DEI Statement

As a healthcare professional, and trainer of other professionals, I remain committed to enacting and advocating for the principles of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).  

Recent executive orders to eliminate DEI from hiring practices, workplace culture, and by extension, healthcare, are antithetical to the ethics of mental health care.  DEI is a necessary first step in recognizing and addressing the lasting harms of colonization, the erasure of indigenous cultures, slavery, Jim Crow laws, gender inequality, and the marginalization of people with disabilities.

Revoking DEI ignores these histories and affirms the privilege of a few.  This will not just have devastating economic impacts on the global majority and people with disabilities, it will threaten physical and psychological safety.  I fear violent crimes and suicide rates will continue to rise as once again, those in power strive to relegate the othered to the shadows of society. 

Furthermore, incorporating DEI into mental health care is essential for providing holistic, culturally informed care. Most modern mental health care practices are rooted in a Eurocentric framework and fail to adequately capture the impact of intergenerational trauma, immigration trauma, racial trauma, among others.  They often exclude or inadequately integrate person-centered, culturally grounded healing practices – or, when included, these practices are frequently appropriated and renamed without proper recognition.

Now more than ever, It is imperative for mental health providers to educate themselves on the history of mental health care in our country and the ways we can and must do better, now more than ever.

What does this mean for trainingwithdrb.com?

First, I commit to learning and remaining humble.  I invite all those I work with to call me in or call me out when I make an error.

Second, I will continue to incorporate that learning, and the principles of DEI, into my trainings and workshops.

Third, I stand with the following joint statement from leading health care and medical associations on improving health through DEI (March 2024):

“…efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) seek to address the long-standing and well-documented inequities in our healthcare system and its impact on the health of our patients and communities. Excellence in patient care cannot exist until we have a physician workforce capable of caring for our patients and their needs holistically, and until the profession of medicine is accessible to all qualified individuals.” 

Sources 

The aforementioned reflections, statements, and calls to actions originate from the following sources:

Decolonizing Therapy by Jennifer Mullens, PhD @decolonizingtherapy

Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad @laylafsaad

So you want to Talk about Race by Ijeoma Oluo @ijeomaoluo

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates 

Sister Citizen by Melissa Harris-Perry @mharrisperry

Eloquent Rage by Brittney Cooper @professor_crunk

My TBR list is extensive and I commit to chipping away at it.  I am always open to recommendations.