Racial Identity Therapy in New York, NY
At Steady NYC, our psychotherapists believe everyone should be able to celebrate and honor their racial and cultural identity. However, we know that embracing racial and cultural identity can be a struggle for Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) individuals, particularly in light of so much history involving racism (systemic, societal, and individual), discrimination, and other forms of oppression. Examining racial and cultural identity issues requires a magnified look at both our history and our present. We believe anyone can benefit from therapy in Midtown Manhattan, New York, and recognize that therapy may be culturally taboo. Please know that therapy can be an invaluable tool which can help strengthen resilience and process racial and cultural identity issues for BIPOC communities.
Certainly, there have been a growing number of hate crimes toward individuals in the BIPOC community over the last several years. It’s important to remember that the stories we see or read about in the news are about real people who are experiencing real trauma and real injustice. These experiences can have a negative and lasting impact on racial and cultural identity and can contribute to trauma-related depression and anxiety. Trauma and injustice are an unfortunate but very real and deep part of our collective history and it’s important to acknowledge this truth during therapy sessions. Our team of professional therapists at Steady NYC can help people in BIPOC communities make sense of racial and cultural identity issues as it relates to their mental and emotional health and wellbeing.
Focused on your healing
White supremacy, privilege, unjust power structures, discrimination, stereotypes, toxic masculinity, and other forms of oppressive tactics in our culture are a grave threat to our sense of safety, our sense of belonging, and even our sense of self.
Working with racial and cultural identity issues in our therapy sessions, our trained clinicians at Steady NYC can address many of these very real threats. Together, we can identify healthy ways to process these threats and to reduce the stress and trauma-related effects these threats may cause.
Racial and cultural identity issues are quite common in BIPOC communities; however, this same population is often underrepresented in therapy. Left unresolved, issues around race and cultural identity can result in long-term stress-related trauma and perhaps even intergenerational trauma passed down from generation to generation. We welcome all within BIPOC communities to consider entering into therapy to resolve past and present trauma and to achieve healing and greater peace of mind. It is a brave choice to delve into such deeply personal and painful issues; we are here to help.
Our trauma-informed therapists at Steady NYC can help all who wish to explore racial and cultural identity issues and build coping skills to promote health relationships with the self and the community.
Your racial and cultural identity is significant; however, it is only one part of who you are. There are other parts, too, and when you work with one of our trained therapists at Steady NYC, we’ll explore and work to reconcile those parts as well. As a holistic and trauma-centered therapy practice in Midtown Manhattan, New York, our approach is focused on not just one issue or one part of you. Rather, we consider all of you. The emotional, physical, social, mental, professional, and personal parts. And we also consider past or present trauma you’ve experience to better understand your current feelings and emotions. Our objective is focused on your healing.
Racial and Cultural Identity
Our society and our culture operate through a set of largely unspoken expectations. From an early age, we learn from those closest to us how to handle various experiences including trauma, difficulties, and important life transitions such as school, religion, relationships, sickness, death, conflict, and more.
Community is very important. Interdependence is also important, as is self-reliance. And sometimes these can be in conflict. Working with one of our therapists at Steady NYC, we can help you strike a balance between honoring your culture and your history and your racial identity while concurrently honoring your own wishes and desires for personal fulfillment. It is not always easy, but it is possible. We know it is important work. We want you to know that you’re not alone.
Resilience is a powerful grounding anchor to who you are at your core. Resilience involves affirmation of one’s strengths and struggles, learning and
sharing one’s story – both personally and historically, and continued strength to advocate for the rights of ourselves and others. Therapy allows us to find the solid foundation of self-compassion, self-love, and self-acceptance we need in order to continue to meet the world in need of change.
We can’t build and cultivate resilience without acknowledging the pain and hurt in our lives. It is important to understand that this pain and hurt does not define you, nor does it define your group or cultural identity.
White supremacy, and the world for that matter, may give you constant invalidating feedback. Often, that feedback is exclusionary, degrading, and hateful. Therapy helps cultivate validating experiences both within one’s self and within our communities. Therapy helps us reconnect with an appreciate and love for our cultural and racial identity, provides space to celebrate these parts of us individually and collectively, and fosters the vulnerability to continue to embrace ourselves and others as we are.
Support for Racial and Cultural Identity Issues
As a team of trauma-informed therapists at Steady NYC, our practice is rooted in holistic therapy. This means we consider all of the different parts of the self, including the mental, emotional, physical, spiritual, cultural, and social aspects of your life. We are deeply curious about past and present traumas because we know they can create a disruption in our lives. We will work with you to create a clear path toward healing the whole person.
At Steady NYC, we provide effective therapy for BIPOC communities. Our work is dedicated to helping people overcome shame and trauma and develop a deeper sense of resilience, strength, self-love, and compassion. Contact us today.
We welcome our clients and seek to provide an environment that is open, supportive, and most importantly, shame-free and judgement-free. The journey may be difficult, but we are beside you, serving as a guide of sort to help you process and heal past and present trauma and to arrive at your own truth. We look forward to working together with our clients helping them move toward the future you’ve dreamed of.