by Dr. Louis V. Haynes and Dr. Diana Hinojosa
Across the United States, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives are under attack. In some states, entire programs have been defunded or banned. In others, therapists are being told to avoid discussions of race, gender, and systemic oppression, lest they be seen as “political.” These rollbacks are more than symbolic. They represent a fundamental threat to the ethical and effective practice of mental health care—especially for those who have historically been excluded from it.
As therapists, we know that identity matters. Culture matters. Power matters. And DEI is not a side project—it is central to the work of healing.
In order to consider ourselves ethical in our practice, we have to be aware of practices that may cause harm to our clients. Ignoring issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion or minimizing their significance directly harms the experience of our clients in therapy. For many clients, these issues are not a "choice". They don't have the privilege to "opt out" of these parts of themselves in their day to day lives. DEI policies are only the first steps towards a bigger need to protect and maintain the safety of marginalized individuals.
Counseling vs. Psychotherapy: Why the Difference Matters
Counseling can offer valuable support and guidance. But psychotherapy digs deeper. It helps people examine their personality; beliefs, values, their sense of self, and how they’re experienced by others. This process is inherently cultural. It cannot be separated from the context of one’s upbringing, community, or experiences of marginalization and privilege.
To do psychotherapy well, we must be willing to name and explore the social forces that shape our clients’ inner worlds. When DEI is stripped from this work, we risk offering something superficial—something safer for systems, but far less effective for clients.
How Anti-DEI Policies Harm Clients and Therapists
When therapists do not reflect the diversity of their clients—or when they are discouraged from addressing race, gender, sexuality, or systemic trauma—we don’t just lose language, we lose trust. Clients may wonder: Will this therapist really understand me? Is it safe to talk about what I’ve been through? For BIPOC, LGBTQ+, disabled, and neurodivergent clients—who already face barriers to accessing affirming care—this uncertainty can become a reason to disengage altogether.
The consequences are not theoretical. Harmful practices like conversion therapy are a stark reminder of what happens when therapy is used to enforce conformity rather than support authenticity. Despite overwhelming evidence of its damage, legislation in several states is actively working to repeal bans on conversion therapy and other practices rooted in heteronormativity, cisnormativity, and white supremacy. These efforts signal to both clients and clinicians that dominant identities are valued more than lived truth.
Therapists are often caught in the crossfire—afraid that naming oppression or practicing cultural humility will be viewed as “too political.” This creates a chilling effect, leading to sanitized, disembodied sessions that prioritize so-called neutrality over liberation.
But healing is never neutral. It requires us to take a stand—not just for our clients’ stories, but for their right to exist fully, safely, and without apology.
Racism is a public health crisis. We need to understand the harm that comes from anti-DEI policies in education, the legal system, and the medical system, including mental health. We know too well the negative impact of poverty, racism, and the challenge of living with marginalized identities on our mental health. We also know how hard, and nearly impossible our system has made it for these individuals to seek support. Sadly, oftentimes when someone is able to overcome these barriers, they arrive at therapy and find themselves not feeling understood or truly seen. If the therapist has not committed to working from DEI-based values, then they are simply failing the client. This discourages the client from returning to therapy and leaves them assuming that they cannot be helped, or that they simply have to live with their suffering.
Why Representation in Practice, Research, and Leadership Matters
Psychology has a long, troubling history of white male supremacy and Eurocentric values. From who gets studied to what is defined as “mental health,” the field has been shaped by whiteness, Western individualism, and cisheteronormativity. This narrow lens influences not just research, but clinical care—determining whose behavior is seen as “normal,” whose pain is recognized, and who gets pathologized.
When leadership and providers lack cultural representation, the field reproduces blind spots that harm marginalized communities. Clients from BIPOC, LGBTQ+, disabled, and immigrant backgrounds often feel misunderstood or retraumatized in therapy. Cultural expressions of distress are misdiagnosed. Survival strategies are labeled disordered. Many leave therapy feeling unseen—or don’t seek it at all.
And yet, while relational difficulties rooted in trauma—like those seen in Borderline Personality Disorder—are pathologized, harmful cultural belief systems like racism, misogyny, and homophobia are not. These ideologies destroy relationships and communities, but are normalized because they reflect dominant social values. This double standard reveals psychology’s complicity in protecting power.
Representation isn’t just about fairness—it transforms the very questions we ask. It expands how we define trauma, resilience, and healing. Without it, we risk reinforcing the very systems that harm our clients.
The Role of DEI in Healing Trauma
In Decolonizing Therapy, Dr. Jennifer Mullan writes powerfully about how traditional mental health models often perpetuate the very harms they claim to treat. Colonialism, white supremacy, and patriarchy are not just historical facts—they are ongoing realities that affect our nervous systems, our relationships, and our sense of self.
DEI in therapy and counseling means recognizing that clients may carry internalized messages about their worth, their safety, or their place in the world. It means helping people unlearn shame that was never theirs to begin with. And it means committing to practices rooted in justice, cultural humility, and collective liberation.
What We Lose Without DEI
When DEI is removed from mental health, we risk returning to a model that prioritizes “objectivity” and “neutrality” over empathy and connection. We fall back on one-size-fits-all interventions that fail to meet people where they are. We silence discussions of power and identity, even when those are the very things harming our clients.
The truth is, identity isn’t political—it’s personal. And pretending otherwise doesn’t create safety. It creates erasure.
Claiming to work from a trauma informed lens requires us to embrace DEI practices. There is no way around this. In order to truly understand a client's trauma, we have to understand their history, their family's history, the intergenerational trauma that has been passed on, the maladaptive behaviors that were once needed for survival, and the continued distress they experience when they simply interact with the world, experience microaggressions, and continue to feel isolated and invisible.
A Call to Action
Now is not the time to be silent. Therapists, educators, and organizational leaders must continue to name the importance of DEI—not just in mission statements, but in our everyday practices. We must protect training programs, supervision models, and therapeutic frameworks that center the lived experiences of the most marginalized.
Even as some lawmakers work to roll back DEI, we must hold the line. We must remind the world that DEI is not a trend. It is a shared social responsibility and ethical obligation. It is trauma-informed care. It is evidence-based. And it is love in action. Mental health care should be a space where everyone feels seen, heard, and valued. But that only happens when we acknowledge the full complexity of who people are—including the identities they hold and the systems they navigate. Diversity, equity, and inclusion aren’t optional add-ons—they are foundational to doing this work well.
To be healers, we must be willing to stand on the side of justice. And we must never forget that healing and liberation go hand in hand.
Now is the time for those with power, such as therapists, to step into their own discomfort and reflect on their areas of privilege so that they can truly begin to honor the values behind DEI practices. Therapists cannot shy away from difficult topics, choices, or conversations, simply because they are uncomfortable. This is the time to learn, experience, educate, and connect.
References:
Mullan, J. (2023). Decolonizing therapy: Oppression, historical trauma, and politicizing your practice. W. W. Norton.
