Therapy is Ours: De-stigmatizing & Decolonizing Mental Health

​

This training workshop will explore the idea that the process of therapy (talking with a professional for work on one’s struggles) actually connects historically with the ancestral practices of the Chicanx community (and other Brown, Black, Indigenous communities). While much of our community does not reach out and have many negative ideas regarding mental health, ancestrally our people have always know the power of “healing through talk.” Chicana/os (and other communities of color) have been disconnected from many of our ancestral ways of healing. Our people who had struggles would reach out to respected elders of the community to talk through these struggles. This workshop will discuss and outline how the process of “modern” therapy is in fact congruent with many of the ancestral and current cultural values of the Chicanx community. The first part of the workshop will discuss the de-stigmatizing of mental health issues and therapy for Brown and Black communities and discuss ways to RE–connect to our ancestral wisdom of healing through talk. We will discuss how issues such as depression, anxiety, acculturative stress, discrimination, and post-colonization stress impacts our lives and how mental health services can be helpful and sometimes lifesaving. The second part of the workshop will focus on the importance of decolonizing the mental health field to be more responsive to the Chicanx community. Certain values and common practices in the mental health field can often isolate or invalidate the experiences of Chicanx clients. Part of this decolonization process is de-centering individualistic values and expanding notions of wellness and well-being to be more inclusive of indigenous and ancestral ideas. While this training is focused on mental health professionals, ANYONE in the Chicanx community (and other marginalized communities) interested in these issues will find this workshop beneficial. Our community has a long history and legacy of wellness, strengths, and help-seeking behaviors where we recognize the values and strength of “healing through talk.” In this way, we can reconnect and see how, in fact, Therapy is Ours.

​

As a result of participating, the attendee will be able to:

 

1. Identify the most common effects of depression & anxiety on Brown & Black populations

 

2. Describe the ancestral practice of a healing circle.

 

3. Define ‘decolonization” as it applies to mental health practice.

​

*Program content focuses on application of psychological assessment and/or intervention methods that have overall consistent and credible empirical support in the contemporary peer reviewed scientific literature beyond those publications and other types of communications devoted primarily to the promotion of the approach.

​

Diversity Statement: The presentation content respects and attends to cultural, individual and role differences, specifically related to Chicanx and Latinx communities as evidenced by the title, program description, learning objectives and references. 

​

Audience

This presentation is intended for psychologists, other licensed mental health providers, and graduate students of psychology.

​

Location: Online Live Workshop

​

3 Continuing Education Credits

​

                          Innovation Behavioral Health Solutions, LLC is approved by the American Psychological                                  Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Innovation Behavioral                                        Health Solutions, LLC maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

​