All mental health providers at Auburn Psychological Wellness Center (APWC) are committed to providing Culturally Responsive Care. You probably read that sentence and think: “Ok, what does that even mean?” It means that every client we see, and all mental health care we conduct, will be rooted in the following values.
Culturally Responsive Values
- We ALL have Multiple (and different) identities that are important to who we are.
- Our identities, or who we are, vary in a number of ways. We hold different gender identities, races, ethnicities, sexual orientations, religious and spiritual beliefs, physical abilities, indigenous histories, nationalities and immigration statuses, and the list goes on.
- We value the beauty in all the ways we are, and we believe our identities inform our perspectives, cultural values, culturally-related strengths, and what it means to engage therapy and other mental health care.
- Sometimes the world is harsh, especially when we hold marginalized identities. This harshness can result in a number of experiences for us and others:
- We may internalize negative beliefs about ourselves or others. Sometimes these negative internalizations can cause us harm, or cause us to harm others.
- We may struggle to trust others who identify in ways that are different from ourselves, in ways we don’t understand, or in ways that conflict with how we have engaged our own cultures.
- Sometimes the ways this impacts us individually are challenging to recognize, and sometimes the effects are overflowing in our distress.
- Our intersectional identities and experiences impact who we are as humans (for both you and your provider) and how we see the world. These multiple layers also impact our distress and the work of therapy.
- Counseling and psychiatry should always be a safe place to navigate our identities “away from” the harshness of the world. No Matter What those Identities Are.
Mental Health in Auburn
APWC mental health providers commit to welcoming ALL of the above in your care. There is not a wrong way to “be” at APWC. Our counselors, psychologists, and psychiatric providers are committed to learning about you, your experiences, and how your cultural values impact the work of mental healthcare. If you’re still exploring any or all of your identities, we will explore alongside you. And finally, our therapeutic techniques are evidence-based. And, the evidence says that psychotherapy is most effective when it is culturally-adapted, so we will modify as we learn who you are and what you need. We are committed to Culturally Responsive Care.
Our office services clients in Auburn, Opelika, and surrounding Alabama and Georgia communities. We see children, teens, and adults. Please reach out if you would like to schedule an appointment.