Cultural and Systemic Oppression

I believe that understanding how sociocultural, systemic, and institutional forces influence the ways that you traverse this world. Examining such contexts can facilitate the harnessing of your internal wisdom as well as become more connected to your collective and ancestral experiences.

I have received training on supporting clients who are impacted by racism. I also have lived experience navigating and healing despite living within cultural and systemic oppression.

As intersectional beings, intersecting cultures and systems of oppressions influence our experience incessantly.

Identifying systems of oppression can be daunting. If we allow these to go unchecked, we may end up internalizing such toxic narratives, which in turns affects us internally and how we relate to the world. Whether you are white or part of the BIPOC communities, I provide a safe and non-judgmental space to recognize those oppressive forces that affect your life and regain your confidence, develop a critical consciousness, and learn practical tools to be more skillful to deal with the world.

I am so happy that we are finally naming the issue instead of silencing, erasing, gaslighting, pathologizing or criminalizing those who are at the effect of it. The ways in which the violence manifests in people's lives can take many forms. And the symptoms can resemble other issues. But if we cannot differentiate cause from response, we will not be able to effectively engage or heal.

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.

Clinically, I work from a holistic, relational, empowerment focused and intersectional feminist perspective. I recognize that areas of oppression are linked and cumulative. In response, I work to help clients navigate these complex dynamics and improve their quality of life. As a Cis-White, Able-Bodied female, it is my job to do the background work and create a space where clients can explore, learn and understand themselves better. You are the expert of your life.

I understand that many of the struggles you face have nothing to do with you, but with the systems in which we have grown and developed. I help you find empowering ways to address oppression, whether in your daily life or on a broader scale.

until all of us are free, none of us are. my practice centers the reality of our interconnectedness and deeply acknowledges the consequences of late-stage racial capitalism and legacies of white-supremacist colonialism. i work to help folx externalize what these systems have made us to believe about our realities so that we direct our rage and grief at the true roots of our suffering instead of ourselves.

I encourage clients to connect with their inner child to unlearn the internalized oppressive messages that result from life, on a micro and macro level; with the belief that unlearning these messages can empower folx into moving forward and reclaiming their lives.

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 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.

All of my practices are shaped by being anti-oppressive (to reduce harm), liberatory (to find ways of healing and thriving), and de-colonial (challenging the harmful impacts of colonization and white supremacy culture). I support clients from diverse and often marginalized backgrounds, include LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, immigrants, and diverse abilities.

It would be easy to tell you to just be yourself. The reality is that there are systemic constraints which require many of us to navigate our identities based on what is called for in our environments. I want you to be free and I also want you to be protected. I enjoy helping clients process the reality of oppression while carving out space in their lives to further express themselves.

Humans are brilliant learners, absorbing messages from our environments — families, society, culture, whether these messages are positive or negative. 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.

Identifying as part of the global majority in a system that was created to marginalize and oppress people of color is challenging, to say the least. Though dismantling the system is a goal, taking care of your individual self is vital. The conversation around systemic oppression often uses active language like "fight", but when it comes to you, I wonder if we can incorporate more rest. Part of what is stolen (among labor and time) is rest and the energy to take care of yourself.

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

As a therapist committed to dismantling cultural and systemic oppression, I provide a safe space for you to explore the impact of social injustices on mental health. Let's navigate these complexities together and generate empowerment, healing, and social change.