culturally responsive therapy
Online therapy for BIPOC adults in Ontario
What is culturally responsive therapy?
Culturally responsive therapy recognizes that healing is not a one-size-fits-all approach.
No person or profession is immune from the impact of the broader culture in which it developed. The field of psychology emerged from Western cultural traditions and perspectives on the human condition. As such, the field of psychology was not created with diverse experiences in mind.
When you don’t see yourself represented, it’s hard to believe your mental health matters.
But your mental health does matter. And you deserve support that integrates cultural awareness, sensitivity, and respect for diverse experiences. Your multi-faceted identities and cultural strengths deserve to be affirmed, while taking into account how you’ve been impacted by systemic barriers and intergenerational oppression.
You can be your full self here.
Together, our work will be built upon an inclusive and accepting foundation so that you can feel respected and celebrated in all that you are.
maybe you…
Have a racialized identity or identify as BIPOC
Have a minority ethnic or cultural identity
Have a bi-cultural or diasporic identity
Are an immigrant or a child of immigrants
For the many people who call Canada home but have roots elsewhere, there is a sense of living in between cultures and not having a clear map to guide the way.
Whether you yourself have left your homeland, or migration was a part of your family history, you might be wondering, “Who am I really?” and “Where do I truly belong?”
We can work together to chart a map that is your own – rewriting the one you’ve inherited or the one dictated by dominant culture – so that you can live authentically in connection to yourself and to others.
Finding a therapist who shares similar identities with you can sometimes be helpful.
You may feel more at ease and understood, in having someone recognize the nuances of your cultural context. You may feel less of a burden in educating your therapist about your lived experiences. This can facilitate trust and strengthen the therapy relationship, allowing you to deepen your healing journey.
Sharing identities with your therapist is not a guarantee, however, that you will be understood in the ways that you need.
A culturally responsive therapist must actively work on relating to you as a unique individual in your intersecting identities. Additionally, a culturally responsive therapist must engage in the ongoing work of understanding themselves and their limitations and biases.
If I look like you and you want a therapist who can share in the experience of being Asian in Canada, I’m here for you.
If I don’t look like you and you’re unsure about working together, I’m here for you and your caution is valid.
culturally responsive therapy can address:
Bi-Cultural & Bi-Racial Identity
You feel the internal tension of living between cultures. You feel conflicted navigating differing and sometimes opposing cultural values, norms, and expectations. You don’t feel culturally “enough” in any of your identities and don’t know where you belong.
Adult Children & Parent Relationships
You feel the pressure of meeting your parents’ expectations out of duty and respect for them, while striving to be true to yourself. Or perhaps, you have difficulty knowing who you are and what you want separate from what has been expected of you.
Intercultural relationships
You feel a culture clash with your partner, who comes from a different cultural background. You and your partner’s perspectives and values rarely align. You feel protective of your heritage and don’t know how to reconcile your differences.
Minority Stress
You look around and there is nobody that looks like you. You feel like you’re under the spotlight while at the same time feeling invisible. You feel on alert and emotionally drained by repeated and subtle moments of exclusion and prejudice.
Racial Trauma
You feel scared, angry, or powerless in the face of injustice. Whether you’ve experienced overt acts of racism, or more subtle but frequent discrimination in your day-to-day life, it has chipped away at your sense of self, safety, and belonging.
Intergenerational trauma
You know that your ancestors had to survive through political conflict, poverty, or oppression. Although you don’t have a clear understanding of the source, you have a feeling that your struggles today are connected to the adversity endured by generations past.
Acculturation & Assimilation
You’ve moved away from everything that you have known, to make a new home in a foreign land. You’re constantly trying to figure out an unfamiliar culture while trying to survive. You wonder, “How much do I adapt to fit in? How much of my heritage do I keep?”
cultural bereavement / Diasporic Grief
You feel a sense of loss in being disconnected from your roots. Perhaps you feel the grief of losing traditions, language, community, or identity. You struggle with articulating exactly what you have lost due to the ambiguous nature of this type of grief.
Mental Health Stigma
You grew up learning to be stoic and resilient, and to keep your problems to yourself. You were told that therapy is a last resort and only for those with “severe mental illness”. You feel conflicted about being the first in your lineage to go against the norm.
You don't have to deny parts of who you are to fit into a mold.
Together, we can affirm all of who you are, in your multi-faceted identities, and your unique experiences.
Let’s connect
Book your free 15-min phone consultation