Therapy for BIPOC Mental Health in NYC

Our team of therapists with doctoral-level training bring a social justice-oriented and multiculturally responsive approach to therapy. We’re committed to open, compassionate, and supportive conversations about your BIPOC identity and mental health. We don’t believe that therapy should be identity-blind or one size fits all. And one of the ways we tailor therapy for you is by understanding your feelings and experiences of being BIPOC, and finding ways to support and empower you in that part of who you are.

As a BIPOC person, you deserve therapy that affirms your identity and acknowledges the unique experiences and stressors that come with it. Your racial identity may be something you’re proud of or processing for the first time - and we know it can also be complicated or even painful. Whether you identify as Black, Multiracial, Latinx, Asian, Indigenous - therapy for BIPOC mental health can uniquely support, celebrate, and even help you grow in connecting with yourself.

For us, supporting BIPOC mental health means taking the time to understand the ways race, ethnicity, or culture has played a role in who you are and what you’ve experienced. While there’s greater attention on multicultural psychology and inclusionary mental health these days, there’s still a lot that needs to evolve. Part of the way we support that change as social justice-oriented therapists is by centering the psychological needs of those who identify as part of the BIPOC community. If you’re interested in learning more, reach out to schedule an introductory call. We’d be happy to share about how we work.

 

Therapy for BIPOC mental health can help with

  • Processing the emotional or traumatic effects of experiencing (or fearing) stereotypes, racism, or microaggressions

  • Facing new jobs, opportunities, or social environments

  • Racist experiences not being taken seriously when reported

  • Perfectionism or people pleasing as a survival strategy to offset bias

  • Emotion regulation strategies after being misjudged, excluded, or activated

  • Racial identity exploration, ambivalence, or complexity

  • Internalized shame, self-criticism, or self-doubt

  • Navigating Multiracial identity or interracial family dynamics

  • Feeling not [fill in the blank] enough

  • Code switching, or the exhaustion of behaving inauthentically to succeed

  • Loneliness and isolation

  • Interracial relationship stress or difficulty parenting together

  • Xenophobia, visa stress, immigration-related adjustment or unknowns

 
symbolic image of racism

Going to therapy for identity trauma or discrimination

Racial trauma is a unique type of trauma that’s often unaddressed or dismissed, but carries real and lasting impact on your emotional wellbeing. Experiencing verbal, emotional, or physical threats based on your race or other implicit forms of discrimination leads to increased anxiety and dysregulated nervous system, let alone hypervigilance about the future and how feel safe.

Sometimes the effects from a specific incident of racial trauma can lead to PTSD or look like the symptoms of complex trauma - especially if you experience invalidation, gaslighting, or repeated or unrelenting discrimination.

In getting to know new people for the first time, we as psychologists often ask about painful past experiences whenever you’re ready to share them. This is partly to understand your personal history and how it’s shaped you - but mostly so we can validate, support, and care for you now in ways you may never have gotten in the past (or know you deserved). Sometimes people assume because things like racism or xenophobia are just how the world is, it doesn’t occur to them to focus on them in therapy. However, we’ve found that doing so can be tremendously helpful and healing.

The real mental health effects of racism, xenophobia, and vicarious trauma

There are many types of race based stress or xenophobia, ranging from racial microaggressions sprinkled in a conversation to social exclusion at work to systemic racism or xenophobic legislation. There may be situations that you’ve become used to and even come to expect, but familiarity doesn’t take away the psychological impact. If anything, the impact can accumulate over time, especially if it’s unaddressed and unsupported. This can look like difficulty relaxing or sleeping, avoidance of certain spaces, and compensatory behavior (like perfectionism or people pleasing) in an effort to offset bias or exclusion with new people. In summary, it’s exhausting and even debilitating.

Vicarious trauma also has a true effect on us, both psychologically and somatically. Reading or scrolling through news stories about racism, xenophobia, anti-immigrant legislation, or seeing videos of dehumanizing behavior can create embodied stress or traumatic symptoms. Your nervous system registers that threat and danger exist in the world - even if it’s not specifically happening to you in that very moment and you’re on the couch. Learning to recognize when this happens and being able to care for yourself or connect with others is key.

Sometimes people experience a felt sense of helplessness, resignation, or numbing in response to racism and xenophobia. Shutting down is actually a deeply rooted survival skill that’s trying to protect you from emotional overwhelm. Chronic numbing or dissociation can also be a sign of complex trauma. Whether you identify as Black, Multiracial, Latinx, Asian, Indigenous - bringing up your experiences in therapy can help you process and heal from the cognitive, emotional, and physical effects of oppression with empowerment and compassion.

 

Why therapy for BIPOC mental health matters

Wait, but aren’t anxiety or depression or work stress the same regardless of how you identify? Wouldn’t you make the same mental health recommendations? Yes and no.

Mood symptoms may manifest similarly across different people, but sometimes that’s not the case. Or it’s complicated. Or it depends on the situation and the kind of support you have access to. Sometimes experiencing a universal human emotion (e.g., hurt, sadness, shame, anxiety) feels more painful when it happened because of some aspect of who you are. Or the people around you don’t quite get it or believe you. Sometimes anxiety or depression last longer when it’s tied to being in a social context you can’t easily leave, like being around in-laws for the holidays or work environments that technically have diversity policies in place but turn a blind eye in practice.

