Culturally Sensitive Therapy

Sharing some of the most vulnerable parts of ourselves can feel high-risk, especially if you've experienced dismissal and shame for those experiences. Cultural sensitivity, therefore, is a must so that therapy feels safe and conducive to healing. Recognizing and respecting your unique histories, values, and cultural and familial norms validates and affirms your lived experience. There is no one-size-fits-all approach. Instead, therapy is highly tailored and modified to be inclusive.

Culture informs how we view and understand our values and others around us. It's important to integrate that into therapy, as well as for me to respect and understand your perspective.

I am deeply committed to offering culturally sensitive therapy to individuals and families from diverse backgrounds. I have extensive training in working with marginalized communities. My approach is rooted in understanding the impact of culture, identity, and systemic barriers on mental health. I tailor my therapeutic interventions to honor each client’s unique cultural experiences, ensuring they feel seen, respected, and understood.

Cultural awareness and humility is the center of my work; learning from clients and understanding core cultural beliefs, how they impact client’s life and presenting problems, emphasize culturally-related strength and support and validating client’s experience with oppression. I work with clients of diverse ethnicities, gender, sexual orientation and religious beliefs to accommodate and respect differences in the opinions, values, and attitudes of various cultures and different types of people

I think it will be most meaningful to include a real patient review: “Dr. Ambardar has tremendous insight into personal & collective trauma & the impact of ancestral trauma on a person's life. It is not often you come across a professional who has an in-depth understanding of collective trauma & its impact on an individual's life. Her work & her insights have been supportive in my own healing journey. I highly recommend anyone wanting to connect with their ancestral histories to work with Dr. A"

This is the lens that I view therapy through.

In a culturally responsive and humble approach, I work to bring all aspects of your identity as strengths in the counseling environment. I believe that when we are in touch with all aspects of our identity, we are better able to proactively address the challenges that are facing us.

I take into account the impacts of culture, ethnicity, race, immigration status, history, language, acculturation, religious and spiritual beliefs, community, and society.

All of us are conditioned by our surroundings — our families, communities, societies, culture — without exceptions. No matter your creed, gender, colour, etc., we carry experiences from our past, tinted by the world around us. Understanding who we are requires understanding these influences; otherwise, we cannot tease out who we are at our "core," from what we've been taught. Even if there is overlap, there is also a difference! I look forward to sifting through the layers with you.

My life is immersed in alternative and marginalized communities, and I seek regular trainings in cultural sensitivity.

Social justice and advocacy are core pieces to a therapist's identity. They have to be able to navigate complex cultural issues that transcend race and cultural identity. These issues are often the source of a lot of the issues our clients are struggling, and a therapist must be able to identify the impact of culture and identity on the presenting issue.

I am intersectionally oriented and strive to understand each aspect of a client's context and identity and intersectional layers which exist, specifically for marginalized or oppressed communities. To promote holistic healing and to engage in an authentic therapeutic space, we work collaboratively, to identify each unique intersectional experiences as valid and legitimate.

I believe strongly that our culture(s) play a huge role in our happiness as well as our dysfunction. I take social, cultural, family, and systems level factors into account when working with clients and believe that healing our relationships to our cultures is a major part of overall mental health.

As a second-generation Arab American and child of immigrants, I understand the richness and beauty that being part of a collectivistic culture can provide. Yet I am also aware of the issues that can arise in trying to forge your own identity and create fulfilling relationships while embracing the most meaningful aspects of your culture. I love working with children of immigrants trying to navigate intergenerational family dynamics or cultural conflicts in a way that feels best for you.

I have experience working with individuals from a wide variety of backgrounds and their families, and I am always eager to learn more about others.

We strive to provide culturally responsive and affirming services that are sensitive to the unique needs and challenges faced by marginalized communities, including Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) and to gender, sexuality or relationship minorities. In our clinical work, we utilize an intersectional, culturally-grounded approach to understand dynamics of power, privilege, and oppression that have shaped our clients identities and lived experiences.

Identifying as BIPOC, AADPI, and/or Latine is a huge part of your life. We all wear our races on our faces. Understanding how your race, ethnicity, and culture effect your life is an inherent part of my role as your counselor. Together, we can explore what parts of your cultural identity feel like external expectations placed on you (like your parent's influences or stereotypes) and what parts create who you are as an individual. Going through my own cultural journey has taught me a lot!

Based upon your unique pieces of diversity (e.g., age, gender, race, class, etc.) I work to uncover how to view these from a place of agency and strength; in your home, work and social spheres. Each of us have aspects of our identity which we aren't nurturing to the fullest of our ability.

I am a woman of color, who is open and available to speak about racial injustice and disparity in the United States and globally. I am a 3rd generation (Mexican) American-Latinx