Promoting racial equity + Mental HealtH

 H.E.A.L™” was conceptualized by Dr. Jamila Codrington (Licensed Psychologist) and Cindy Joseph (Certified Professional Diversity Coach) of The Cee Suite, LLC in the summer of 2020.  We came together in the wake of racial protest following the death of George Floyd. We recognized that traditional DEI work and psychological first aid models were independently not enough to address the impact of racial trauma in the workplace, and that this work needed to be interdisciplinary. H.E.A.L. was birthed from of our own passion to fill this void. 

As women of color, our own emotions around racism and anti-blackness were at an all-time high. As people who hold space for others as a living, we understood what others may have been dealing with because we were going through it as well.

Many employees are negatively impacted by the onslaught of racial injustices in recent times. They are looking for ways to speak up about the devastating effects of racism and take meaningful action – not just in their personal lives, but also in the workplace. There is an outcry for safe spaces to process the racial unrest and brainstorm anti-racism solutions at the organizational level. 

Increasingly, organizations and their leaders are recognizing the importance of taking a stand on social justice issues on behalf of their employees and also because of values alignment with stakeholders and consumers of their products and services. However, organizations often do not have the internal resources to answer the call.

To address this need, we’ve introduced a holistic approach to dismantling racism in the workplace that’s uniquely grounded in both traditional DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) principles and psychologically sound trauma-informed care.

 We are all affected by systemic racism. Any adult can benefit from H.E.A.L. if they are willing to bring their authentic selves to a community dialogue.  H.E.A.L. is designed for those looking  to build awareness of their own emotional/psychological experience of racial biases and injustices, gain tools for accessing (un)conscious biases on an individual and organizational level, and engage in healthy race-based dialogue.