Diversity & Inclusion Statement

We Believe

Our main purpose at Breakwater is to provide our clients access to competent, relevant mental health services.  We believe providing competent and relevant care is impossible without cultural awareness, humility,  ongoing learning and feedback.

We also believe:

• Inequality exists in every community and ultimately harms all community members

• Inequality and oppression have direct and detrimental impacts on health, wellness, and resilience

• Many entrenched social norms create and maintain toxic cultures, oppression, and health disparities

• Mental health professionals have an important role in advocating for, aligning with, and taking action towards equality and dismantling of oppressive systems

• Representation matters. Community members deserve opportunities to receive services from individuals with whom they share identities, whenever possible

Translating Intentions into Action

Our beliefs inform and affect our practice in myriad ways. Here are some of the most salient measures we take to put our beliefs into action:

• We work toward establishing accessible, high-quality mental health and wellness services for everyone in our community.

• We take responsibility for helping our community members who experience barriers and inequitable access to mental health care resources mitigate these barriers to the best of our ability, to the extent that we can effectively and sustainably do so.

• As public figures in our field, we are responsible for advocating for community members who experience mental health concerns, or a lack of resources to manage mental health concerns.

• By virtue of our location and the nature of online marketing, we have a social presence. We have a voice, a space, and an audience.  It is our responsibility to ensure  our messaging and social impacts align with our beliefs and assertions.

Our Practice Culture

We work to make diversity and inclusion part of our core culture in the following ways:

• We expect Breakwater staff to uphold Breakwater’s beliefs when acting in a professional or public capacity.

• We expect Breakwater staff to seek out and complete continuing education on relevant topics that improve their ability to respect, acknowledge, and accommodate individuals’ cultures and identities. When possible, Breakwater will fund such activities.

• We expect Breakwater staff  to do their own work, either through continuing education, affinity groups, therapy, or other expert-guided modalities, to understand and manage the impacts their identities may have on their clients’ experiences.  This is especially in the case of privileged identities when serving individuals with oppressed, under-acknowledged, or stigmatized identities. When possible, Breakwater will fund such activities.

• Breakwater seeks to honor diversity and practice inclusion in its hiring, training, and onboarding practices.  This means considering professional competency related to open positions, as well as considering representation and opportunities to welcome diverse experiences and perspectives when filling such positions.  Once hired, training and onboarding processes must include welcoming, optional opportunities for individual staff members to share and incorporate their own identities in their work and their cultivation of a professional presence with Breakwater.

• We encourage Breakwater staff to take part in social justice action.  When individuals are so compelled or called, Breakwater will do what it can within its means to support such activities so long as it does not harm our serviced populations or other Breakwater staff. This may mean time away from the office, monetary support if possible, or providing a platform to advertise or publicly support quality social justice action.