“By recognizing the areas in which [therapists] are members of dominant groups, [they] become more aware of the ways in which such identities can limit their knowledge and experience.”
Pamela Hays
Identity
Let’s talk Identity. Here at Whole Connection we give attention to the many different cultures and identities that we and our clients are bringing in to our sessions. We believe in the practice of broaching identity with all of our clients. This practice brings both the visible and invisible into the relationship as an agent for healing and change.
Our team actively works to explore how both our privileged and marginalized identities may be impacting our work and our clients. We engage in ongoing education and conversations to continuously push our edges in this work and to ensure that we remain humble, open, and ready for feedback when we don’t get things right.
Multicultural mindfulness asks us to have a regular practice of asking ourselves important questions like:
Where do I hold privilege and how might these areas affect my work?
How have these cultural influences shaped who I am, how I see myself, how I see my clients, and how my clients see me?
How have they influenced my comfort level with other groups?
What kind of assumptions might be made regarding my visible identities? How have I made assumptions about other visible identities?
How can I go about seeking spaces to further develop my awareness of biases that may exist because of my privileged identities?
We strive through these ongoing practices, to create a courageous, educated, and comfortable space to explore identity and the impacts that culture, society, power, and oppression have on each one of our clients.