Cultural and Systemic Oppression

caroline sabi (she/her)

Licensed Professional Counselor

LPC

I have lived in three different countries and have a deep understanding and respect for cultural diversity.

Joaquin Lopez (he/him)

Professional Counselor Associate

MS, NCC

Systems of oppression permeate every moment of our lives. Racism, sexism, and classism are few of the many systems of oppression that have been part of our story whether we are aware of it or not. Understanding how oppression has affected my personal being, I am able to work with clients to create a safe authentic space to honor their whole experience, and see them for who they are.

Lolo Haha (he/him)

Somatic Practitioner

M.A., Diploma of Process Work

I have engaged in social movement work of different types for most of the last decade, with a specific focus on transformative justice and how to heal in relationship. Coming from several privileged identities, I have done significant work to deeply transform how that training shows up and how to support others to build this awareness as well.

Quinn Rivenburgh (they/them)

Art Therapist

MAAT, ATR-BC, LAT, LPCC

Our binary, individualistic norms in Western culture create shame and blame for people who are suffering--when in reality, so much of suffering are due to systems of oppression and power. ▵ Life is lived outside of check-marks on demographic forms; our experiences are nuanced and intersectional. We gain or lose access depending on our social location, in ways subtle and micro. I support you in mapping these systems, and strategizing with you toward surviving and thriving.

Rebecca Flatt (She/Her)

Clinical Social Work Associate

I have researched a wide verity of resources pertaining to the oppression faced by Black, African American, Latino, and Chicano communities. My clinical conceptualization of the oppression facing these communities comes from a Black feminist/ Chicana feminist lens. It can help significantly to have someone who has walked a mile in the same type of shoes.

horizon greene (she/her)

Licensed Clinical Social Worker

LCSW, LICSW

I am a liberation-based healer who practices at the intersection of oppression and trauma. I approach my work with the support of my ancestors, my longing (and willingness to work) for a decolonized world, my gift of reaching for that very real possibility of healing and breathing life into it. I have an intractable knowingness that our imagination, creativity and visionary souls guide us toward healing. That our bodies and hearts are strong enough to hold this.

Ajay Dheer (He/They)

Marriage and Family Therapist Associate

M.S. Marriage and Family Therapy

In my graduate education, I have both taken and taught classes on racism and systemic oppression. In my clinical practice, I see systemic oppression to be more then race; it also includes gender, sexuality, ethical non-monogamy, ability, citizenship, etc. Much of my experience working with cultural oppression include the manifestations of anxiety and depression.

Miranda York

Licensed Marriage Family Therapist

I enjoy working with historical and ancestral trauma and consider the impact of the cultural, social, and political context of your life and the lives of your parents and grandparents. This has an influence on all of us, and I believe it's important not to just look at the nuclear family as an isolated, apolitical unit with singular influence on our psychology, but to consider the broader context

Jen Yerty (She/They)

Licensed Professional Counselor

LPC, CADC I

'To the privileged, equality feels like oppression.' Oppression takes on many forms in the lives of the oppressed, from financial challenges to negative self-talk, substance use to mental health challenges. Working on eliminating systemic oppression is a focus of my life and therapeutic work with clients.

Rebeca Rocha (She/Her)

Licensed Clinical Social Worker

PhD, LCSW

I have 6 years of experience working with immigrants and people of color. I have a PhD in Clinical Psychology and Culture, and I am knowledgeable about issues of systemic oppression. Having come to the U.S. as an immigrant from Brazil myself, I have a deep understanding of the challenges of adjusting to a new country or being part of a minority group.

Sam Skye (he/him)

Licensed Art Therapist

ATR, LAT, LPC

My work with clients often explores the impacts of oppression on mental health. Activism and art making focused on making and envisioning change can be part of our healing process.

Elizabeth Raffer Anderson (She/her)

Licensed Professional Counselor

LPC, NCC, M.A.

As a person who has a bachelor's degree in women's studies, I have a strong foundation on intersectionality and the importance of including social justice in my work.

