Exploring the Role of Race, Identity, and Intersectionality in Therapy
Why Identity Matters in Therapy
Some folx assume therapy looks the same for everyone, but exploration and healing isn’t one-size-fits-all. Your experiences, your identities, and the systems you move through shape the way you show up in the world and they deserve to be honored in the therapy room too. At Chiron Counseling, I draw from approaches like narrative therapy, trauma-informed counseling, and intersectional frameworks that recognize healing isn’t just about coping skills, it’s about understanding how your story, your pain, and your resilience are deeply connected to who you are.
Consider all the ways in which your identity not only impacts your day-to-day life but who you are.
Folx carry unique lived experiences and with them, unique needs that deserve to be seen, understood, and honored. Our identities aren’t just background details; they shape how we move through the world and how the world moves around us. At Chiron Counseling, I believe mental health care must be intersectional, because race, gender, sexuality, class, ability, and culture aren’t separate from mental health—they’re often woven right into its core. Healing means creating space for all the parts of you, especially the ones that the world has tried to overlook or erase.
In this blog post, we will explore what to expect in identity-affirming therapy, how my perspective shapes the space, and what Chiron Counseling offers when it comes to culturally competent therapy and intersectional mental health care in Oregon and Washington.
Understanding the Role of Race & Identity in Mental Health
Race, culture, and identity shape lived experience, access to care, and emotional well-being. These factors undoubtedly impact the ways in which you may have needed to be more resilient when advocating for yourself.
In the same way, racism, xenophobia, internalized oppression, cultural stigmas, and generational trauma can all have mental health impacts. The way the world views who we are, as well as our cultural backgrounds and family histories, affect how we feel and process emotions and events in our lives. Consider how racism has long impacted access to care for marginalized individuals or how racism may feel ever-present in your daily life. Xenophobia in today’s political climate is growing more pervasive. Generational trauma can be heavy to carry. Cultural stigmas may suggest it’s not OK to ask for help.
Therapy with me offers a space where you don’t have to explain or defend your lived experiences. You get to simply be. As a culturally competent therapist, I recognize that race, identity, and culture are not just side notes; they’re central to how you experience the world. Whether you’re a first- or second-generation immigrant, mixed-race, LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, or navigating the complexities of multiple cultural expectations, your struggles and your resilience deserve to be honored. You won’t need to educate me on why these pieces matter. Instead, our work together centers on your experiences, offering room to process, feel, and heal in a space that sees all of who you are.
Intersectionality in Therapy: Why It Matters
Intersectionality matters during therapy. As I say above, race, culture, and identity shape lived experience. Therefore, it’s crucial to consider intersectionality—or the interconnectedness of race, gender, sexuality, ability, class, and more—when seeking therapy, since all these factors of your identity play equal roles in shaping your lived experience.
Folx who belong to multiple marginalized groups and face unique or more intense forms of discrimination and oppression experience compounded marginalization. This concept highlights how those aspects of intersectionality, including race, gender, class, sexual orientation, ability, class, and more, overlap and amplify each other. While race alone may impact someone, there’s usually other factors to consider such as class and gender that go hand-in-hand with impacting lived experience.
My clients may be navigating compounded marginalization, which often gets missed in traditional therapy spaces. Intersectional therapy, inclusive counseling, and systemic oppression therapy are aware of how all these factors work together and affect folx of marginalized identities. Often, these forms of marginalization when combined cause a greater negative impact than factors such as race or class on their own.
At Chiron Counseling, I work with clients to integrate an intersectional lens that validates all aspects of who you are—not just the “mental health symptom.”
What to Expect in Identity-Affirming Therapy
Intersectionality and compounded marginalization deserve focus and affirmation during therapy, especially for marginalized identities. Since therapy is not a “one-size-fits-all” process, what should you expect in affirming therapy or therapy for marginalized communities?
I approach every therapy session as a collaborative and transparent space; one where you can show up fully, without fear of judgment. Together, we’ll work to untangle the complex experiences, emotions, and patterns that shape your life. You can expect open conversations about identity, culture, family, belonging, trauma, and resilience. Nothing is too small, too heavy, or too complicated to bring into the room.
This is a space where the things others might silence: like microaggressions, imposter syndrome, diaspora experiences, or code-switching are not just understood, but honored. These experiences are part of your story, and they deserve to be seen, named, and held with care.
Therapy is about healing and making sense of your story—not pathologizing who you are.
