Working with people means navigating power, race, and trauma.
This workshop will help you notice supremacy culture in the room and resist it. Due to the way Christian nationalism works in the US we create space to engage Christian supremacy and its manifestations of racialized heteronormativity that affects all bodies — regardless of religious or non-religious status. You will learn embodied, relational tools to strengthen your practice and reduce harm.
Danielle S. Rueb Castillejo (she/her), Psychotherapist, Activist, Community Organizer; Jenny McGrath (she/her), Psychotherapist Writer, Author, Body Movement Worker; Abby Wong-Heffter, (she/her), Psychotherapist Teacher, Attachment Specialist; Tamice Spencer-Helms, (she/they), Author, Theoactivist, Non-Profit Leader are collaborating to create a generative learning space for therapists, social workers, educators, organizers, spiritual leaders, healthcare providers, and community practitioners.
Together we will work with the ways supremacy culture shows up somatically, relationally, and structurally in helping professions. We will examine how dissociation, fragmentation, and inherited oppression narratives shape our work, and develop practices to interrupt these patterns.
This workshop addresses diversity and cultural competence by:
Examining how supremacy culture impacts Black, Indigenous, and People of Color differently than white-bodied practitioners.
Naming cultural, historical, and intergenerational forces that shape power dynamics in clinical and community settings.
Offering embodied, relational, and trauma-informed tools to practitioners working across racial, ethnic, cultural, and linguistic differences.
Developing the capacity to recognize and intervene in oppression harm while maintaining therapeutic integrity and accountability.
Participants will engage in reflective dialogue, somatic exercises, case-based examples, and guided exploration of their own positionality.
The intent is not perfection but deepening collective responsibility and expanding our capacity to resist supremacy culture inside our practice and in ourselves.
Unity Collective is joining Shelterwood Collective to host this workshop. It’s to meet the Washington Department of Health requirement for two hours of health equity continuing education (WAC 246-12-820).
Partnership
Unity Collective is joining with Shelterwood Collective to support this collaboration between Danielle, Jenny, Abby, and Tamice.
Container
This experience will be virtual only. Subverting Supremacy Culture in our Practice will take place on two consecutive Fridays: January 23rd and January 30th. You have the option to sign up for one or both!
Exchange
General Registration
$60 per session / $100 for both with CEUs
$45 per session / $80 for both without CEUs
Member Registration
$50 per session / $80 for both with CEUs
$35 per session / $60 for both without CEUs
We are honored to partner with Unity Collective to bring this offering to greater Seattle community!
Danielle S. Rueb Castillejo
(she/her)
Psychotherapist, Activist, Community Organizer
Danielle is a Latina-Indigenous, German woman. My pronouns are she/her. Danielle holds an MA in Counseling in Psychology from The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology, a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in Washington State, story lover, owner of Way-Finding Therapy, podcaster, avid reader, writer, adventurer and advocate. She loves the anticipation of Spring and Summer in the Northwest - the long days and sunlight we miss in the dark winters. You can easily find her out on a trail, laughing, cooking with her kids, or working in the yard.
Jenny McGrath
(she/her)
Psychotherapist Writer, Author, Body Movement Worker
Jenny McGrath is a licensed mental health counselor, approved supervisor, Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner and movement educator. She specializes in the impact of purity culture on the the body. She is passionate about helping clients and supervisees find fuller connections to their bodies. Jenny also offers online courses and an online movement studio for folks wanting to explore more movement in their healing journey. Learn more at www.indwellmovement.com
Abby Wong-Heffter
(she/her)
Psychotherapist, Teacher, Attachment Specialist
Abby Wong-Heffter is a psychotherapist, teacher, trainer, consultant, supervisor, mother, partner, friend. Abby is a mixed-Chinese woman of color. She is deeply curious and passionate about how our first relationships form us and specializes in early childhood trauma and identity development. She is a Northwest native and loves cycling, baking, stand up paddle-boarding (especially when sighting starfish and turtles), pottery, dancing, and Halloween costumes.
Tamice Spencer-Helms
(she/they)
Author, Theoactivist, Non-Profit Leader
Tamice Spencer-Helms is a published author, speaker, and trainer based in Richmond, Virginia.
Her friendly and down-to-earth approach to public speaking and teaching, and her dedication to research and learning have helped empower and inspire people in her community and beyond. In 2018, Tamice founded Sub:Culture Incorporated, a nonprofit that provides holistic support and crisis relief for Black College Students.