Therapy for Jewish Communities
Culturally responsive individual, couples, and family therapy for Jewish clients
The Importance of Cultural Competent Care for The Jewish Community
The Jewish People have always been at the forefront of pioneering developments, innovations, and interventions in the mental health field. With this, comes a general openness to the acquisition of mental health treatment. However, what can help YOU, a Jewish Person, to truly find success in therapy?
Simple answer, FIT. You often hear how crucial it is to find a therapist who is “the right fit” for you. This topic has been saturated with ideas around how important it is for your therapist to be someone that can hold professional boundaries, someone who has clinical expertise in the issues you are dealing with, or scheduling availability that suits you - all of which is true. However, there is very little discussion around the profound importance of finding a therapist who has an understanding of and has skilled competency in your cultural/religious/ethnic background.
At Repose - Cultural Humility, & Cultural Competency is paramount in the work we do. If we disregard this very important aspect of the work, we risk directing our work from a place of judgement, bias, and influence. This hinders our ability to build rapport, solidarity and safety in the therapeutic relationship and could even pathologize aspects of our clients cultures that are sacred to them.
Jewish Invisibility in America
It is hard to come by platforms that explicitly name the importance of cultural fit in the mental health space. The main reason you may also have struggled to find a therapist that understands your culture is because of the prevalence of Jewish Invisibility in America. Jewish people much too often experience societal erasure in American society. As we know there are several ways to be Jewish. Judaism is both a religion and an ethnicity and there is no singular way to express Jewish culture or observe Jewish faith in order for the Jewish community to finally be recognized. Jewish People come from all over the world, having lineages from Northern Africa, West Asia and even South Asia and more.
Most Jewish People, no matter how they express their faith or where they come from, are likely to be affected overtly or vicariously by antisemitism, internalized antisemitism, and Jewish invisibility.
Some Factors That May Affect Jewish Vulnerability to Mental Health Concerns
Intergenerational Trauma: Many survivors of the Holocaust experience mental health struggles some of which may include PTSD and survivor guilt. 2nd and 3rd generation descendants have also been found to show a higher prevalence of PTSD and other psychiatric symptoms. (APA, 2015)
Religious repression and Persecution: “Thousands of Soviet-Jewish refugees are “double-survivors” whose families fled Nazi-controlled countries, only to encounter discrimination, harassment and even executions in the Soviet Union and Russia. In America, these refugees have faced acculturation challenges in addition to language and vocational obstacles, leading to feelings of hopelessness, distress and demoralization (APA, 2015)”.
To read more visit the APA website.
Why Choose A Jewish Therapist At Repose In New York, New Jersey and Connecticut?
As mentioned before, at Repose we prioritize therapist representation that matches the clients we serve. With that, clients are able to be matched with therapists that come from similar backgrounds as them, have grown up participating in similar cultural practices, and also have the ability to speak the same language as them. At Repose, we have several Jewish identifying clinicians that welcome you to begin your healing journey.
Have any questions? Send us a message!
Find a Jewish therapist in New York today!
Jewish therapists at Repose work with clients in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and abroad. We offer virtual and IN-PERSON therapy out of our Westchester, New York office. To learn more about therapy for South Asian folks at Repose and get matched with a licensed therapist, book your complimentary consultation with us today.
