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Multiethnicity
Multiethnicity
One Mirror, Multiple Truths
Being of one or more ethnic or racial descent means holding multiple truths at once.
There is no one universal experience of being multiethnic or multiracial. Things are never just “black and white.” That’s the beauty of it. But the stress of having a diverse background can mean not having the ideal “home” or a community of acceptance whenever you want. What if you were able to use who you are and your unique experiences to help you grow into the person you want to be and to create a life you truly love living?
Here’s what I notice from my own experience and when working with clients of mixed racial and ethnic experiences:
- Others share their opinion freely about you, no matter if you present ethnically ambiguous or monoracially. There can be gatekeeping from others about what identities they are comfortable about you claiming.
- Code switching is a way of life. It can become exhausting to keep up with is allowable in what settings and what isn’t.
- You find yourself questioning the core of who you are when the “in between” is where you live full time.
- Language and customs may be an important part of how to stay grounded and connected to one part of your culture.
- On the other hand, you may have felt cut out from cultural experiences or even actively dislike parts of your cultures of origin.
- You’re exhausted with the binary thinking in our current times.
In our work, I will help you to:
+ Explore and shape your own unique story to allow versions of yourself to be expressed where needed.
+ Feel understood and validated by someone who understands the challenges you are facing.
+ Be confident to affirm your racial identity, recognizing that it may not be a fixed thing over the course of your life.
+ Have your own relationship with racial justice and intersectionality.
I am a second generation immigrant of South Asian Indian and Caucasian descent. I identify as a light-skinned woman of color. I talk more in depth about my experience in this Psychology Today blog post. I have worked with many clients of different racial, cultural, and immigration points of reference, including undocumented folks.
If you want help to navigate your unique life to shape your past, present, and future, contact me to book a free consultation.
“God keeps breaking the heart again and again until it remains open.” – Inayat Khan
Deva is a psychotherapist practicing in the downtown Financial District of San Francisco, CA (LMFT #103816). She has worked with clients aged 6 to 88 in different settings since 2011. These days, she helps individuals and couples get more in tune with their wants and needs. She has a special focus on sexuality and folks of mixed ethnic or racial backgrounds.
She slightly prefers pie over cake, but loves dogs and cats equally.
She slightly prefers pie over cake, but loves dogs and cats equally.
582 Market St., San Francisco, CA 94104 · 415-496-6660