Decolonizing Therapy Can Treat Depression, Anxiety, and Trauma

Individuals who belong to the BIPOC and queer communities often require mental health services to cope with racism, sexism, ableism, heterosexism, transphobia, homophobia, and all of the other oppressive reactions faced by marginalized groups.

While most people of color and/or people in the queer community navigate their lives experiencing joy, unconditional love from family and friends, and earn enough income to live comfortable lives, there is still an undercurrent of violent legislation and behavior based on patriarchal values, White supremacy, and capitalism.

Inhumane Systems: The Patriarchy, White Supremacy, and Capitalism

Because we are born into these intersecting and harmful systems, I invite clients to question what they think they know about their social identities and where they learned these lessons. I invite them to question if they learned how to express emotions based in these systems. Finally, I invite them to question where their thoughts come from, especially negative thoughts about themselves.

The goal of decolonizing the healing process is to question these systems and unlearn harmful messages found in patriarchy, White supremacy, and capitalism.

How do I decolonize therapy?

Here are the 5 ways I will decolonize therapy for you:

1. Unless you are paying for therapy using your insurance or you require a diagnosis for a bureaucratic reason (medical leave, reasonable accommodations, gender affirming surgery, or emotional support animal letters), I avoid giving you a diagnosis because your symptoms are likely a response to generational and present-day marginalization and oppression.

2. You are asked to guide each session with your counseling goals; however, topics can shift as more salient issues come to the surface. Treatment plans are only used if insurance companies require them for reimbursement.

3. All traditional interventions are adapted for clients in marginalized groups. You are invited to adjust the interventions to fit your personality or current lifestyle. Individuals of color and people in the queer community require culturally appropriate mental health services to survive in this world and learn to thrive. In decolonized therapy, you are the expert of your own lived experience.

4. Your presenting problem is validated and externalized so that you are aware that your problems would look different if you did not inherit and experience racial trauma, if the country you live in did not consider you a social pariah due to your appearance, and/or your gender was decolonized instead of pathologized as dysphoria.

5. Finally, I invite you to tell your story from your perspective, then revise those stories without the negative lens of patriarchy, white supremacy, and capitalism.

It is not sufficient to do this work on an individual level. I advocate for societal and systemic change using personal, collective, and legislative power.

Decolonized Therapy Sessions with Me

In my therapy practice, I specialize in working with people of color and individuals in the queer community. I meet people who have health insurance, a college degree (or two or three) and live financially comfortable lives.

They are often recovering from childhood or relationship trauma, plus the minority stress of living in a society of oppression, marginalization, capitalism, patriarchy, and white supremacy that can leave them feeling emotionally exhausted, invisible, and disconnected from themselves.

Some individuals report symptoms such as insomnia, the inability to concentrate or experience joy, a decreased or increased appetite, or a feeling of hopelessness.

I question if these symptoms are due to chemical imbalances in the brain or a response to a society that does not welcome BIPOC and LGBTQ+ folx into many community spaces, work environments, and global conversations about human rights.

In therapy, it is the health insurance companies dividing the therapist and the person needing mental health services when the health insurance demands that a person can only get therapy if it is medically necessary.  

While I understand the capitalistic need for insurance companies to only provide mental health services for people experiencing severe symptoms, I wonder if we, as a society, may abandon those diagnoses and labels and focus on navigating this unhealthy puzzle of systems to achieve some semblance of joy and pleasure in the present.

I wonder if we can move past surviving the workplace and learning coping skills to thrive in our own lives.

You do not have to navigate the patriarchy, white supremacy, and capitalism alone. You can get help with your mental health issues using decolonizing therapy where we explore how to deconstruct what we have all been taught about surviving in this world as unique humans.

Do you want to learn more?

Schedule your free 30-minute video or phone consultation now. It’s time to take the first step towards feeling better.

Not sure if you are ready for decolonized therapy? Let me share what happens in a free consultation:

o We will meet via video or phone for about 30 minutes.

o I will ask about why you want to start therapy now.

o We will discuss past therapy experiences, what worked, what didn’t.

o I will explain how a typical session will go.

o We will find a day and time to start your first therapy session with me.