There are frequent discussions in the therapy field about whether therapists and therapy are political or whether we should feign a kind of political neutrality. When we live in a world that treats some people as worthy, as having lives that matter and which are worth protecting while others are scapegoated, it is important to be explicit about where one stands on such matters. Below are some of my positions and commitments, which are non-exhaustive. If there is something that matters to you that I have not mentioned and that you wish to check out with me you are welcome to do so.
My practice is affirming of all LGBTQIA+ identities. Sometimes it may be hard for someone to feel affirming of their own gender and sexual identities so it may be helpful to have a space in which you can explore the often-mixed feelings that come up, which I welcome. Nonetheless, I do not pathologise this.
I am committed to the continual task of becoming anti-racist and actively work towards dismantling my biases, blind-spots, and the ways in which whiteness operates in and through me in oppressive ways. I put myself in spaces where I am accountable to others for this work.
I am keen that we find ways together to make space for the nuances and intersections of your identities, including, but not limited to racial, cultural, and spiritual identities.
I value and ascribe to the neurodiversity paradigm and welcome neurodivergent clients to my practice seeing neurodivergence as natural difference not deficit.
I am fat-positive and anti-diet. I believe we each deserve to find a home in our bodies, as they are, regardless of health status or how closely we resemble the current beauty standards, and know, also, that given the levels of fatphobia and weight-discrimination in the world that it is very hard to feel this way about one’s own body. That does not mean I will tell you what to do with your own body because I also believe in body autonomy.
I do not pathologise personalities and think that “personality disorder” labels are harmful to too many people and often trauma and/or neurodivergence makes more sense in the lives of individuals thus labelled.
See more about my approach here.