Not everyone will understand the unique struggles that you have faced due to the many facets of who you are. Navigating these experiences, especially things others may silence or misunderstand, such as microaggressions, can empower you and help you to find your voice.
Working with Me: A Personal Perspective on Healing & Identity
My name is Ajay and I use he or they pronouns. I am a giving person who has been influenced profoundly by other healers and mentors. Therefore, I feel like this profession chose me.
As a queer, genderfluid South Asian therapist with immigrant roots, I’ve lived through many of the complexities my clients bring into the room. I understand what it means to move between cultures, to feel like your identity doesn’t “fit,” and to carry unspoken expectations.
My approach is deeply relational and rooted in justice, compassion, and curiosity. I strive to create a space where you’re seen—not just as a set of symptoms, but as a whole, layered human being. I follow a systemic approach, which means examining your life experiences in connection with your identities, relationships, environments, and so on. I believe therapy should meet you where you are, not ask you to mold yourself to fit into it. I also believe that whatever brings you to therapy is valid and it’s worth addressing. Together, we will create a fuller understanding of your story.
It is my goal to inspire others to realize their own voice and enrich their life.
Modalities Used at Chiron Counseling
At Chiron Counseling, I follow various modalities to center on your identity and the impact of intersectionality on you and your story. All folx are welcome and encouraged to express themselves freely in a culturally competent, trauma-informed, warm, and compassionate environment.
To provide you with the most appropriate therapy, I use different therapeutic modalities—or approaches to improve well-being.
Some modalities used include:
Narrative Therapy: Helps you reclaim your stories from dominant narratives that marginalize or shame.
Attachment-Based Therapy: Examines how early relationships impact current emotional patterns and relational struggles.
Sex Therapy: Offers an affirming space to explore gender, sexuality, intimacy, kink, and non-monogamy without stigma.
Social Justice & Anti-Racist Therapy: Actively names and addresses power, privilege, oppression, and systemic injustice.
Trauma-Informed & Body-Aware: Mind-body connection, nervous system regulation, and practices that center safety.
Anti-Colonial Framework: Moving away from “fixing” toward healing, resilience, and reclaiming cultural wisdom.
These are backed approaches focused on exploring different struggles you may be facing. None of these approaches exist to force you to fix anything; rather, they’re modalities to help you to discover parts of you. You deserve to be heard and empowered, to enrich your life by finding your voice. The right modality for you is the one that helps you navigate who you are and your unique struggles, and move towards healing and resilience.
Who Chiron Counseling Supports
At Chiron Counseling, I support all individuals and voices. No topic is off-limits. Every part of your identity is welcome here. I affirm all aspects of identity by remaining aware of how intersectionality and compounded marginalization affects your lived experience.
Based in Oregon and Washington, I work with a wide range of people and presenting problems, with some of my most common populations and topics of focus including:
Adults
BIPOCs (Black, Indigenous, People of Color)
Couples (including interracial relationships)
First/Second Generation Immigrants
Kink/BDSM Communities
LGBTQ+/Non-Binary/Genderqueer
Men
Sex Workers
South Asians
Teenagers (15+)
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
ADHD
Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)
Anxiety/Depression
Non-Monogamy
Gender Identity
Implicit Bias
Masculinity
Mindfulness
Racism/Systemic Oppression
Shame
Transphobia
Trauma
I provide inclusive and trauma-informed care for folx often overlooked in traditional therapy settings, which means examining your life experiences in connection with your identities, relationships, environments, and so on. I aim to offer a space to create a fuller understanding of your story and, most importantly, heal.
How to Get Started: Therapy in Oregon & Washington
Reaching out is the first step toward reclaiming your story. You can realize your own voice and enrich your life.
If you’re seeking inclusive therapy, online therapy, or a BIPOC therapist, contact me today. Reaching out doesn’t mean you have to commit—it just means you’re opening the door to support. Free 20-minute consultations are available to help you see if this feels like a good fit.
I offer telehealth therapy for clients across Oregon and Washington, creating accessible support no matter where you are. Therapy with me is flexible, inclusive, and centered around your unique needs—whether you're stepping into therapy for the first time, returning after a break, or healing from past harm in other therapeutic spaces. Every session is grounded in cultural humility, trauma-informed care, and a commitment to warmth, compassion, and radical acceptance.
Wherever you’re starting from, you’re welcome here.
