Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)
People who treat other people as less than human must not be surprised when the bread they have cast on the waters comes floating back to them, poisoned. — James Baldwin
As a therapist whose aim it is to create a healing environment, I am committed to holding space for the ways in which the people with whom I work who come from marginalized groups — whether they are a person of color, identify as queer, trans or non-binary, live in disabled bodies or large bodies — have experienced profound injuries embedded in experiences of being treated as less than human. It is important for me to acknowledge these experiences if I hope to be able to create a relationship in which healing from trauma, from distressing thought and behavioral patterns, or from relational injury can occur.
I must also be able to pay attention to my own assumptions — the bread that I cast — and to know that cultural, racial, ethnic, embodied and disembodied, gendered or non-gendered experiences are always going to be a presence in the therapy room, a presence that must be addressed for any kind of working relationship to truly develop. And the conversation must be ongoing, a part of the dialectic between me and my client which it is my responsibility to tend. I am committed to making space for this kind of dialogue as an ongoing part of the therapeutic relationship, just as I am committed to doing my own ongoing work through professional trainings, personal exploration, and self-education.