So, You Want to Decolonize Your Clinical Practice… Are You Ready?

Decolonizing social work is the intentional dismantling of Euro-centric dominant-culture norms used to oppress, enslave, eradicate, and marginalize non-dominant and indigenous peoples. It includes examining every part of life and looking for colonial influences to eliminate them.

Brief Overview:

The first step in decolonizing clinical practice is to decolonize ourselves as practitioners. Practitioners must be willing to ask difficult questions and take a fearless self-inventory of our complicity in upholding oppressive practices, policies, structures and systems.

Join us as we begin the lifelong work to reach a clearer understanding of the colonizer history of clinical practice, assessing colonizer biases, and steps to move clinical practice toward decolonization.

Presenters:

Sharon E. Pratt, MPA, MSW, LSW has over 25 years in the clinical, nonprofit, and higher education sectors. During time spent in South Africa Sharon worked with the social work program at the University of KwaZulu Natal. Sharon is currently in private practice specializing in providing culturally appropriate, affirming mental health care to individuals in the LGBTQIA+ community. Sharon strives to create a peaceful and accepting space where clients can show up as their authentic selves. Sharon became interested in radical social work and decolonizing social work, specifically clinical practice, during her MSW studies.

Aviel Zayas Suliveras, LCSW (They/Xe), is a non-binary, queer, neurodivergent, Puerto Rican therapist committed to decolonizing therapeutic practices. For the past 7 years, Aviel has worked to unlearn the colonial frameworks taught in traditional academic settings, continually integrating liberatory, community-rooted knowledge from diverse sources and lived experience. Aviel’s approach has been deeply influenced by the work of Dr. Jennifer Mullan, Dr. Lydiana Garcia, Natalie Gutierrez, LMFT, Dr. Resmaa Menakem, and Ibram X. Kendi, whose perspectives on liberation, embodied healing, and anti-oppressive practices have shaped xe’s evolving framework.

With over 12 years of experience as a social worker and 5 years in private practice, Aviel primarily works with individuals who have been historically and continuously racialized and oppressed within American society. Xe draws from a blend of therapeutic modalities, cultural humility, and intuition to co-create affirming, culturally responsive spaces for healing.

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