Black Lives Matter

I Am Not Neutral

As a therapist, I have been trained to remain neutral, to keep my personal beliefs and biases out of the office so that clients feel safe in my non-judgement. In most circumstances, this is easy for me. But increasingly since 2016, it has felt harder and harder (and just plain wrong) to stay neutral in the face of hate. It is a betrayal of my core beliefs as a human AND as a therapist to hold space for those who would actively or passively see others harmed based on skin color, ethnicity, gender/identity, sexual preference, religious beliefs, economic status, ability, body size, or any other difference. 

I am sorry it has taken this long to come out overtly on the side of, not only justice, but love. I am sorry it has taken so long for other businesses to come out overtly on the side of justice. And I worry that, for many businesses, the anti-racist statements being made in the wake of George Floyd’s death are just marketing. I hope not. Time will tell.

If you are thinking about working with me in therapy, be informed that I am staunchly on the side of love. I am firmly on the side of trust. And those two things are not possible without justice and empathy. 

We have all internalized racism, sexism, ableism, contempt for fat people, and myriad other prejudices. It’s impossible not to when we are fed a steady diet of subtle and overt messages about what garners acceptance and belonging (primal human needs) and what garners ostracism, exclusion, and rejection. 

If you would like to explore and heal these internalized prejudices when they come up for you, I would so love to support you. However, if you need a therapist who will hold space for contempt, judgment, or rationalization of injustice, please look elsewhere. I am not the right therapist for you.