Elise Gi-Ae Gooi, MSW, LGSW

I work with adults primarily within BIPOC and 2SQTPOC community, with an emphasis on members of the Asian diaspora. I support folx in exploring the highly masked or unstoried parts - both individual and inherited, known and unknown - and gently invite opportunities to tend, restore, strengthen, and reclaim. Our personal and collective histories matter and the impact of oppression is real. I approach our work with a critical framework, grief-informed attachment lens, and a relational stance. The BIPOC community (and Asian-American community) is expansive and we hold so many experiences. I recognize how the history and impact of systemic oppression and historical trauma has often distanced us - from ourselves and one another - making it difficult to foster a collective community across such a range of experiences. As an able-bodied cis queer East-Asian-American woman, born on stolen land and raised by my biological parents in a Korean immigrant context, I recognize a holding of identities that carry experiences of both privilege and power, marginalization and minoritization. I honor and invite ongoing dialogue and nuanced exploration of what is both collective and respective, resonant and distinct.