Ethics, Not Ideology
As a psychologist, my work is rooted in respect for human dignity. Our Code of Ethics explicitly mandates Respect for People’s Rights and Dignity, calling on us to honor each person’s autonomy, privacy, and worth while being mindful of differences in culture, background, lived experience, and more.
This isn’t about politics or ideology. It’s about ethics. It’s about science. And it’s about doing the right thing.
A core part of that is serving everyone with the same level of care and respect, even when their values or beliefs don’t align with my own. That’s not always easy, but it’s part of the job. In many ways, I think of myself like Switzerland—neutral not because I don’t care, but because my role requires it. My neutrality is in service of fairness, not indifference.
That said, in today’s climate, neutrality can look like silence. And silence can be misunderstood. It might not be obvious how much I care about inclusion and justice or how much I advocate for those who are overlooked or unheard. But that commitment is built into every part of our work.
The Responsibility to See and Speak Up
For me, this commitment isn’t just professional—it’s deeply personal. My grandparents lost most of their family in the Holocaust, and the lesson passed down from my grandfather to my mother to me was clear: it is up to us to speak up for those who can’t.
That doesn’t mean shouting over people or speaking for them. It means standing up when exclusion happens, when human dignity is disregarded, when history warns us that silence enables harm.
I was raised with the understanding that human dignity is non-negotiable. I also see it as my moral and ethical obligation—not just as a psychologist, but as a person—to ensure that I do not look the other way when people are marginalized, ignored, or dismissed.
That’s why my work prioritizes creating safe spaces for those who feel unseen or unsafe in their identities—whether due to ethnicity, religion, gender, sexuality, neurodiversity, or other aspects of who they are.
True Inclusion Means Seeing the Whole Person
Respecting human dignity means seeing people fully—not just their struggles, but their strengths. And it also means recognizing that many identities, stressors, and barriers are invisible.
These microaggressions, exclusions, and barriers accumulate over time and impact how people experience the world—including their experiences in psychological care.
That’s why I take a strengths-based, neuroscience-informed approach—one that acknowledges not just what someone struggles with, but how their biology, history, culture, and environment all intersect to shape their resilience.
Psychology cannot be one-size-fits-all. Inclusion is not just making space—it’s making sure that people don’t have to fight for their right to exist in that space without being questioned or diminished.
Justice and Professional Advocacy
This extends beyond my clinical work. The principle of Justice in psychology is about fairness, accessibility, and making sure psychological care is available to everyone—regardless of race, religion, gender identity, disability, or background.
That’s also why I enrolled in the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Professional Certificate Program at UNC Charlotte. Sometimes, the biggest challenge isn’t doing the work—it’s getting people to even acknowledge the need for it. I hope that the DEI Certificate program will give me more tools, more credibility, more insights, and a stronger foundation to keep pushing for change where it’s needed, to enhance my client’s experiences and that of my profession and the world around me.
Standing for True Inclusion
So if my neutrality ever makes it seem like I don’t have a stance, let me be clear:
I stand for respect, dignity, and justice in psychological care.
I stand for science, ethics, and human rights—not political or ideological agendas.
I stand for those who have been ignored, questioned, or underestimated.
And I will keep standing, learning, and advocating—because that is what ethical, human-centered psychology demands.
