Below you will find answers to some frequently asked questions.
Don’t see your answer? Feel free to contact us.
Therapist Directory
Healing in Colour offers a directory/list of BIPOC therapists with anti-oppressive values across what is currently known as Canada.
No. Healing In Colour does not employ the therapists in our directory or handle their bookings. If you find a therapist on the directory that you are interested in working with, please click/tap through to their website and contact them directly.
We would recommend starting by using filters to narrow down your search.
Next, you can look through the photos of the therapists in your area, and if there’s anyone you might be interested in working with, click/tap through to their website. There, you can read a bit about them and the work that they do.
If you find a therapist whose website resonates with you, you can contact them directly using the “connect” button at the bottom of each profile or contact them using the information on their website. We would recommend asking them questions about their experience in working with the issues you’d like to bring to counselling, as well as any other questions you might have, and follow your intuition about whether they seem like a good fit for you.
Healing in Colour is not able to make any endorsements or guarantees about the practitioners listed on our site, so this stage of asking questions is very important.
You may need to try a few full sessions with a therapist to decide if you would like to continue building a therapeutic relationship with them. Remember that you have the right to leave therapy at any time, and only you can decide whether a particular therapist is right for you.
Unfortunately, we do not have the capacity to vet all of the therapists in our directory, or maintain detailed and updated records about the experience, expertise, and background of each therapist. Therefore, we are not able to offer specific recommendations.
Every therapist in our directory has signed a form stating that they are in agreement/alignment with our statement of values. We do not have the ability or capacity to guarantee that every therapist in the directory is putting these values into practice effectively and consistently. Therefore, it is important when considering working with a therapist to ask them questions about their experience, beliefs, and therapeutic approaches, and to trust your instincts about whether or not they are living up to their stated values in their work with you.
You may want to ask therapists questions about how they understand and practice anti-oppressive values in their work.
Examples of these kinds of questions include:
- What does anti-oppression mean to you?
- How do you enact anti-oppressive practice in your counselling work?
- How do you practice accountability as a counsellor?
- How do you work with people across difference/with identities different from your own?
- What informs your analysis of people’s suffering or ‘problems’?
- What are some actions you take to support your justice-seeking approach to therapy?
You may choose to ask specifically about pieces relevant to your own identities/experiences, such as:
- What are your views on sex work? On polyamory?
- What is your experience/training in working with people with my identities
- How do you view suicidality?
- What is your approach when suicidality comes up in session?
- What would your approach be in regards to calling the police?
You may also want to ask more general questions about a therapist’s experience and practice, including:
- What is your personal philosophy/approach to therapy and healing?
- How much experience do you have working with people with my concerns
- How long do you typically work with clients?
- What can I expect a session to be like
- What is a first session typically like?
It can also be helpful to ask yourself questions after meeting with a therapist, such as:
Did they address my questions and concerns directly?
How did I feel while talking to them?
Did they make me feel heard?
At the top of the Therapist Directory on the left-hand side, there are several boxes with different filtering categories. Each box allows you to narrow your search by certain criteria, including communities served by the practitioner, racial & gender identities, languages spoken, areas of practice and professional designation.
It is also possible to select items in multiple search filters at once. This will allow you to find all therapists serving Manitoba who speak Mandarin, for example. You can find more information about our tags in the following question.
Please note when using the filter function that only 100 results will show at the same time. At the bottom of each page of results, there is a button that says “LOAD MORE”. Click/tap this button to see more search results.
Pro Bono sessions for refugees/refugee claimants
In collaboration with Jumpstart Refugee Talent, we have a tag in our directory for therapists who are able to offer pro bono sessions to refugees/refugee claimants. It is up to each individual therapist to decide how many pro bono sessions they are able to offer.
If you are a refugee/refugee claimant, select this tag from the “Filter By Tag” dropdown menu at the top of the Therapist Directory. If you see a therapist you may be interested in working with in the search results that appear, click/tap through to the website and contact them directly.
NIHB/FNHA/IRS-RSHP/MNBC/RHAP/Jordan’s Principle/Edmonton 2 Spirit Society Provider
These tags identify therapists who provide direct billing for Indigenous clients to the corresponding programs/agencies.
Do you have suggestions for how to make Healing In Colour better for Indigenous folks? Contact us.
San’yas ICS Trained
This tag identifies practitioners who have completed the San’yas Indigenous Cultural Safety Training.
Do you have suggestions for how to make Healing In Colour better for Indigenous folks? Contact us.
Optional tags for Indigenous therapists
Through community consultations, having an optional tag for Indigenous therapists was identified as lowering barriers for Indigenous therapists to join, and improving the usefulness of the directory for Indigenous clients. Therapists choose which tag(s) (ex. “Indigenous,” “Métis,” “Stó:lō), if any, to apply to their listings. Some Indigenous therapists have chosen not to apply these tags to their listings.
Do you have suggestions for how to make Healing In Colour better for Indigenous folks? Contact us.
First, please review our statement of values and terms of service. If you are in full agreement/alignment with each of the values listed, you can follow the instructions on this page to Sign Up.
Starting on March 15th, 2024, Healing In Colour’s membership will move to a paid structure. Please click here for information on membership plans.
Professionals Directory
To supplement our therapist directory, Healing In Colour offers a directory of BIPOC professionals with anti-oppressive values in other fields.
No. Healing In Colour does not employ these professionals or handle their bookings. If you find a professional you are interested in working with, please click/tap through to their website and contact them directly.
We recommend using the “Filter By” tool at the top of the page. This dropdown menu allows you to select a category of practitioner. When you click/tap on the desired category, the practitioners offering that service will appear.
The practitioners in our directory have signed a form stating that they are in agreement/alignment with our statement of values. We do not have the ability or capacity to guarantee that every practitioner in the directory is putting these values into practice effectively and consistently. Therefore, it is important when considering working with a practitioner to ask them lots of questions about their experience and beliefs, and to trust your instincts about whether or not they are living up to their stated values in their work with you.
First, please review our statement of values. If you are in full agreement/alignment with each of the values listed, you can download a sign-up form and send it back to us along with a profile picture at directory[at]healingincolour[dot]com. Once received, we will add your information to the site.
There is currently no mandatory fee to be listed, as we are so aware of barriers facing BIPOC in our fields. If you have the financial capacity, please consider donating to our Patreon to help with the ongoing costs of running this project.
General Questions
You can become a monthly supporter via our Patreon here. For more options for donations, please contact us.
No. We are currently a collective and social entreprise.
We use this phrase to acknowledge that the land is currently divided in a particular way and under the control of the colonial government that has named it Canada. But there are many Indigenous nations on this land that were here long before Canada existed. And the continuance of the oppressive, colonial state of Canada is not inevitable.