Cultural and Systemic Oppression

I have been a victim of systemic racism and oppression pretty much my entire life. Biased and discriminated against multiple times. However, through the mercy and grace of God and the people and resources He has brought into my life, I have gained a better sense of self and what my purpose and calling in life is; to serve people with compassion, dignity, integrity, and respect.

I offer specialized treatment for race-based trauma and internalized racism using Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy. This approach allows us to explore the different parts of you that have been impacted by racial trauma, helping you to understand and heal the wounds of oppression, discrimination, and internalized beliefs. IFS creates a space where you can connect with these parts compassionately, unburden them, and reclaim a sense of inner balance, self-worth, and empowerment.

"Racial Trauma" is REAL and "microaggressions/microinsults" are not your imagination. They are equally as REAL! When you suffer form "racial Trauma," you move through the world with a slight feeling of being gaslit and/or not believed. Let's confront this trauma and offer you some relief from systemic, systematic and institutionalized oppression, vis a vis "racism."

A few common themes thread throughout my areas of focus, such as racial trauma, systemic oppression, colonization, and even state-sanctioned violence to name a few. As a multicultural therapist, I may be curious about how cultural factors influence your experiences with risk and safety. Together we can explore these issues in a calm and non-judgmental way. My goal is to hear you, see you and understand you.

I aim to create a space where my clients can safely discuss how the systems around them either uplift their wellbeing or bring it down. It is our responsibility as therapists to hold space for complicated truths and also acknowledge that the wounds of all oppressed people are related to each other. Aside from being a therapist, I am nationally recognized leader in mental health policy and equity, and this awareness fosters a deep empathy I have for the experiences of the historically oppressed

All of us are brilliant students of our society, — our families, communities, societies, culture. These factors shape our identities based on creed, gender, colour, etc. — which then shape our realities. To know who we are requires understanding these influences, which reflect this imperfect world as well as how it has shaped who we are. By doing so, we can tease out who we are at our “core,” from what we’ve been taught. I look forward to shifting through these layers with you to find your true

Clinically, I work from a holistic, relational, empowerment focused and intersectional feminist perspective. I recognize that areas of oppression are linked and cumulative. In response, I work to help clients navigate these complex dynamics and improve their quality of life. As a Cis-White, Able-Bodied female, it is my job to do the background work and create a space where clients can explore, learn and understand themselves better. You are the expert of your life.

Yams developed familiarity working with cultural and system oppression from necessity acquiring the skills to advocate for clients facing bias and discrimination as inherent parts of the therapeutic system, as well as from personal experience.

Humans are brilliant learners, absorbing messages from our environments — families, society, culture — these external influences shape our identities based on creed, gender, colour, etc., which then shape our realities. Knowing who we are requires understanding these influences, and how it has influenced our lenses and behaviours. Only then, can we be empowered to feel in control of our lives.

Clinically, I work from a holistic, relational, empowerment focused and intersectional feminist perspective. I recognize that areas of oppression are linked and cumulative. In response, I work to help clients navigate these complex dynamics and improve their quality of life. As a cis-white, able-bodied female, it is my job to do the background work and create a space where clients can explore, learn and understand themselves better. You are the expert of your life.

I specialize in working with young adults who are navigating the pressures of academic, career, and personal life, while also confronting issues related to race, identity, belonging, and the impact of social injustices.

As intersectional beings, intersecting systems of oppressions influence our experience incessantly. With the ever expanding technological and historic globalization, the oppression we face daily may even feel overwhelmingly debilitating. It's no wonder that many of us are experiencing burnout, insecurities, and overall disconnection in relationships. My approach to therapy values your insectional experience and how these systems influence your life, so that you can heal and engage differently.

Seeking out a therapist who understands systemic oppression, cultural factors related to identity, and how they may exacerbate organic symptoms should be easier. With this in mind, I orient my therapeutic work (and life) in acknowledgement of the many systems (overt and covert) that impact folks whose identities fall along the margins.

Doc believes in education and creating communities for transformative, adult learning. Doc is completing their third doctoral program at Morgan State University in the School of Community Health and Policy. As a DrPH student, Doc's work is grounded in carceral abolition, complex trauma, addiction recovery.

Identifying as part of the global majority in a system that was created to marginalize and oppress people of color is challenging, to say the least. Though dismantling the system is a goal, taking care of your individual self is vital. The conversation around systemic oppression often uses active language like "fight", but when it comes to you, I wonder if we can incorporate more rest. Part of what is stolen (among labor and time) is rest and the energy to take care of yourself.

Oppression can be covert or overt, but it is always unjust. Understanding how external factors, whether it be from legislative policies or society's perception, affect our lives makes it easier for us to learn how to navigate and break down these barriers. We must also mourn the ways in which our lives have been shaped due to oppression.

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.

As intersectional beings, intersecting cultures and systems of oppressions influence our experience incessantly.

Therapy is never culture neutral, and our cultural identities deserve to be held and celebrated alongside of challenging and confronting marginalization and oppression from larger systems. The way we move through the world is deeply impacted by the context of culture and systems of power and oppression. Messages we see, hear, and feel from these systems and intersections of cultural identity can negatively impact our mental health and healing. I want to hold space for you in a healing process