For Black women working with Black women, interested in exploring how we deal with the unique intersectional transference and countertransference that arise in treatment when working within our communities.
BIPOC Concerns
LaTasha Smith
Therapy is successful when one feels heard, understood, and accepted. Regardless of circumstances, my priority is to help you feel comfortable enough to explore unfamiliar territory. My role is simply to guide you towards asking the hard questions, in becoming curious about your life and encourage you to explore new behaviors and ways of thinking. You and I will address your most immediate and important concerns, while also paying attention to underlying issues and reworking old behavioral patterns and ways of living that you feel are no longer helpful to you.
I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. I received a Master of Social Work degree from Loyola University Chicago and a PhD from Smith College School for Social Work. My experience is based on of post graduate training, professional experience and lived experience. My work has involved working with trauma survivors of all ages, as well as the conditions that are most commonly associated such as eating disorders, self injury, behavioral addictions (shopping, emotional eating, gaming etc.) and depression.
My mission is to help those who have experienced trauma rebuild from brokenness, thereby creating more meaningful lives and relationships. Although trauma is commonly associated with life threatening events, I use a broader definition in my work. I believe that any experience that has a negative impact and interferes with healthy functioning, can be traumatic. I am honored to walk alongside you in this journey.
Sabrina Sierra
As a therapist, I see myself as a collaborator in an unfolding process of collective liberation. I take a holistic approach grounded in cultural humility and an understanding that our lived identities and ancestral lineages greatly impact our struggles and paths to wellness.
I received an MA in Integral Counseling Psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies, and a BA in Community Studies from UC Santa Cruz. I approach therapy with an interest in spirituality, archetypes, and consciousness. I am also grounded in material realities and bring a critical social justice framework to my practice. Issues related to racism, colonization, and assimilation are key areas of focus for me. Additionally, I have devoted several years to intersectional gender-justice work centered on the experiences of female, trans, and non-binary people, especially youth.
I was born and raised in the Bay Area and identify as mestiza or multiracial with recent generations of my family immigrating from the Philippines and Guatemala. Outside of my family of origin, I’ve found community through participation in DIY & QTPOC arts and music scenes and activist groups.
Tending to ourselves empowers us to more positively evolve our relationships, communities, and world. Supporting you in nurturing self-compassion, connecting to your inner-wisdom, and aligning with your personal values is my intention.
Maria Thompson
Maria is a first-generation Mexican-American woman who has worked in the mental health field and with the geriatric population for over 10 years. She has provided grief counseling, transitional support through life changes with couples, families and groups of unrelated persons. We are all individuals who require different interventions for navigating our personal goals and challenges/changes in life. The process of creating individual plans based on a patient’s strengths and resources is a creative process that helps Maria find joy and excitement in the work that she does. She loves that her work allows patients to build their tool box for managing phases in their lives. In addition to being a psychotherapist, Maria is a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS), Substance Use Disorder Rehabilitation Counselor (SUDRC) and Zumba Instructor.
BIPOC Mothers Group (Black, Indigenous, and/or People of Color)
BIPOC Mothers offers support and solidarity within a society that is inherently racist and patriarchal.
Do you identify as BIPOC* (Black, Indigenous, and/or a Person of Color/non-white) in the early stages of motherhood?
Have you struggled to find a moms group that centers YOUR experiences?
We welcome BIPOC mothers of all genders, those who are pregnant or have a pregnant partner, trying to conceive, adopting, postpartum, and up to their child’s first year of life. Note: AAPI- identified moms are welcome here too!
Kate Viernes
I am a licensed clinical social worker with over 7 years of experience providing psychotherapy to adults, teens, and youth. Before starting my private practice, I worked as a clinician and clinical manager at a community-based mental health program in Oakland serving APIs (Asian Pacific Islanders) and immigrants and refugees from various parts of the world. In this setting, not only was I able to develop a high standard of clinical rigor in my work, but I found and grew a passion for mental health advocacy, outreach, and preventive education. I worked on several projects aimed at reducing mental health stigma among high-risk populations including Asian seniors, adults with severe mental illnesses, and my personal favorite, high school and college students.
