At the end of May and the beginning of June, Compass Psychology was grateful to receive two training sessions from Touko Niinimäki of Helsinki Pride Community. These training sessions were available to all our psychologists and were arranged after our weekly team meeting lunch at our office. In these two sessions, we were able to discuss both client work and workplace practices.
During the first training session in May, we discussed client work. Our psychologists were able to discuss minority perspectives in client work and ask questions regarding different situations one could encounter in client work. Touko shared some very important information with us, including things such as basic vocabulary and information, as well as concrete data about the wellbeing and inclusion of LGBTQIA+ people in EU countries, which you can also find here:
“LGBTIQ equality at a crossroads: progress and challenges“: https://fra.europa.eu/en/publication/2024/lgbtiq-equality-crossroads-progress-and-challenges
Touko also gave us concrete ideas on how to further improve our practices to account for minority groups, such as arranging workshops with our team to further discuss minority perspectives. Touko describes this as “an engaging and meaningful way to promote skills in encountering specific questions and groups of people”.
Our second training session at the beginning of June had the theme of workplace practices. We were able to set up concrete goals for the near future to further equality and make Compass Psychology feel like a safe space for everyone. Touko also shared some tips for allies in the workplace, which are summarised here:
- Listen
- Educate yourself
- Don’t be a bystander to homo-/transphobia
- Recognise the intersectional nature of discrimination and oppression
- Influence others around you
We at Compass Psychology would like to say a big thank you to Touko and Helsinki Pride Community for providing us with these training sessions. Happy pride month everyone!
