Therapy for the Culture x the Culture Approach

1365 Main st,SPRINGFIELD MA 01103

24 July, 2021

Description

The narrative is that the stigma surrounding mental health is cultural. In fact, the issue is the lack of culturally competent therapists. The narrative is that the stigma that surrounds mental health is cultural. In fact, the issue is the lack of culturally competent therapists with the education required to serve marginalized communities. How we achieve this is with the decolonization of mental health education. If we are honest, psychology was founded by white men to the detriment and exclusion of people of color and women. My name is Whitney Dodds, I am the founder and CEO of Wellness for the Culture Mental Health Organization located in Springfield MA. I have created the Therapy for the Culture by the Culture Approach. This approach takes cultural competency training and amplifies it by adding lived experiences and voices from marginalized and poor black and brown communities. This approach is a social justice method that eliminates implicit and complicit bias in therapeutic practices. With this approach that includes naming and validating black experiences, I built my practice to capacity in just one year. We now offer an Internship program that enhances humanity and creates cultural equity in Mental Health Services. We equip our counselors with all they need to create safe spaces of healing for marginalized black and brown populations. Our mission is to dismantle the systemic and educational barriers that hinder counselors from creating the safety needed for black and brown people to access mental health treatment. Shifting the culture of mental Whitney Dodds is the founder of Wellness for the Culture, LLC a mental health practice in Springfield, Ma. She has obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, as well as a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology from American International College. Whitney is a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Connecticut and licensed mental health counselor in Massachusetts. Whitney is passionate about the well-being of people. She is reaching people through her blog, community events, and through therapeutic book club.  Her desire to begin building her practice is derived from witnessing the cultural needs of her community. Whitney's mission is to motivate, uplift, and educate people through mental health services. Her approach is tailor made to encourage engagement, within her community, all the while dismantling the cultural stigma that hinders black and brown people from receiving treatment.