A Commitment to Anti-Racist Policy and Action

To our patients, colleagues, and community,

We at Orenda Counseling Center stand in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, the protestors seeking justice for the murders of Black and Brown people at the hands of law-enforcement, and all those working to undo the harm caused by generations of racism, anti-blackness, homophobia, transphobia and misogyny.

As psychotherapists we are cognizant of the public mental health implications of racism and discrimination and thus we believe we have an ethical responsibility to commit to anti-racist work. This includes providing an open and affirming space for Black, Indigenous, and People Of Color patients, as well as a supportive space for those reckoning with their own relationship to racism and white-supremacy. We understand our roles to be that of change and growth facilitators, supportive guides, and emotional caretakers in a space absent of judgment or shame.

We recognize that we must do more to demonstrate these beliefs and more loudly commit to action. Therefore, we have pledged to the following:

1. Work as an office to acknowledge and challenge white supremacy and anti-blackness where it shows up in our personal lives and our work, beginning with an office reading of Me and White Supremacy in August. 
2. Ensure all racial and gender identities are affirmed and welcomed in our space 
3. Support the work of Black clinicians seeking to begin in private practice, by creating flexible options to meet therapist need and financial capacities, in our office (please contact ebj@orendacc.com if you are interested) 
4. Support our patients as they engage with the work of anti-racism and the implications of this letter 
5. Individually volunteer clinical and supervisory hours to community organizations pursuing an anti-racist mission, with all clinicians beginning this work by the end of 2020.

We acknowledge that this statement is long overdue and merely start to all the work we have to do, as is the societal shift we are now undergoing.

As clinicians, we know change and growth are often painful and scary, but that does not make them less worthwhile endeavors.