EMPOWERING IBPOC MENTAL HEALTH
A Workshop to Deal with the Impacts of Racism
This workshop was tailored to IBPOC creative professionals to examine how the impacts of racism affect mental health.
In this interactive community of practice we explored the macro and micro levels of the creative industry. We unpacked how current systems create oppression for IBPOC creatives. Trauma informed practice tools were shared that can be applied to deal with experiences of racism; this included opportunities to share as a larger group and in smaller groups.
Participants were invited to bring with them an item that represents their healing in their racialized experiences, to be used in their sharing.
Participants were also be invited to practice grounding techniques that can be utilized in their healing.
By coming together we can collectively heal and work towards a path of decolonization centering the voices and experiences of IBPOC creatives.
This invaluable workshop was offered to IBPOC artists + creatives, free of charge.
Brought to you by:
DOWNLOAD OUR EMPOWERING IBPOC MENTAL HEALTH WORKBOOK!
This workbook was designed based off of our June 25, 2023 workshop Empowering IBPOC Mental Health: Dealing with the Impacts of Racism, run by Reena Samra and Soni Dasmohapatra. Our workbook offers helpful psychoeducational information about racial microaggressions and the impacts that racism has on mental health; as well as tools and suggestions that can be utilized in your healing, and resources to support you. Our workbook can be used as a starting point and guide for you in your healing journey.
CE – Empowering IBPOC Mental Health Workbook
OUR WORKSHOP FACILITATORS
Reena Samra | Founder & Owner, BIPOC Healing & Wellness Centre
Reena (she/her) is the founder and owner of BIPOC Healing and Wellness Centre, a culturally-informed private counselling centre in Edmonton that specializes in therapy for BIPOC grief and racial trauma, and is committed to addressing race and culture in the therapy room. Reena graduated from the University of Calgary with a Master’s degree in Social Work with a Clinical Specialization in Trauma-Informed Practice. Reena is a settler on this land, as a child of immigrants from Punjab, India, who holds multiple intersecting identities of privilege and oppression. As a BIPOC therapist, she has been working for the past decade to center BIPOC mental health, through her commitment to bringing decolonization, anti-racism, intersectional feminism and social justice into her therapy supports for her community. Reena is an activist and advocate for the BIPOC community, through starting spaces for BIPOC grief healing and for support and psychoeducation for newcomer, immigrant and refugee survivors of trauma and sexual violence. She was recognized with Edify Edmonton’s Top 40 Under 40 2021 Award for her work with immigrant and racialized folks. Reena is currently pursuing a Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) through California Southern University, studying the impacts of racism, racial trauma, and racial grief on mental health. Reena is also a faculty member of the Trauma-Informed Yoga Psychology School through Canmore Counselling, and utilizes trauma-informed yoga and meditation to decolonize therapy. Reena is passionate about deepening people’s connections to their mind, body, soul, spirit, and emotions, and thus is holistic and collaborative in her practice. In addition to her specialties in racial grief and trauma, immigration and culturally sensitive counseling; she also specializes in working with sexual violence survivors, childhood abuse survivors, and other complex trauma and PTSD.
Soni Dasmohapatra | Consultant, Educator & Arts Practitioner
Soni is a passionate consultant, educator and arts practitioner who uses yoga and somatics as pathways of self discovery, healing and artistic creation. Soni has built her career for over twenty years in the sectors of government, higher learning, non-profit, public education and philanthropy, across Canada and Internationally. Currently she is a sessional instructor at MacEwan University, Arts and Cultural Management Department. Soni, has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Alberta, a Masters in Public Administration (MPA) from the University of Victoria and a certificate in gender studies and human rights from Oxford University, UK. Soni, has been involved in the Alberta arts, cultural and Heritage sector since she was a child. She is a trained classical Indian Kathak dancer and yoga teacher. She has been a cultural administrator in the areas of Canadian Heritage and Arts in Alberta and Ontario. Check out her UNESCO article on Arts Education in a Post National State.