Q: “How are you doing things differently than what you were taught in grad school?”
Therapy is political.
I can’t separate therapy from social justice anymore: if one group is not free, all of us aren’t free. True freedom cannot exist in a society where some groups face oppression, discrimination, or limited rights.
Liberation-based healing
…is hard to reframe and unlearn. The language in which I initially type out from thoughts are wired from years of indoctrinated academia from psychology where it centers on people’s struggles, suffering, pain points, deeply rooted in colonization, pathologizing and problem-solving, rather than recognizing systemic oppression or honouring the wisdom and agency people already have and need from community and care.
Re-indigenizing.
I am slowly digesting that most of what I learned in grad school about the field of psychology is deeply appropriated from Indigenous, Eastern, African ancestral practices…eg. maslow’s hierarchy of needs (Blackfoot people) (Yoga: India, commodified into a fitness trend; focusing mainly on physical postures (asanas) without the spiritual or philosophical teaching that are core to its practice; EFT (chinese acupuncture); Mindfulness based cognitive therapy: and Mindfulness-based stress reduction draw from Zen Buddhism and Vipassana meditation; ACT: eastern practices: buddhist philosophy, mindfulness and acceptance; Somatic therapies: Indigenous healing traditions- body-mind connections; peter levine even discusses spending extensive time in Africa, pulling from some areas of chinese medicine)
I think of harm and repair differently.
Rooting in anti-carceral practices and harm-reduction approaches when it comes to supporting those who need immediate care and oversurveilled groups: seeking alternatives (community-based) interventions, pod mapping, Grassroots organizations/resources, care planning collaborating with folks I work with and their loved ones are involved instead of involving authorities to reduce retraumatization and systemic harm; ongoing informed consent and advocating; support after reporting/note taking, ethical reflection through the intersectional pieces at play: critical examination of our role as the ‘mandated reporter’ within systems of power and control.
On repair.
Healing also includes addressing the harm caused to clients. Academia/grad programs don’t teach us how to repair in ways where we address the systems that affect us; where we stay in the middle with folks: to stay in connection, and birth a new cycle that isn’t violent. This is different from fixing/solving; it’s a deep embodying of the impact from institutional systems that exist, races and identities, kin based violence have harmed us.
Q: “How is being a therapist at this point in time different from what has come before?”
Saying no to ‘therapy hats’.
I’ve realized there’s no such thing as a ‘therapist hat.’ I no longer wear multiple ‘hats’ to separate my roles in and out of the therapy room. This shift has helped me show up authentically—both with my clients and my loved ones. It’s also allowed me to align with my living ethics, ensuring the work I do feels liberating rather than stifling or oppressive.
Professionalism vs. Competence is ever-changing in online therapy.
The landscape of online therapy is constantly evolving, especially when balancing professionalism and competence:
Professionalism involves adherence to ethical guidelines, maintaining boundaries, and presenting oneself in ways that foster trust and credibility in a therapeutic context.
Competence focuses on a therapist's ability to effectively address clients’ diverse needs, requiring ongoing professional development, recognizing limitations, and seeking supervision when necessary.
In my practice, transparency is key. I focus on supporting underrepresented groups through community care, addressing systemic issues in the therapy field like policing and mandated reporting. Guided by ethics and social justice, I try my best through a harm reduction approach to ensure therapy is effective and rooted in care and connection.
Transparency and shared identities and values in the therapy room.
Therapy isn’t neutral. Many clients value transparency to ensure their therapist’s values and identity align with their own. It’s not just about visible traits—for instance, I’m a fair-skinned, medium-sized East Asian, able-bodied, and femme-presenting individual. Beyond these, I am a first-generation immigrant, born in this city with Mandarin as my first language, neurodivergent, living with complex PTSD, vegan, and demisexual. When seeking out my own therapist, I prioritize someone who “gets it,” who doesn’t just validate but can advocate for me, and is committed to creating a better world for all of us.
Therapy lingo has become less stigmatized, but weaponized.
The normalization of therapy language in daily life is a sign of progress in reducing mental health stigma; however increased use of therapy language comes with unintended consequences like how people may misuse therapy terms to control in conflicts or undermine others, making emotionally manipulative statements sound like legitimate boundaries or justifying hurtful behaviour as “self-care.”
Weaponized therapy language can obscure personal accountability. Phrases like "that's my boundary" or "you're projecting" can shut down meaningful dialogue, potentially preventing resolution or deeper understanding and curiosity for connection and repair.
Rationalizing is not as needed bc the culture does that enough: rational processing vs. Feeling processing; going back to listening to our body and embodying values, hope, change is what I see many of us needing right now.
Recent shifts in social justice and Empathy
Over the past 5 years, we’ve witnessed climate change crises, movements like #MeToo, Black Lives Matter, the Covid-19 pandemic, and the surge in fat liberation and HAES. We’ve seen the impact of systemic issues like greed, environmental justice, and the dark history behind Indigenous communities. From Roe v. Wade to the exposure of the entertainment industry complex, these events have sparked empathy. However, true solidarity requires more than just words—it's about living ethics through actions, not just blackout posts. I hope the therapy field can move towards one that actually protects us and keeps us safe.
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