Anti-Racist Healing Work

As Kendi says, "There is no neutrality in the racism struggle."

We believe that in order to ethically and competently support our diverse community our practice has to embody this concept. This means that we hold awareness of the fact that the mental health industry has caused just as much harm (if not more) than good to minoritized populations, and that our education is based in a Western medical system with all the inherent biases that go along with that, and that we must be responsible for the power that we hold as mental health providers.

With the above understanding, we accept that our experiences differ from one another, but that we must strive toward Acceptance + Advocacy. Tolerance is not enough.

Levels of Dealing With Cultural Difference - There is a natural tendency to view the self as ‘normal” and the other as “aberrant” which must be actively deconstructed to honor another's story. We may respond in the following ways to "otherness":

  • Rejection - Refusal to accept another person’s way of being and deny visibility and resources

  • Tolerance - Minimal allowance or acknowledgment

  • Acceptance - Welcome other ways of being and invest in the comfort of others

  • Advocacy - Actively work toward the goals of a group and utilize personal resources to further those goals

  • **It is important to note that we might fall at different places depending on what "other" community we are talking about.**

Another way to understand the concept of how we respond/interact with cultural differences is through the zones of an Anti-Racist Journey (Adapted by Ibrahim from Kendi, 2019).

What This Looks Like in the Therapy Room & Supervision:

  • We will clearly and kindly call each other into growth work

  • We will name and attend to differences so they can be processed

  • We will not put the labor of education on our clients

  • We will lean into discomfort and process work in the name of growth

  • We will honor the belief that our clients are the experts in their own lives

**PROCESS QUESTION**

(Answer via email to info@gatherandgrowoc.com)

Pick a population/identity that is different from your own. Identify your level of Cultural Difference in relation to this community as well as what Learning Zone you believe yourself to be in and explain why. What could you do to move into the next zone?