“Racism largely persists not because of hate, but rather because of the inaction,

passivity, tolerance, and denial of racism...”

As our country reels from the horrific killings of Elijah McClain, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and countless other black Americans, many of us are struck with a sense of powerlessness. While we unfortunately cannot bring back these lost lives, one important step we can all take is cultural self-reflection, which is the process of exploring how the cultures we live in shape who we are (Goodman, 2015). Understanding how our identities and culture interact can help us better recognize in which ways our lives are easier or more difficult than the lives of others. One way we can engage in this process is by examining how we may experience privilege and oppression within our culture.

To demonstrate this self-reflection process, I will examine my own identity as a cisgender, bisexual, half-Filipino/half-white man living in a Western, American culture. As a cisgender man, I have access to certain privileges that my female peers do not. I am treated with less hostility and objectification, and I am generally paid at least 25% more than my female peers even if we both produce the same quality of work (Conner, Glick, & Fiske, 2017, p. 295). Additionally, my status as a cisgender man means I am less likely to experience poor legal protections, poverty, harassment and stigma, violence, healthcare barriers, and barriers to identity documentation than my transgender peers (Human Rights Campaign, 2020).

At the same time, I also believe that the bisexual and Filipino aspects of my identity make me more prone to certain forms of oppression. As a bisexual man, I am more likely to experience erasure and isolation than my heterosexual peers (Legge, Flanders, & Robinson, 2017, p. 141). I am also more at risk of experiencing negative consequences from colonialism such as depression and low self-esteem than my white peers (Felipe, 2015, p. 28-29). While these details do not compose my entire identity, they do provide a good starting point from which I can begin recognizing the strengths and gaps in my cultural knowledge.

For example, because I have had firsthand experiences with racism, there have been times when I have been more attuned to racist microaggressions than my white friends who have not had such experiences. At the same time, I have blind spots about the prevalence and severity of sexism and transphobia that many women and transgender people experience. Learning about my portrait can therefore allow me to continually grow as a person as well as better empathize and understand the experiences of others. Additionally, by better learning how our culture and identity, one can most effectively combat racism and oppression. This is because racism and oppression largely persists not because of hate, but rather because of the inaction, passivity, tolerance, and denial of racism by those in power (Sanchez-Hucles, 1999, p. 71).

Along with better understanding our own cultural background, taking the time to educate ourselves about different cultural backgrounds has been found to be immensely beneficial in curtailing racism (Guern, 2005, p. 57). One crucial piece of education we can all learn is the term “antiracist,” which is a person who is actively opposing racist policies through their actions and expressions of antiracist ideology (Kendi, 2019, p. 13). Taking an antiracist stance is key because simply being “not racist” is not enough to combat racism as inaction has been found to perpetuate racism and racist policies (Kendi, 2019, p. 13).

In addition to education, one can begin to take actions that actively dismantle racism and racist practices. Such actions include actively voting for policies that promote racial equity, advocating within social and professional groups that all racial groups are equals and none needs developing or assimilation, and actively rejecting cultural hierarchies and equalizing cultural differences among racial groups (Kendi, 2019 p. 13 - 81). To learn more effective antiracist policies, I recommend reading Ibram Kendi’s (2019) excellent seminal work How to be an Antiracist.

This work is not easy and does not simply stop after a certain point. Uncovering blind spots is a consistent, lifelong process. However, such work is crucial if we wish to create a more equitable, inclusive, and antiracist community. Creating such a world is key because when oppression is practiced, it damages not just the victim but also the oppressor (Sanchez-Hucles, 1999, p. 71).

Life is challenging, and we all need help along the way. I believe being accepted in a compassionate and non-judgmental manner is the key to fostering sustainable, holistic growth and healing.

I view my clients as the experts of themselves. As your counselor, I would encourage you to direct the course of your treatment and strive to provide you with a safe, supportive environment where you can bolster your inherent strengths. To help you obtain such growth, I work from a collaborative, person-centered framework to help you navigate through your personal and interpersonal distress.

My strengths include deepening self-awareness, developing coping skills, fostering effective and clear communication, and processing trauma histories. I have worked with individuals ranging from 18 years old to 55 years old and strive to provide you with a relevant, developmentally appropriate counseling experience. I enjoy working with both individuals and couples.

