Culturally Sensitive Therapy

I bringing very so very significantly in differently based on where our families of origins are from. We live in a culture and a country where there are very many cultures although we are homogenized to look and feel like one culture, we are really truly so different. I recognize color, race, gender and I will incorporate all of that in our work together.

I have not only education and training but lived life experiences.

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.

Ensuring I provide culturally sensitive therapy is central in all of my work with clients. I prioritize making accommodations for my client's lifestyle and culture in my therapeutic services. I am dedicated to learning about each individual's background and belief system, rather than relying on assumptions. By creating a safe and inclusive space for clients of all identities to explore their thoughts and feelings, I aim to achieve more effective and meaningful therapeutic outcomes.

As a Black male therapist, I believe I have a deep understanding of the needs of individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds. I strive to be culturally humble and I support exploration in the areas of age, developmental disabilities, indigenous heritage, national origin, racial identity, ethnic identity, gender, socioeconomic status, and sexual orientation.

Working with a multicultural clientele has taught me not to make assumptions, but instead to trust my clients as experts of their own experiences. I strive to have open and humble curiosity about my clients' backgrounds, communities, traditions, and values as well as any experiences of oppression or lack of belonging. I also attend to my own cultural biases and how they may influence my thinking. Feeling heard and understood is of crucial importance to the sense of safety needed for healing!

Working with a multicultural clientele has taught me not to make assumptions, but instead to trust my clients as experts of their own experiences. I strive to have open and humble curiosity about my clients' backgrounds, communities, traditions, and values as well as any experiences of oppression or lack of belonging. I also attend to my own cultural biases and how they may influence my thinking. Feeling heard and understood is of crucial importance to the sense of safety needed for healing!

Kinship Counseling Collective believes each individual has a unique cultural identity and background that shapes their experiences and perspectives. Kinship is driven by our commitment to offer our clients culturally responsive and anti-oppressive therapy, empowering all of us to challenge and resist oppressive systems and work toward social justice.At Kinship, we value access and ease of finding excellent therapists of color. We wanted to support an increase in access through online therapy.

My training as a counseling psychologist is steeped in a holistic view of humanity: strengths-based, developmental, contextual, multiculturally-sensitive with a focus on social justice. I have taught many courses on on CST, but more importantly, I continue to engage in a personal ongoing practice of cultural self-exploration, including awareness of the privilege I hold. CST means that we can explore all aspects of your identity and the ways they influence and contextualize your experiences.

I think this is a key foundation to any therapy.

Diversity is intersectional and culture is so much more than simply race or ethnicity. I take into account the whole person and their experiences, beliefs, and worldview and let them educate me in their culture without making assumptions based on how they present.

A culturally sensitive therapist is one who is intentionally and mindfully curious about all ways of being human and all ways of healing. For the therapist, this takes work and deep listening, a willingness to be moved, disturbed, and humbled. Cultural sensitivity is understanding that there are experiences and feelings that you can never fully know or understand because you will never experience these things yourself (humility). It means staying vigilant for signs of implicit bias within.

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.

Based upon your unique pieces of diversity (e.g., age, gender, race, class, etc.) I work to uncover how to view these from a place of agency and strength; in your home, work and social spheres. Each of us have aspects of our identity which we aren't nurturing to the fullest of our ability.

This is the lens that I view therapy through.

A culturally sensitive therapist is one who is intentionally and mindfully curious about all ways of being human and all ways of healing. For the therapist, this takes work and deep listening, a willingness to be moved, disturbed, and humbled. Cultural sensitivity is understanding that there are experiences and feelings that you can never fully know or understand because you will never experience these things yourself (humility). It means staying vigilant for signs of implicit bias within.

As a Black gay male therapist, I feel I understand people's needs who come from diverse cultural backgrounds. As a person who endeavors to be culturally humble, I encourage exploration in the areas of Age, Developmental disabilities, Indigenous heritage, National origin, Racial identity, Ethnic identity, Gender, Socioeconomic Status, and sexual orientation.

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.

My counseling approach is warm, supportive, and encourages 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.