Racial, Ethnic, And Cultural Healing (REACH)
What is REACH Therapy?
REACH stands for Racial, Ethnic, And Cultural Healing (REACH), a type of individual therapy that uses exercises from the book “Empower Yourself Against Racial and Cultural Stress: Using Skills from the REACH Program to Heal, Cope, and Thrive” to help BIPOC (for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) youth and adults cope with, heal from, and navigate the impacts of racism-related stress.
In REACH therapy, your therapist will customize treatment to your specific needs and goals, such as:
- Noticing how racial & cultural stress impacts your Body sensations, Emotions, Action urges, and Thoughts (aka your BEAT)
- Coping with uncomfortable emotions
- Using your voice and relationships to stand up to injustices
- Participating in activism and social action
- Growing self-confidence and cultural pride.
Our REACH therapists work individually with teens, college students, young adults, and professionals, tailoring treatment to your unique circumstances.
How will REACH Therapy Help Me?
REACH Therapy participants learn to:
Understand Racism-Related Stress
Racism-related stress can impact BIPOC in subtle and significant ways. You’ll learn to recognize what racism-related stress is, and explore the various ways it may be impacting daily life and getting in the way of achieving personal or organizational goals.
Apply Effective Coping Skills
We understand that BIPOC should not be held responsible for simply learning to “better cope.” Unfortunately, too often BIPOC are left to shoulder this responsibility. Because of this, the REACH program introduces effective resources to help BIPOC more effectively manage the ways racism-related stress impacts their lives. These coping skills can:
- Improve emotional well-being
- Build and protect self-confidence, self-love and cultural pride
- Enhance one’s sense of agency and control in daily life
Make Empowered Coping Decisions
It is not enough to just know what you can do cope with racism. Empowered Coping means that each individual is able to look at the menu of resources they have, and select the most meaningful, accessible, and appropriate response to use each time one is faced with racism-related stress. Armed with new ideas for how to deal with issues ranging from microaggressions to overt prejudice, participants will learn to put Empowered Coping into action.
Who Can Benefit from REACH Therapy?
The REACH therapy is for anyone who has experienced racism-related stress, and is looking for a safe and affirming space to heal from its impacts. Consider REACH Therapy if you, your client, or someone in your organization has experienced:
- Racial microaggressions, or being mistreated because of someone’s negative racial bias or prejudice
- Waves of hopelessness, numbness, or rage in response to repeated police shootings, acts of violence toward BIPOC, or culturally stressful events.
- Intense emotions, such as anger, sadness, or anxiety, caused by experiences of racial discrimination.
- Feeling singled out based on perceived stereotypes and biases.
- A sense of inequality, discrimination, or a racist-vibe at work or in school
- A struggle with bi-racial identity
Therapy Developer
REACH Therapy was created by Dr. Ryan C.T. DeLapp, licensed clinical psychologist. Dr. DeLapp specializes in the provision of culturally responsive care, and is widely recognized as an expert in racial stress. He has published a workbook based on the concepts of REACH, titled Empower Yourself Against Racial and Cultural Stress: Using Skills from the REACH Program to Heal, Cope, and Thrive. He is frequently sought out to speak about racial and cultural stress in training sessions, podcasts and webinars. Dr. DeLapp remains in close partnership with the Ross Center as a consultant – offering consultation and supervision to Ross’ REACH Therapy providers as they continue to support the wellness of the BIPOC community.
