Countering Racism & Oppression in Holistic Healing
Thought-provoking article from “Queering Herbalism”,
http://queerherbalism.blogspot.ca/2013/03/no-herbal-revolution-without-anti.html
“Power imbalances exist between herbalists and
those who come to them to be healed/ to 
co-heal. As healers who are very much human, we bring in our assumptions and biases. We can’t leave them at the door. They are very much present in our consultations and inform our healing work. We encounter all types of people who have had all types of experiences. If we are going to work with them on a physical, emotional, spiritual and energetic level, it’s important that we don’t allow our biases to harm this vulnerable person who has come to us for healing or prevention.”
What does an anti-oppressive framework look like for holistic healers?
- It’s acknowledging systemic barriers to health and those communities that are disproportionately affected by them.
- It’s continuously checking your privilege and biases and making sure it doesn’t inform your treatment of co-healers/clients/patients/customers.
- It’s making an effort to understand histories of oppression and acknowledging and accepting cultural differences because denial of these histories and color-blindness are microaggressions and sure signs of privilege. Folks of color rarely have the luxury of waking up and having a day to navigate where they don’t have to know what color they are. Many visibly queer folks don’t have this privilege either.
