Culturally Sensitive Therapy

Our cultural identities shape our experiences, values, and perspectives, influencing how we view and navigate the world. By acknowledging and integrating these cultural factors into therapy, we can create a more personalized and meaningful therapeutic experience. Culturally Sensitive Therapy involves recognizing the impact of cultural, ethnic, and racial backgrounds on mental health and addressing the unique challenges faced by individuals from diverse communities. It aims to create a safe and

I have experience working with people of many cultural backgrounds including Hispanic/Latinx, BIPOC, and LGBTQIA+. It is important to me as a therapist to consider your background/identity as well as my own as our culture/identity provides context for our behaviors and understanding of the world.

Having lived in different countries and engaged in my own self-growth with a therapist, I’ve grown to see the world through various different lenses. I believe this makes me uniquely equipped to help individuals navigate their journey in therapy, especially the LGBTQ+ community. Every person deserves to live a full, authentic life without fear of judgment or exclusion, and that’s what I’m focused on with my clients.

You are the expert on your culture and identity. Treatment goals are collaboratively set, integrating your beliefs, values, and personal context into therapy. This approach tailors interventions to your unique needs, fostering trust by eliminating assumptions and misunderstandings. It creates a comfortable space, ensuring you feel understood. As a result, this method promotes more effective, sustainable outcomes, empowering you to achieve lasting change.

Culture plays a large role in how we express ourselves, how we are viewed by others, and how we experience our every day life.

Ethical counseling is necessarily multicultural and culturally sensitive. I tailor sessions to your unique cultural background, including your race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and language of origin. I have lived and worked in several countries, having spent most of my career in Latin America. I provide fully bilingual services in English and Spanish, and also speak French and Italian.

Each person on staff receives training in this area multiple times a year. Culture sensitivity is also part of our mission.

I believe that we all see the world through our own cultural lens. Being allowed to learn about a client's world and belief systems is a truly humbling experience. With my experience as a former diversity coordinator coupled with being aware of the various cultural stipulations that exist in society allows me to provide you with the necessary and relevant interventions that would not only be respectful to your beliefs but also catered towards the system we are a part of.

Dr. Galega-Sabum combines her clinical expertise and advanced education to offer compassionate, evidence-based psychiatric care for adults teenagers and adolescents.

Ensuring I provide culturally sensitive therapy is central in all of my work with clients. I prioritize making accommodations for my client's lifestyle and culture in my therapeutic services. I am dedicated to learning about each individual's background and belief system, rather than relying on assumptions. By creating a safe and inclusive space for clients of all identities to explore their thoughts and feelings, I aim to achieve more effective and meaningful therapeutic outcomes.

As a second-generation Arab American and child of immigrants, I understand the richness and beauty that being part of a collectivistic culture can provide. Yet I am also aware of the issues that can arise in trying to forge your own identity and create fulfilling relationships while embracing the most meaningful aspects of your culture. I love working with children of immigrants trying to navigate intergenerational family dynamics or cultural conflicts in a way that feels best for you.

I am intersectionally oriented and strive to understand each aspect of a client's context and identity and intersectional layers which exist, specifically for marginalized or oppressed communities. To promote holistic healing and to engage in an authentic therapeutic space, we work collaboratively, to identify each unique intersectional experiences as valid and legitimate.

I believe that context matters, and recognize that each individual exists in a larger system (family system, cultural context, etc). I am curious about how issues that present themselves in therapy may be informed by these larger contexts and systems, which also includes an awareness of issues related to power, privilege, and marginalization. I bring this curiosity with me, while honoring you as the expert in your own experience.

I think it will be most meaningful to include a real patient review: “Dr. Ambardar has tremendous insight into personal & collective trauma & the impact of ancestral trauma on a person's life. It is not often you come across a professional who has an in-depth understanding of collective trauma & its impact on an individual's life. Her work & her insights have been supportive in my own healing journey. I highly recommend anyone wanting to connect with their ancestral histories to work with Dr. A"

I work with clients in a collaborative relationship to identify goals for therapy and treatment or growth plan. Together, we will identify what will be helpful, to explore how you relate to yourself (your thoughts, feelings, body, identity), the context within which you live, and how the heck to manage the societal structures we have to navigate. As a therapist I aim to practice with cultural humility, and will educate myself on topics important to you.

I believe that understanding how sociocultural, systemic, and institutional forces influence the ways that you traverse this world. Examining such contexts can facilitate the harnessing of your internal wisdom as well as become more connected to your collective and ancestral experiences.

I encourage clients to share how their cultural experiences shape their identity and challenges. I'm open to discussing cultural issues and how they affect the client's mental health. In our sessions, it's important to foster a safe, inclusive space where clients feel comfortable expressing their cultural identity without fear of judgment or misunderstanding.

To be culturally sensitive is to practice cultural humility with respect and genuine interest. I love learning about the many different cultures and subcultures of people I meet, including my clients, but I do not expect my clients to have to explain who they are or where they come from. I offer a safe space to be vulnerable and to share experiences, feelings, hopes, and dreams for people from all backgrounds and identities.