Additionally, my focus in multicultural counseling will ensure that we can work in a manner that is sensitive to your background and history. I also welcome any feedback about how I can continue to provide you with a more inclusive counseling experience

I have a MS in Mental Health Counseling from Montana State University, and I am working towards my clinical counseling licensure under the supervision of Rachael Dunkel, MS, LCPC, LAC, NBCC as well as Kory Ann Rogers, MS, LCPC, ACLC.

I have identified as an athlete almost as long as I can remember. My athletic career evolved from giving a go at the whole dance thing to a successful collegiate runner, and eventual cyclist. I have often had things to train for; to put my energy into, but with that being halted due to Covid-19, I’ve found myself taking a step back, reflecting.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the athletes who had their final seasons taken away from them due to the pandemic. While necessary, there is still a loss of the competitions that will never be. I think about seniors in high school and college who had one more season to look forward to, perhaps putting in a year’s worth of effort all for those final few months of their athletic career. Gone, so quickly. There is grief in this and important to honor that loss.

For many, perhaps sports may feel unimportant, however, for an athlete, this is far from the truth. As an athlete myself, I know how deeply rooted identity can be in the chosen athletic pastime. There is so much work that goes into sports that no one sees. Time spent away from friends because of training, early bed times and early mornings, carefully managing time so that every item on the “to do” list can get done.

Athletes, I see you, and know this time of uncertainty and loss can weigh heavily. It is okay to grieve the loss of a season, a race, a competition that you were so looking forward to. It’s okay feel some anger towards the situation. It’s okay to feel whatever it is you are feeling and ask yourself, what am I training for?

What a simple question, yet it feels so loaded. What am I training for? It’s easy when there is a season coming up, a race on the schedule, a competition date months out. We have a goal in mind, we train for that goal, and hope to execute that goal on the day. I have had races cancelled this year due to the pandemic. I support this decision fully, and have decided to use this time to reflect on my athletic abilities and my connection to the sport.

What I have found with reflection on athletics is that there are so many reasons people participate. Some do it purely for social purposes, others because they want to stay in shape, some because they are goal oriented, while others just like to push their body’s limits. It’s interesting, for much of my time as an athlete, I am not sure I would say I have trained for the very simple reason of just loving the sport.

When a sport becomes so wrapped up in identity, we can often lose our love. I felt this way about running. What once was a fun way to move my body became a complicated and unhealthy way to maintain calories, feel as though I was worth something, and ultimately, my entire identity.

This past year or so, I’ve begun to recreate love for moving my body that removes the thought of calories burned, trophies earned, and recognition from strangers. Biking, brought a joy to moving my body again that I didn’t know was possible. With races being shut down, I have been abruptly challenged to again reassess my drive to perform in races and ask myself why I am training.

The answer has not felt so simple at times. There are days when it doesn’t make sense to put in that much effort for races that are no longer on the schedule. Some days exercise still feels rooted in eating disordered thoughts. At the end of the day though, I have been able to come back to my root reason for pushing my body in the first place, I love to train. I love how it makes me feel. I love the mental clarity it gives me. And I love that, while races have been cancelled, I still feel driven to keep working hard in a sport that I love.

So, athletes, I challenge you to ask yourself, what are you training for? Create ways in which training perhaps can become more joyful once again. We have a rare opportunity to go back to the basics of the sport. Fall in love with your sport all over again, simply because you love it, now for what accolades it might bring you.

We will compete again someday, but ultimately, we are training for life, and life seems like a pretty important thing to be training for.

I am enough. When you hear that, do you believe it? To me, being “enough” is worthy of love, self-care, taking up space, and feeling capable of handling all the emotions, challenges and victories that come with life. Sometimes, our beliefs can navigate us away from a place that we feel we are enough. Dani wants you to help you own the belief you are enough, take away any doubt you may have and embody being enough and everything that comes with it.

She believes connection is vital to a positive therapeutic experience. She connects with my clients by creating a space for you to show up just as you are and meet you there. She takes an eclectic approach that is rooted in person-centered and strength based, with a focus on your needs and goals. After all, therapy is about you.

Self-Reflection: A Key Step to Dismantling Racism

What Are We Training For?