Sankofa Rooted™ EMDR: A Culturally Grounded Path for Adults of Color
Most trauma therapy was not built with Black people and people of African descent in mind. The frameworks, the language, and the assumptions embedded in standard approaches to trauma treatment reflect the experiences and worldviews of the populations in which they were developed — and those populations were largely not us. Sankofa Rooted™ EMDR is a different kind of approach. It is EMDR — one of the most evidence-based trauma therapies available — delivered within a framework that centers African heritage, Akan philosophy, and the specific experiences of adults of color. It does not ask you to set yourself aside to heal. It asks you to bring all of who you are.
"Sankofa teaches us that going back is not retreat — it is reclamation. Healing from the roots changes everything that grows."
What Sankofa Rooted™ Means
Sankofa is an Akan word and symbol from Ghana, West Africa. It is often represented by a bird that turns its head back while moving forward — and its meaning translates roughly as: it is not wrong to go back and retrieve what you forgot. In clinical practice, Sankofa is a framework for understanding healing as a process that requires looking backward — at what was inherited, at what was lost, at what was never properly grieved — in order to move forward with clarity and intention.
The Sankofa Rooted™ framework was developed through the clinical leadership of Grace Addow-Langlais, LMHC-D (NY), LPC (CT), LMHC + QS (FL), Founder and CEO of SHIFT Your Journey® Mental Health Counseling, PLLC. It integrates Akan philosophy, ancestral wisdom, and cultural identity into EMDR therapy — not as decoration, but as clinical infrastructure.
Sankofa teaches that understanding the past is essential to moving forward
The Sankofa Rooted™ framework integrates Akan philosophy with evidence-based EMDR
Cultural identity, ancestral context, and racial history are treated as clinical assets
The framework was developed specifically for adults of color — not adapted after the fact
It is practiced by clinicians trained in both EMDR and culturally responsive care
How Sankofa Rooted™ EMDR Differs from Standard EMDR
Standard EMDR is effective. The research on it is strong. But standard EMDR was not designed with racial trauma, intergenerational trauma, or the specific psychological landscape of Black adults and adults of African descent in mind. A clinician who applies EMDR without holding the cultural context of the client may miss what the trauma is actually about — and therefore miss what healing requires.
Sankofa Rooted™ EMDR holds the full context. It uses the EMDR protocol — the eight-phase structure, bilateral stimulation, reprocessing — and integrates cultural meaning-making into every phase. The negative cognitions and positive cognitions that are central to EMDR processing are explored through a lens that acknowledges what racial trauma, identity, and intergenerational experience contribute to how a person understands themselves and their safety in the world.
The cultural context of the trauma is held explicitly throughout the process
Negative cognitions are explored with awareness of how racism, identity, and ancestry shape them
Resourcing and safe place development draw on ancestral and cultural strengths, not only individual ones
The clinician-client relationship is built on cultural understanding from the first session
Healing is understood as both individual and collective — not only personal
Who the Sankofa Rooted™ Approach Is For
The Sankofa Rooted™ EMDR approach is designed for adults of color — and particularly for Black adults and adults of African descent — who are navigating trauma that is connected to racial stress, intergenerational pain, cultural identity, or the specific losses of diaspora and displacement. It is also for anyone who has tried standard therapy and felt that something essential was missing. Something that had to do with who they are, not just what happened to them.
SHIFT Your Journey® Mental Health Counseling, PLLC, offers the Sankofa Rooted™ EMDR program to residents of CT, FL, MA, NJ, NY, PA, and TX. Learn more at Sankofa Rooted EMDR Therapy or Request An Appointment.
Adults of color navigating racial trauma, intergenerational trauma, or complex trauma
People who have felt unseen or unaddressed in previous therapy experiences
Black adults and adults of African descent seeking culturally grounded trauma healing
Anyone who wants to understand not just what happened to them, but where it came from
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is Sankofa Rooted™ EMDR?
A: Sankofa Rooted™ is an EMDR-based trauma healing approach developed at SHIFT Your Journey® Mental Health Counseling, PLLC. It integrates Akan philosophy, African heritage, and cultural identity into the EMDR therapeutic process — making it specifically designed for adults of color whose trauma is connected to racial, intergenerational, or cultural experience.
Q: How is Sankofa Rooted™ EMDR different from standard EMDR?
A: Standard EMDR is evidence-based and effective but was not developed with the specific experiences of Black adults and adults of African descent in mind. Sankofa Rooted™ EMDR holds the full cultural context of the client throughout the process — including racial trauma, intergenerational history, and cultural identity — in a way that makes the treatment more accurate and more complete.
Q: Who is the Sankofa Rooted™ approach for?
A: The approach is designed for adults of color — particularly Black adults and adults of African descent — who are navigating trauma that has racial, cultural, or intergenerational roots. It is also for anyone who has felt that previous therapy missed something essential about who they are.
Q: Is Sankofa Rooted™ EMDR available via telehealth?
A: Yes. SHIFT Your Journey® Mental Health Counseling, PLLC, offers the Sankofa Rooted™ EMDR program via telehealth to residents of CT, FL, MA, NJ, NY, PA, and TX. Call (914) 221-3200 or visit Request An Appointment to learn more.
Q: What is Akan philosophy and how does it relate to therapy?
A: Akan philosophy refers to the indigenous knowledge system of the Akan people of Ghana and Ivory Coast. It includes principles like Sankofa (going back to retrieve what was forgotten), Ubuntu (I am because we are), and a view of healing as communal, ancestral, and spiritually grounded. These principles inform how SHIFT Your Journey® approaches identity, trauma, and healing in culturally grounded clinical work.
Q: Do I need to know anything about Akan culture before starting?
A: No. Your therapist will introduce the framework in a way that is accessible and relevant to your own cultural experience. The goal is not cultural instruction — it is culturally grounded healing. Your own identity, history, and heritage are the foundation, not a prerequisite you need to prepare.
Reflection Prompts
✦ What from my past am I still carrying — and what would it mean to go back and understand it rather than carry it forward unchanged?
✦ Has my cultural identity ever been treated as an asset in a therapeutic space — and what would that feel like?
✦ What ancestral strength have I been carrying without naming it as strength?
✦ What would it mean to heal not just for yourself, but for the generations that came before you and those that will come after?
Ready to Take the Next Step?
At SHIFT Your Journey® Mental Health Counseling, PLLC, therapy is designed with intention — for people who are ready to move from surviving to healing. We offer online therapy across Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas.
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About the Author
This article was written and reviewed by the clinical team at SHIFT Your Journey® Mental Health Counseling, PLLC — a multi-state telehealth group practice providing culturally responsive mental health care to individuals across Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas.
Disclaimer: The content of this article is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to serve as a substitute for professional mental health evaluation, diagnosis, or treatment. Reading this article does not establish a therapist-client relationship with SHIFT Your Journey® Mental Health Counseling, PLLC or any of its clinicians. If you are experiencing a mental health crisis, please contact 988 (Suicide and Crisis Lifeline), call 911, or go to your nearest emergency room.