Your Culture, Your Context, Your Care

Mental health doesn't exist in a vacuum. Your experiences with racism, discrimination, microaggressions, and systemic oppression directly affect your mental health—and deserve to be acknowledged, not dismissed.

At Forest Path, we understand that culturally responsive care isn't optional. It's essential.

BIPOC Affirming Care - Table of Contents

Our Commitment to BIPOC Communities

All of our providers specialize in BIPOC mental health support. We have BIPOC providers on our team who understand these experiences from lived knowledge, not just textbooks.

What This Means:

  • We understand how racism affects mental health
  • We recognize historical and ongoing trauma from systemic oppression
  • We don't minimize or dismiss your experiences with discrimination
  • We understand cultural values, family structures, and community ties
  • We recognize the intersection of race with other identities
  • We don't pathologize cultural differences
  • You don't have to educate us about racism or your cultural background

Understanding Racial Trauma & Minority Stress

Racial Trauma refers to the mental and emotional injury caused by:

  • Direct experiences of racism and discrimination
  • Witnessing racism against others in your community
  • Vicarious trauma from seeing racist violence
  • Intergenerational trauma passed down through families
  • Historical trauma from slavery, colonization, genocide, and ongoing oppression

Minority Stress includes:

  • Daily microaggressions that accumulate over time
  • Constantly navigating predominantly white spaces
  • Code-switching and the exhaustion it causes
  • Hypervigilance about safety in different environments
  • Pressure to represent your entire race or community
  • Economic stress related to systemic barriers
  • Family and community pressures alongside personal goals

These Aren't "Just" Stress—They're Real Mental Health Impacts:

  • Depression related to discrimination and devaluation
  • Anxiety from hypervigilance and safety concerns
  • PTSD from racist violence or police brutality
  • Complex trauma from chronic, ongoing oppression
  • Grief and loss from community violence
  • Anger that's completely justified but still painful
  • Exhaustion from constantly explaining or defending yourself

Mental Health Challenges in BIPOC Communities

We Understand:

  • Mental health stigma that exists in many communities of color
  • Cultural expectations around strength, resilience, and "handling it yourself"
  • Distrust of medical systems based on historical and ongoing mistreatment
  • Barriers to accessing care (cost, time, transportation, childcare)
  • The very real risk of being misdiagnosed or mistreated in mental health care
  • Fear of being labeled "angry" or "difficult" when expressing legitimate concerns
  • The weight of supporting family and community while managing your own struggles

Common Mental Health Concerns:

  • Depression (often presenting differently than in white populations)
  • Anxiety related to discrimination and safety
  • Trauma from racism, police violence, or community violence
  • Complex PTSD from chronic oppression
  • Grief and collective trauma
  • Substance use as coping for minority stress
  • Sleep disturbances
  • Physical symptoms related to chronic stress (because racism literally affects your body)

Culturally Responsive Psychiatric Care

What Culturally Responsive Care Actually Means:

We Acknowledge Systemic Factors: Your mental health struggles aren't just "in your head"—they're responses to real oppression, discrimination, and trauma. We understand the social determinants of mental health.

We Respect Cultural Values:

  • Family and community ties
  • Collectivist vs. individualist values
  • Spiritual and religious beliefs
  • Cultural approaches to health and healing
  • Attitudes toward medication and Western medicine
  • Communication styles and preferences

We Understand Intersectionality: Your identity isn't just one thing. You might be:

  • A Black woman navigating both racism and sexism
  • An LGBTQ+ person of color facing multiple forms of marginalization
  • An immigrant dealing with both racism and xenophobia
  • Disabled and a person of color facing compounded discrimination
  • Muslim, Jewish, Sikh, or another religious minority

We understand how these identities intersect and compound.

We Don't Pathologize Cultural Differences: What might be considered "symptoms" in one cultural context might be normal in another. We don't apply Western diagnostic criteria without cultural context.

We Understand Medical Mistrust: Given the history of medical experimentation on communities of color, forced sterilization, inadequate pain management, and ongoing discrimination in healthcare—your hesitancy about psychiatric care is completely rational. We work to earn your trust.

Psychiatric Services We Provide

Comprehensive Evaluation: Understanding your mental health in the full context of your life, culture, and experiences with oppression.

