, and will educate myself on topics important to you.

I believe strongly that our culture(s) play a huge role in our happiness as well as our dysfunction. I take social, cultural, family, and systems level factors into account when working with clients and believe that healing our relationships to our cultures is a major part of overall mental health.

As a bicultural/bilingual therapist, I am attuned to the profound impact of my clients‘ cultural background on their communication.

Culture informs how we view and understand our values and others around us. It's important to integrate that into therapy, as well as for me to respect and understand your perspective.

Social justice and advocacy are core pieces to a therapist's identity. They have to be able to navigate complex cultural issues that transcend race and cultural identity. These issues are often the source of a lot of the issues our clients are struggling, and a therapist must be able to identify the impact of culture and identity on the presenting issue.

I believe that context matters, and recognize that each individual exists in a larger system (family system, cultural context, etc). I am curious about how issues that present themselves in therapy may be informed by these larger contexts and systems, which also includes an awareness of issues related to power, privilege, and marginalization. I bring this curiosity with me, while honoring you as the expert in your own experience.

Ethical counseling is necessarily multicultural and culturally sensitive. I tailor sessions to your unique cultural background, including your race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and language of origin. I have lived and worked in several countries, having spent most of my career in Latin America. I provide fully bilingual services in English and Spanish, and also speak French and Italian.

All of us are conditioned by our surroundings — our families, communities, societies, culture — without exceptions. No matter your creed, gender, colour, etc., we carry experiences from our past, tinted by the world around us. Understanding who we are requires understanding these influences; otherwise, we cannot tease out who we are at our "core," from what we've been taught. Even if there is overlap, there is also a difference! I look forward to sifting through the layers with you.

I do not know everything about your culture, and I will not act as if I do. I will take time to get to know you and how your culture impacts your desire to make changes.

Culture plays a large role in how we express ourselves, how we are viewed by others, and how we experience our every day life.