Reader,

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Last week I heard from you and your thoughts on “cultural competency”. Thank you!

So I want to share some more thoughts about: cultural connection versus cultural competency in mental health and wellness spaces.

As therapists and healers, our vision is all about connecting with our clients and building relationships. We strive to model the kind of relationships we want them to create in their own lives to help them heal. It’s the heart of what we do.

Unfortunately most of us learned via grad school and/or via our governing bodies to interpret connection and appropriate treatment through cultural competency. We’re supposed to believe that by earning those CEUs, we’re becoming more competent. We even quantify it, checking it off our list after completing a few hours each year. But does this really make us culturally responsive/humble/curious? The truth is, it’s not our fault if the emphasis in grad school and during internships/practicums was not to fully grasp what genuine connection means, especially when working with people who don’t share our identities.

Here’s how we do it differently. What I believe we truly need is cultural connection, which involves acknowledging and bridging the gap between our identities and those of our clients.

Some therapists view culture as a set of values, characteristics, and ways of thinking. But they tend to forget that these values exist within individuals or groups with intersecting identities. I believe we should focus on those identities—both our clients’ and our own:

That’s how we begin to bridge the gap. More on that next week! (unless you send me another email -please do! with more great thoughts to unpack and to comment on and share with everyone… otherwise, more on bridging the gap next week!)

In the meantime, hit reply and let me know how you’re connecting with the person and not just the culture. Let me know your thoughts and experiences!

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☀️ In community,

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Silvana @ Decolonize Your Practice​

PS. Starting late this year or early next, I will be offering workshops on the various ways of having inclusive and affirming practices🔥
Click on the topic that interests you the most to make sure you are the first to know about them:

• ​starting/having a liberatory praxis,
• ​reviewing your values & decolonizing your professional/personal foundations,
• ​healing from internalized oppression, deep identity work & connecting with others,
• ​use of micro-power, using your inner resources, & resisting from within,
• ​grief as liberation,
• ​offering spaces of repair after rupture,
• ​community care for healers & helpers,
• ​stepping into your medicine -instead of using someone else’s-,
• ​healing from white supremacy,

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Let's connect!