Let’s call a spade a spade— racial discrimination among the black, latino or hispanic, Asian, Indigenous and first generation Americans have left traumatizing racial wounds. Racial trauma refers to the events of danger related to real or perceived experiences of racial discrimination, threats of harm and injury, and humiliating and shaming events. Moreover, with the gross televising of black men and women being shot and murdered, our nation is also experiencing vicarious trauma every time our eyes gaze upon the television. Unfortunately, the effects of racial trauma have for too long gone unaddressed by our American healthcare system. But TRC is here to change that.

Providing a therapeutic space for us to HEAL from racial trauma is an area of specialty that The Relationship Clinic offers. Treatments such as psychoeducation, individual, and group therapy are available avenues to process your own personal racial trauma. Free from minimizing, gaslighting and *misunderstanding/assumptions*—this is a safe space in which your feelings are heard and validated. Whereas many mental health and medical practitioners ignore racial wounds, we believe talking about your lived experience, as it relates to racism or being a recipient of racism in America, is not only important but a necessity for overall emotional and mental well-being.

Your story matters and our squad of therapists are ready, trained and equipped to hold the space needed for you to recover, re-center, and rediscover the resilience that is within.

Marital Therapy, also referred to as couples therapy is a form of psychotherapy where couples can discuss issues in a safe space. Therapy helps a couple to recognize conflict and take steps to improve their relationship. It can be challenging because it can get uncomfortable, but the discomfort creates a space for change. Consider the analogy of someone who breaks a bone. If that person decides not to get the bone properly set and allows it to "heal" improperly, after many issues, if that person decides to go to the doctor for proper care, its likely that the bone will have to be "reset." Having the bone reset could be very painful, but necessary and worth the pain for proper healing, development, and growth.

I'd like to provide a brief disclaimer. The hour spent in session will be very helpful and I will need your participation. The most important and effective participation however, is the work you put into outside of the session. Too often, couples expect a transformation within their one hour session, but the best results come from the couples that are committed to the work and assignments outside of the session.

Family Therapy is also a form of psychotherapy that can help families improve communication and resolve conflicts. More specifically, it is designed to address issues that effect psychological, emotional, and overall health of the family. I believe in a family-centered approach because it is important to nurture change and development. This form of therapy tends to view change in terms of the systems of interaction between family members. Having family participation is healthy and imperative because we were all born into a family. The family is important because it affects who we are and who we become--for the good and not so good. Taking a family centered approach to therapy often benefits the client regardless of the origin of the issue(s).

Individual Therapy (at times called psychotherapy or talk-therapy) is a process through which a person works one-on-one with a trained therapist in a safe, caring and confidential environment. It can be used to treat past, current or forseeable challenges in life. If you're looking for an opportunity to explore your thoughts and emotions or even unwanted painful memories so that you can finally have freedom over the internal battle, then individual therapy may be right for you.

Group Therapy is a form of psychotherapy where a group of people meet with similar issues to discuss their problems together under the supervision of a therapist. Some examples of group therapy include groups for sexual abuse, anxiety, PTSD, marriage/pre-marital, and even race relations.

Group Therapy will be offered on a seasonal basis which will be contingent on the demands, requests, and needs that I am able to assess. I will likely make recommendations to individual clients and inquire about an interest in participating in group therapy. It can be helpful and healthy for many reasons including support, community, help normalize your issues, and provide hope through the testimony of others.

Pre-Marital Therapy is an opportunity for a couple to invest in their marriage before "I do." Too often, couples spend the majority of their time investing in the wedding instead of investing in the preparation of the marriage. An investment in Pre-Marital will be a pillar of the marriage because it provides the tools, skills, and insight to navigate conflict, and also develop trust.  

As a couple you can expect to understand that there will be issues in your marriage. Therapy gives you the opportunity to identify potential pitfalls and other sensitive areas that will likely come up in the course of the marriage. You will walk away with the confidence, and skills to better navigate the challenging places. Marriage is difficult, but with the right preparation you can increase the likelihood to thrive in your marriage rather than simply survive in your marriage.ion