This panel continues COMBINE's series of panel discussions focusing on building cultural humility and cultural competence for all therapists, Diverse Counselors' Voices.

This series aims to promote education and increase knowledge to reduce harm experienced by BIPOC, LGBTQ+, Veterans, Asian and Pacific Island, Latina and Latino, and Christian, and other historically marginalized and misunderstood communities and to create a healthy understanding of the role of the White therapist. Throughout the series, White therapists can engage with diverse therapists to address personal barriers, limited lenses, imposter syndrome, defensiveness, white privilege, colorism within cultures, and more.

December 13th  2023 Diverse Counselors' Voices - Asian Counselors

Diverse Counselors’ Voices: Asian Counselors has been approved by NBCC for NBCC credit. COMBINE (Colorado Medicaid Behavioral Health Provider Network) is solely responsible for all aspects of the program. NBCC Approval No. SP-4263. 1.5 CE hours.

Diverse counselors invariably hear about interactions with white counselors from their clients.  This panel assembles diverse counselors who will recount the stories they've heard from clients and discuss. 

White counselors are encouraged to listen and learn, and ask questions.  White counselors will learn from others' mistakes and take away a new cultural sensitivity. 

Diverse counselors will hear stories similar to their own experience and learn and offer strategies to process what may have been harmful experiences. 

The panel will discuss topics for an hour and the Q & A will last 30 minutes. 

Learning Objectives

• Learn about the experiences of BIPOC, LGBTQ+, Veterans, Asian and Pacific Island, Latina and Latino, and Christian, and other historically marginalized communities in therapy.
• Identify the ways in which white privilege can impact the therapeutic relationship.
• Develop strategies for building cultural humility and cultural competence as a therapist.
• Learn from the mistakes of others and avoid perpetuating harmful stereotypes and biases in therapy.
• Participate in creating a safe space for diverse counselors to share their stories and experiences.
• Understand ways to develop a community of support for therapists who are working to be more culturally competent.

Panelists

Iris Cartwright LPC is a dedicated Licensed Professional Counselor with a commitment to fostering understanding and connecting among diverse populations. With a varied career spanning school and college settings, outpatient, inpatient centers, and hospital environments, Iris has honed her expertise in addressing the unique needs of individuals from different cultural backgrounds. Born in Myanmar (Burma) and raised in Southern California, she has called Colorado home for over a decade, enriching her perspective with diverse cultural influences. Drawing from her own cultural roots, education, and experience in trauma- informed care, Iris has developed a unique therapeutic philosophy focused on self-awareness. In her practice, she combines these elements to offer a supportive environment that embraces and celebrates human diversity's intricacies.

Liz Zhou, MA, LPCC (she/her)

Liz is a psychotherapist based in Boulder, CO. She is a second-generation Chinese-American immigrant. Having grown up bilingual, she has a passion for language, culture, and diversity, and spent years studying Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, and Russian. She holds an MA in Mindfulness-based Transpersonal Counseling. 

Prior to becoming a therapist, Liz engaged in plant medicine ceremony facilitation (under the training of indigenous shamans in Peru and Ecuador) and psychedelic integration coaching. Based on experiences of studying, working, and living in various countries (including India, Nepal, China, Russia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, and Gabon), Liz incorporates multicultural respect and curiosity into her work.

Currently, Liz runs her online private practice.  https://www.seasonsofgrowthcounseling.com.  She specializes in supporting highly sensitive people and people of color through trauma recovery.

Moderators

Yakitta Renfroe, LPC, COMBINE Board Chair

Yakitta Renfroe is a Licensed Professional Counselor and an advocate for children and underserved populations in Colorado. She has worked with diverse populations in prison, psychiatric, community-based, military, religious, mentorship, and school and college settings. Throughout her decade plus of being in the mental health field, she allowed herself to be a voice to expose stigmas, traumas, oppression, micro-aggressions, and deficits within the BIPOC community.

This passion led to the creation of New Beginnings Therapy Healing, Inc in 2018. The years following NBTH has grown to be a community for BIPOC therapists in training. As the owner of an all-Black staff, Yakitta has accepted the challenge to not only be an advocate, but also, a resource for those striving to go against the grain and become pillars of change in the mental health field.

Andy Rose, LPC, COMBINE Education Committee Chair

Andy began his anti-racist work long ago with organizing against South African apartheid in 1985 at Cornell University.  Since then Andy has participated and facilitated workshops for Challenging White Supremacy, Alternatives to Violence Project, and anti-oppression workshops in Colorado and California.  Andy was the faculty sponsor for the Gay Straight Alliance at San Francisco's George Washington High School.  Andy's counseling Masters is from Naropa University '08, and he also has a high school teaching credential (San Francisco State '03) and a BA in Mathematics '90.  Andy directs a mid-size Medicaid counseling and training clinic.