Vy Pham (she/her)

Licensed Clinical Social Worker

LCSW

As a long time participant in mental health and social services myself, I understand firsthand the needs and systemic shortfalls that people marginalized by dominant culture face when trying to access tailored and anti-oppressive mental health care. I’m passionate about changing this narrative and landscape, and welcome these conversations into the therapeutic space. Let’s talk about the trauma of all the “isms” (racism, sexism, ableism, classism, colonialism, imperialism, capitalism, etc).

sandeep kumar

Licensed Professional Counselor

As a person of color, I understand the reality of coping with systemic oppression when one is of a cultural, sexual, gender or other minority. I make efforts to be sensitive to how this appears in my clients’ life, including challenging therapeutic modalities that are often conceived by and for those of majority status. I offer a safe space within today’s political climate.

Heather Simpson (she/her)

Marriage and Family Therapist Associate

MA MFT Associate

Navigating cultural and systemic oppression has been a lifelong journey. it's important that I share the knowledge that I have cultivated with others. As a Black queer woman, living in marginalized spaces, I am able to understand systemic oppression from different lenses. With coursework stemming from women’s and gender studies, to philosophy to psychology I built a foundation of understanding to help clients acknowledge how systems of oppression operate In their lives snd create change.

Neil Panchmatia (he/they)

Licensed Professional Counselor

MS, NCC, Licensed Professional Counselor

As a therapist and individual, I am keenly aware of the challenges of today’s sociocultural environment in our country and strive to do therapy that meets the unique needs and challenges of my clients – from a place of cultural humility and understanding of my own intersections of privilege/marginalization. Therapy is your place to heal, thrive and rebuild your resources to continue living.

Desiree Guzman

Licensed Clinical Social Worker

My graduate program concentrated on incorporating cultural competence in my work with individuals. We examined the effects of ongoing systemic oppression as well as how the dominant narratives effect our sense of person hood. There are multiple realities within a sociopolitical and cultural context that are defined by race, gender, as well economic status.

Heather Asaadi (she/her)

Licensed Professional Counselor

LPC

I think it is important to explore how your identity and relational patterns are impacted by different systems: family, culture, society, & oppression. These systems can play a significant role in our mental health.

Larissa Kaul

Somatic Practitioner

I have over a decade of experience in studying social justice theory and participating in social movements. I have engaged in many community organizing efforts throughout the years and taught social justice workshops centered on issues around race, gender, sexuality, class, ability, and others.

Pearl Waldorf

Licensed Professional Counselor

I am an assimilated white, Jewish identified cis gendered queer able-bodied woman. The anti-racism work I have been engaged in over the past few years is transforming my spirit, my world view and my lens on the work of relational therapy. Together we can help you ground into your own privileged and subjugated identities with an aim towards more more community and work effectiveness, more relationship satisfaction and deeper enjoyment in your life.

Erika Nelson (she/her)

Licensed Clinical Social Worker

LCSW

Unlearning harmful internalized patterns relearning different patterns is one of the most important tasks one can pursue to create transformation for ourselves and our world. I have worked for years with communities actively harmed by systems of oppression and am actively involved in personal and community development for healing and changing these systems. I work primarily with those socialized as white to support the lifelong work of unpacking how we perpetuate the harm caused to us by this.

Camillia de la Garza (she/her)

Licensed Professional Counselor

MA, LPC, CMA

Psychological theories and practices have historically perpetuated the cultural and systemic oppression of marginalized identities. I offer a safe space to challenge these inherited stories to support your being as your are an identity that is truly authentic to who you are.

Kimberly Christensen

Licensed Marriage Family Therapist

PHD

My practice is full of people from diverse racial, ethnic, and religious backgrounds. I work with interracial couples, lgbtqiq individuals/couples, and a multiplicity of relationship structures. I have a background in cultural anthropology, with an emphasis on social transformation. It is important to me to create a safe place to explore complex issues, and I do this by exploring and learning about my own biases, culture, and social conditioning.

Danette Gillespie-Otto

Licensed Clinical Social Worker

Prior to becoming a psychotherapist, I received training as a facilitator on issues of diversity and systemic oppression. Thus, my clinical lens is honed to not only recognize our individual and family experiences, but our group identity traumas as well. In therapy, we work with both your unique personal experience and your group identity experience.

Colette Gordon (they/them)

Licensed Professional Counselor

LPC

Systems of oppression are at the root of so much suffering and disconnection from each other and they also intensify it. While systemic change is beyond the scope of therapy, therapy can provide support with the impacts of oppression and support you in any work you are doing to resist or and dismantle systems of oppression. A lot of my work involves working to reduce and resist internalized oppression.