REACH Individual Therapy

REACH-based therapy uses exercises from the program's workbook, Empower Yourself Against Racial & Cultural Stress, to help clients:

1) Explore the impacts of racial and cultural stress

Racial and cultural stress can impact BIPOC in subtle and significant ways. REACH helps you recognize what racial and cultural stress is, and explore the various ways it may be impacting your daily life and getting in the way of achieving goals.

2) Learn and Practice Effective 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 racial and cultural 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

3) Make Empowered Coping Decisions

It is not enough to just know what you can do to 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 and accessible skills to use each time one is faced with racial and cultural stress. Participants in REACH Individual therapy will learn to put Empowered Coping into action.

Who can benefit from REACH Therapy?

The REACH program is for anyone who has experienced racial and cultural stress, and is looking for a safe and affirming space to heal from its impacts.

Consider the REACH Individual Therapy if you have 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 loving and feeling connected to their racial/ethnic identity

Learn more about creative ways to use the REACH Program to promote empowerment in your school, business, organization, or mental health practice BELOW.

REACH Workbook

Empower Yourself Against Racial and Cultural Stress is a supportive and motivating guide for young people navigating stress and adversity tied to their racial and cultural identities. Authored by Empower CBT's Dr. Ryan C.T. DeLapp—creator of the REACH (Racial, Ethnic, and Cultural Healing) program—this resource is designed to help teens and young adults of color build insight, resilience, and self-compassion.

Through practical exercises and guided reflection, readers are encouraged to:

• Recognize the cultural pressures they face

• Identify personal strengths & values

• Define who they want to become with confidence and cultural pride

• Implement practical skills to cope, heal, and thrive.

Complete with structured tools and downloadable worksheets, the book supports readers in building community, strengthening self-worth, beginning the healing process, and developing the clarity and confidence needed to move forward with purpose. If you want to learn more about why Dr. Ryan wrote this workbook, check out his Ask the Author Q&A webinar completed in partnership with the Anxiety & Depression Association of America (ADAA) - (click here to watch)

"Empower Yourself Against Racial & Cultural Stress" was named one of Greater Good’s Favorite Books of 2025. Click here to read more.

Check out book trailer for Empower Yourself Against Racial and Cultural Stress

Become A REACH Facilitator!

Are you a BIPOC individual who wants to learn how to use REACH materials in your clinical practice or organization? Dr. Ryan & Celenia can teach clinicians and community leaders how to use REACH materials to offer affirming and supportive spaces for healing.

Promoting Emotional Healing

Facilitator will be taught how to use REACH materials to help teens and adults learn to notice the emotional impacts of racism and discover healthy skills for coping with big, and sometimes subtle ways, racism impacts emotional health.

Strengthen Self-Love & Cultural Pride

Facilitators will be taught how to use REACH materials to help teens and adults increase moments of self-love and cultural pride, while learning tips for protecting themselves from negative messages about their racial and cultural backgrounds.

Facilitators will be taught how to use REACH materials to help teens and adults stand up against injustices and fight for the change they want to see. Also, facilitators will help BIPOC find ways to resiliently pursue important goals - even when racial and cultural stress persists around them.

Teach Acts of Resistance

Contact us today to learn how you (or your organization) can become a REACH Facilitator!

REACH Facilitators will learn to effectively use the worksheets and materials within the REACH Program's workbook, Empower Yourself Against Racial & Cultural Stress. Watch Dr. Ryan discuss how he designed this book to be usable in your school or organization.

REACH Program in the News!

• Podcast: Dr. Ryan on Tips for Helping BIPOC Clients Cope, Heal, and Thrive

• Podcast: Dr. Ryan speaks about Empowering Teens to Navigate Cultural Identity and Build Resilience

• Podcast: Dr. Ryan on navigating cultural stress without disengaging

• Podcast: Dr. Ryan on understanding racial stress and finding self-love

• Podcast: Dr. Ryan on supporting clients experiencing racial and cultural stress

• Podcast: Helping Kids find their BEAT: A Therapist’s Toolkit for Racial & Cultural Stress

• News: Dr. Ryan quoted in Washington Post Story on Racism and Depression in Black Adolescents

• News: Dr. Ryan on how Religious Institutions can Support BIPOC Youth

• News: Dr. Ryan quoted in Washington Post on helping children stand up against hate.

• News: Dr. Ryan is quoted in CNN on helping youth with community building

• Podcast: Dr. Ryan discusses evidence-based skills for addressing racial stress

• Podcast: Dr. Ryan discusses tips for coping with racism-related stress