Prioritizing BIPOC mental health means taking a closer look at how your identity may have shaped your sense of self, relationships, and belonging in the world. BIPOC therapy also acknowledges that oppression and injustice exists and that it’s important to have a space to process the effects of that in order to be healthy and whole. We think having honest conversations about your personal experiences and feeling understood makes a big difference to your overall mental health - and we’re here to support that. The conversations we have will keep your unique identity and context in mind, as well as hold space for other intersections of who you are (e.g., gender, sexuality, neurotype).

 

Examples of goals in therapy for BIPOC mental health

  • Talk about your past or present personal experiences with curiosity, acceptance, and compassion

  • Clarify what your identity means to you

  • Process unresolved trauma (discrimination, vicarious racial trauma, police brutality)

  • Challenge internalized racism and create self-respecting beliefs about this part of you

  • Explore how your racial identity has affected your relationships (romantic, interpersonal, family)

  • Talk about intersectionality (being BIPOC and queer) and the unique challenges and strengths

  • Discuss interracial conflict or tension at work, school, in your community

  • Figure out how or if you want to bring things up in your interracial relationship or family

  • Learn emotion and nervous system regulation strategies to support feeling safe and calm when possible

  • Cultivate self-acceptance and self-care

  • Build connections to a larger community

  • Experience a caring relationship with your therapist who either shares your identity or is a safe ally

  • Discover pathways for activism, volunteerism, or leadership

  • Set boundaries or recover from anti-racist burnout

Types of therapy for BIPOC mental health

There are many types of therapy that effectively explore and address BIPOC mental health stressors. Here are some of the many approaches that our therapists are well-versed in and use.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

CBT focuses on the connections between your thoughts, emotions, and actions - and can help you observe what comes up for you about identity. Understanding how core beliefs about your worth or value may have been shaped by racism, discrimination, or invisibility can help you depersonalize what’s actually systemic oppression and gain a better understanding of yourself.

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy focuses on teaching a number of emotional and behavioral strategies to manage and tolerate strong feelings. DBT also helps people manage challenging relationship dynamics more successfully and from a grounded place. Whether you’re anticipating a difficult time traveling, navigating team dynamics at work, or dating interracially for the first time - DBT can equip you with actionable skills that you can practice in sessions with support and guidance.

Multicultural Therapy

Multicultural therapy acknowledges the importance of celebrating individual differences and all identities as equal and valuable. Multicultural Therapy highlights what your racial identity means to you, and how it intersects with other identities (gender, sexuality) to shape your life experiences and sense of self. Gaining clarity on how your identity feels to you now, where you feel a sense of community, or how it’s grown through life transitions or chapters can be great focus in therapy.

Trauma Therapy

Trauma therapy can help you process and heal from the effects of oppression, discrimination, or bias - whether it happened during childhood or adulthood, whether you were the target or your family or community. Whether that is unpacking internalized racism or the survival strategies you needed to endure a toxic work environment, trauma therapy helps you discover ways to recover, heal, and reconnect with yourself and others.

Somatic Therapy

Somatic therapies centers what’s happening in your body to explore, understand, guide, and process lived experiences. Somatic therapists draw attention not just to your thoughts and emotions, but physical sensations and body reactions as relevant information - and even wisdom. Being BIPOC may be a visible or invisible identity for you, one that feels comfortable in your body or one you never really think of because other identities feel more important or safe. Especially in the case of trauma, somatic therapy can be a powerful way to (re)connect to yourself with guidance and discover healing and strength.

 

BIPOC therapists & anti-racist therapists in Manhattan NYC

At Manhattan Therapy Collective, our therapists are trained in an anti-racist and social justice orientation to therapy. Some of us identify as BIPOC, all of us are allies. Our team meets regularly for multicultural training and consultation so we can thoughtfully support the mental health needs of our BIPOC patients while growing ourselves.

Our goal is to provide a compassionate, open, and inclusive space where you can explore your thoughts, feelings, and sense of identity - and work towards healing and empowerment. We know that being BIPOC isn’t the only important part of who you are - but we know it should have a welcome space in your sessions just like any key aspect of your identity. If you are looking for multiculturally responsive and affirming therapy, we are here to help. Schedule an introductory call today or reach out with questions.

 

FAQs about BIPOC therapy

 

  • Really good question, it’s up to you. First of all, we’ll always do our best to honor your therapist preferences - finding a therapist you feel safe and can connect with is our first priority. And it's completely okay if part of the way that happens is by knowing you share a racial identity. We think it can be really wonderful to share a racial identity with your therapist, especially if you never have before.

    However, a shared identity isn’t a shortcut to understanding or being understood - we’ll always focus on listening well and getting to know you as you. As you know, not all BIPOCs think, feel, or experience the world the same way. Even if you don't share a racial identity with your therapist (or only partly), we think experiencing your therapist's allyship can be healing too.

  • We’re really sorry. Having a negative experience with a past therapist can be incredibly hurtful, even devastating. If you’re open to it, we encourage you to share with your therapist what happened, so they have the opportunity to support and listen. We will always check in with you to make sure you feel understood and that we're on the same page.

  • We love questions and encourage you to ask them. While all of our therapists have extensive experience working with a diverse range of people and continue to receive multicultural training, we suggest asking what's on your mind. For example, if you're interested in your therapist's racial identity or wanting to make a therapy goal navigating racism at work, ask!

    Or consider asking “What’s the best way to check in about therapy feedback or ask questions as we work together?”