Toni Morrison, Beloved
Therapy for People of Color in Los Angeles:
As a Latinx/PoC, I know that there are many issues that affect the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) communities. Intergenerational trauma, racism, white supremacy, colorism, immigration laws, police violence against PoC communities, class disparities, the issues go on and on. As PoC we live in a society that has systematically oppressed us in many manners. In our climate now we face more overt hostility which understandably affects our mental health. Yet, one of the issues we face is a lack of intersectional health care and that includes mental health. Our health care has to be decolonized. We often are treated by therapists who do not address racism, often even POC therapists align with the pathology mental health care can often impose on our communities. Representation alone is not enough for our communities, we need mental health care that steps away from the cis white male theories that psychotherapy is founded on. We need mental health therapists who align with our communities not pathology.
The impact of racism, colorism and white supremacy on communities has a great impact on our mental health. We often have feelings that are invalidated or labeled as bad. If we feel angry, therapists try to tell us it is unhealthy. If we face discrimination we often are told we are too sensitive or we misunderstood the situation. The reality is that these reactions cause us to doubt ourselves, our self esteem is affected and we struggle with depression and anxiety due to the constant oppression faced.
Working with a Latinx person of color that has an understanding of systemic oppression can be helpful in a counseling session as we work together to unpack the internalized messages, normalizing your experiences and feelings without fear of being dismissed. As a Latinx person I have often experienced racism and the effects of white privilege which have had daily impacts on my own mental health. What I found helpful was connecting to those folx who understand oppression on a systemic level. As a daughter of immigrants I witnessed the discrimination faced by my parents for being from Mexico, for not speaking perfect English, for being brown. I also experienced my own discrimination for being a Latinx person of color. This lived experience allows me to work with communities of color in a manner that validates your truth, the oppression you face and to work together to help you learn to cultivate your own healing.
©Melissa Lopez
The impact of racism, colorism and white supremacy on communities has a great impact on our mental health. We often have feelings that are invalidated or labeled as bad. If we feel angry, therapists try to tell us it is unhealthy. If we face discrimination we often are told we are too sensitive or we misunderstood the situation. The reality is that these reactions cause us to doubt ourselves, our self esteem is affected and we struggle with depression and anxiety due to the constant oppression faced.
Working with a Latinx person of color that has an understanding of systemic oppression can be helpful in a counseling session as we work together to unpack the internalized messages, normalizing your experiences and feelings without fear of being dismissed. As a Latinx person I have often experienced racism and the effects of white privilege which have had daily impacts on my own mental health. What I found helpful was connecting to those folx who understand oppression on a systemic level. As a daughter of immigrants I witnessed the discrimination faced by my parents for being from Mexico, for not speaking perfect English, for being brown. I also experienced my own discrimination for being a Latinx person of color. This lived experience allows me to work with communities of color in a manner that validates your truth, the oppression you face and to work together to help you learn to cultivate your own healing.
©Melissa Lopez
"Tell them about how you're never really a whole person if you remain silent, because there's always that one little piece inside you that wants to be spoken out, and if you keep ignoring it, it gets madder and madder and hotter and hotter, and if you don't speak it out one day it will just up and punch you in the mouth from the inside.”
― Audre Lorde