Medication Management:

  • Culturally informed medication discussions
  • Understanding that different populations may metabolize medications differently
  • Respect for concerns about medication
  • Transparency about what we're prescribing and why
  • Recognition that medication alone isn't enough when systemic issues are causing distress

Supportive Counseling: While we're not therapists, we provide supportive counseling and practical coping strategies alongside medication management.

Collaboration with Cultural Healers: We respect and can coordinate with traditional healers, spiritual advisors, and community supports that are part of your healing.

Specific Support for Different Communities

Black Americans: Understanding of anti-Black racism, police violence trauma, intergenerational trauma from slavery, and ongoing systemic oppression.

Indigenous/Native Americans: Understanding of historical trauma, ongoing colonization, cultural genocide, and specific mental health impacts in Native communities.

Latinx/Hispanic Communities: Understanding of immigration trauma, discrimination, family separation, cultural values, and mental health stigma in Latinx communities.

Asian American & Pacific Islander Communities: Understanding of model minority myth, racism and xenophobia (especially post-COVID), intergenerational trauma, and cultural expectations.

Middle Eastern & North African Communities: Understanding of Islamophobia, discrimination, immigration trauma, and cultural values.

Multiracial Individuals: Understanding of unique identity challenges, not belonging fully in any racial category, and navigating multiple communities.

What We DON'T Do

We don't:

  • Blame you for the effects of systemic racism on your mental health
  • Minimize your experiences with discrimination
  • Suggest you just need to "think more positively" about oppression
  • Pathologize your justified anger at injustice
  • Make you explain racism to us
  • Assume all people from your racial/ethnic background are the same
  • Ignore the role of systemic oppression in mental health

Language Access

While most of our appointments are in English, we understand that language access is important. If you need interpretation services, please let us know and we'll do our best to accommodate.

Telehealth Throughout Colorado

All appointments are virtual, offering:

  • Access to affirming care regardless of where you live in Colorado
  • Reduced barriers (no transportation, childcare concerns while traveling)
  • Privacy and comfort of your own space
  • Connection with culturally competent providers even in predominantly white areas

Insurance & Access

We accept most major insurance including:

  • Aetna
  • Cigna
  • United Healthcare
  • Oscar
  • Optum
  • Blue Cross Blue Shield
  • Private pay options

Note: We do not accept Medicaid or Medicare at this time.

We understand that insurance coverage is often a barrier for communities of color. We're working on expanding access options.

Community Connection

We believe in the power of community. While we provide individual psychiatric care, we recognize that healing also happens in community. We can connect you with:

  • Culturally specific support groups
  • Community resources
  • Culturally matched therapists
  • Community organizations

You Deserve Culturally Competent Care

You shouldn't have to explain racism to your mental health provider. You shouldn't have to wonder if they'll understand your experiences. You shouldn't have to minimize your identity to access care.

You deserve providers who see you, understand the full context of your life, and provide care that honors your culture and experiences.

Ready for Care That Actually Gets It?

If you're tired of providers who don't understand, if you want psychiatric care that acknowledges the reality of racism and its mental health impacts, if you're ready for culturally responsive support—we're here.

Book an appointment online or call us at (719) 212-1951.

Same-week appointments available. Your experiences matter. Your mental health matters.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you have providers who share my racial/ethnic background?

We have a culturally diverse team including BIPOC providers. While we can't guarantee a perfect match, all our providers specialize in culturally responsive care.

Will you understand my cultural values around family, mental health, etc.?

We work to understand your specific cultural context and don't make assumptions. You're welcome to share what's important to you.

What if I've had bad experiences with mental health care before?

We understand that BIPOC individuals often face discrimination in healthcare. We work to create a different experience and earn your trust over time.

Can you work with traditional healers or spiritual advisors I see?

Absolutely. We respect and can coordinate with cultural healers and spiritual supports.

What if my mental health struggles are related to racism and discrimination?

We understand that racism directly causes mental health problems. We won't gaslight you by suggesting it's all in your head or that you just need to change your thinking.

Will you report me to immigration authorities?

No. We're healthcare providers, not immigration enforcement. Your medical information is confidential.

Forest Path Psychiatry & Healing is a nurse-led psychiatric practice serving all of Colorado via telehealth. Our culturally diverse team includes BIPOC providers and all providers specialize in culturally responsive, anti-racist care.