I became interested in ethnic studies and the social work/mental health professions as a Sociology undergraduate student at the University of San Francisco, particularly after doing my senior field work placement at a residential substance abuse recovery program serving the API community. I went on to attain masters degrees in Asian American Studies and Social Welfare at UCLA. These two disciplines are grounded deeply in the pursuit of equality and social justice, and they continue to inform how I see the world and try to empower others to change and grow. While at UCLA, I researched the experiences of Filipinx Americans and wrote my master’s thesis on racial microaggressions experienced by Filipinx American youth in Hawaii, where I grew up. Simultaneously, I studied social work and did field placements at a program serving the homeless community in Los Angeles (my first year) and in the Los Angeles Unified School District’s School Mental Health Program (my second year). Additionally, I attained the Pupil Personnel Services Credential (PPSC) which allows me to practice social work in California’s K-12 public schools.
Kelia Parker
I am an experienced Licensed Clinical Social Worker and owner of 180 Urban Wellness, a wellness company of anxiety and depression therapists specializing in supporting BIPOC and LGBTQ+ identifying adults to overcome self-doubt, fear and trauma to live more fulfilling lives through incorporating mindfulness therapy and holistic services. We incorporate mindfulness based practices into our therapy sessions to address the mind body connection that Western approaches do not address.
Our practice is 100% virtual and your work with us will include identifying what your main challenges are, developing a plan to address them, and learning specific skills to cope and improve your overall well-being.
Jennifer Quan
Rooted in trauma-informed social justice and holistic perspectives, I’m passionate about facilitating transformative healing processes and empowering skill-building with people of all ages. Together, we can attend to what is happening and needed on the levels of mind, heart, body, and spirit for healing trauma and nurturing resilience.
You can expect me to be warm and curious, honest and engaged, open-minded and deeply affirming. I hold deep appreciation for multicultural experience and identity, and it’s especially meaningful for me to work with people who are marginalized by institutions of power and privilege.
I move through the world as a second generation Asian American woman, empath, life long learner, auntie, evolving spirit, and lover of nature, creative expression, and embodied movement. I believe in the power of joy, vulnerability, and authentic expression in forging a path towards personal and collective liberation.
BIPOC Adult Group Therapy
Join AMJ and Christhmus Presence for pay-as-you-may virtual group therapy. Sessions start 8/24. Late enrollment closes 9/7.
Sessions are 90 minutes and will be held once a week over the course of 10 weeks. Group capacity is 8-10 people.
About AMJ (they/them/their):
AMJ, ASW is a queer, disabled, nonbinary Black femme descendant of Africans who were enslaved in the Southeastern United States and ultimately settled in Low Country/Gullah Geechee/Lower Creek/Yamasee lands (Savannah, GA). They are a “coachy therapist”, focused on helping (QT)BIPOC blend ancestral healing traditions with therapeutic approaches such as Brainspotting, healing-centered (aka trauma-informed) therapy, expressive arts, aromatherapy, and problem-solving. AMJ resides in San Pedro and takes care of self via gardening, music, food, and their adorably snarky doggo named Dilla.
About Christhmus (pronoun at your pleasure):
Christhmus Presence (Chris Chu) will be facilitating all groups above, and is a 3.5-generation Muwekma Ohlone (San Francisco) land-settler, and Chinese-American Queer by Ancestors’ way of Guangdong, China. Pillars that guide them are liberation psychology, narrative psychology, somatic psychology, trauma-informed therapy, spirituality, and expressive arts. Tools held in support of self-resourcing, clarity, and ancestral connectivity include meditation, Tapping, and Brainspotting. They enjoy plants, creative expression, the power of community, and being in water.
Registered Associate MFT #125037 through The Center for Mindful Psychotherapy, supervised by Shawana Booker LCSW #29165
Kamaria Wells
Hello, I’m Kamaria, a third year art therapy graduate student, at Notre Dame de Namur University. I am looking for adults of Color who have experienced racialized trauma in their educational experiences to be part of a therapeutic arts healing group and study for 4 weeks (90 min on zoom).
My path to Art Therapy encompassed growth and discovery in the fields of education, social services, mental health, community organizing, vocational rehabilitation, political, and legal fields. During these varied experiences she was introduced to art making and discovered the therapeutic nature of art through personal process. The universality of Art Therapy is beautiful, every individual ranging from nonverbal with physical limitations to extremely able cognitively and physically, can benefit from it. With a BA in International Studies from UNC-Charlotte, Kamaria’s multi-cultural knowledge will enhance her ability to work with various communities and accommodate traditional healing needs. Kamaria looks forward to continuing to work in underserved communities and helping destigmatize therapy, as Art Therapy is the bridge that allows traditional talk therapy to be more accessible and less intimidating, especially for those often forgotten and omitted from history.