• Consulting Services

      "Racism, without being discussed, is often the elephant in the room that plagues therapists, community organizations, corporations, and our society at large.

       

      My job as a consultant is to EMPOWER clients to pick up a fork and a knife and to teach them the only way to eat an elephant-- one bite at a time." - Dr. Isha W. Metzger

      Treatment Modification and Implementation

      Dr. Metzger has over a decade of experience in modifying and delivering culturally-sensitive mental health treatment. Short-term and ongoing consultations in this area including workshops, trainings, and facilitated discussions that focus on understanding diverse populations and systematically applying evidence-based strategies to improving client-practitioner relationships, therapist self-efficacy in working with underserved communities, and efficacious treatment delivery with an attention to cultural awareness in order to improve client outcomes.

       

      Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I)

      Dr. Metzger serves as the bridge between organizations, communities, and the existing evidence base. Organizational and community consulting works towards forming equitable relationships between administration, faculty, employees, and students in professional and academic settings; maintaining collaborative partnerships between researchers, practitioners, and community members; training organizational managers and clinical supervisors; and adapting and utilizing culturally-sensitive evidence-based practices. Consultations focus on identifying strategies and solutions for leaders and employees towards recognizing and eliminating biases, identifying strategies and solutions that encourage trusting relationships built on cultural humility and mutual respect, and engaging in meaningful conversations around race, ethnicity, and issues of diversity and social justice.

       

      Program Evaluation

      Program evaluation consultations exist for programs of research and mental health treatments that are already established and would like to improve effectiveness and reach. Program evaluation services offered by Dr. Metzger are designed to measure the effectiveness and fidelity of existing programs through chart reviews, organization mapping, survey administration, field observations, and key informant interviews. Dr. Metzger works closely with professionals, researchers, and organizations to identify barriers and facilitators to treatment initiation and engagement, and to improve service delivery and an organization’s reach to diverse communities.

    • Testimonials

      What clients are saying about consultation with Dr Metzger:

      I, personally, learned a lot from what you shared, and I feel confident that using your findings as a guide, we will be able to make some very positive changes for clients and providers in the areas of DE&I, hopefully not just now, but in the years to come. Thank you for being so thoughtful in your recommendations and for providing actionable feedback.

      Thank you, again, for making the time to meet with [us] to present your findings to [our partners] today, and of course, for all of your work on the audit. I also want to thank you, not only for the knowledge and ideas you shared with us, but also for being you and making this leg of the journey so much fun!

       

      As [hidden] and I were sharing with [hidden] earlier today, it is not just that you are incredibly insightful and knowledgeable about DE&I and evidence-based therapies, but also that you are a lovely, energetic, and caring person, too.

      "I learned a lot during the workshop and also REALLY appreciated how you guided our discussion, Q&A, and sharing your wisdom. One thing that I took away in particular, was the language that you gave us around noting a broken system and broken learning, different approaches to naming allyship, and the directness of labeling microaggressions or acts of racism, if my client experiences them. I think that level of directness is something I haven't known how to address exactly. Overall, it's really sparked my learning not only with my 1:1 clients, and also how to support coaches as providers too."

      "Throughout the discussion, her keen insight, highly skilled encouragement, and clinical guidance was very helpful to participate in. It is very exciting to bear witness to the exceptional outreach/initiatives the Lyra leadership team has provided in working to grow our clinical team's understanding of how to connect with and support folks from black and brown communities. I am very grateful to be part of this process as we move forward with our clients and in the community!!"

      "I just wanted to drop you a quick line to say that I love your style. You're great at what you do and I gained a lot from watching you. You have a natural ease with people that I really admire and strive for."

      "Excellent and timely topic. I enjoyed not only the application of the principles, but found it conceptually very useful to view the impact of racism from the lens of trauma."

      One thing that I took away in particular, was the language that you gave us around noting a broken system and broken learning, different approaches to naming allyship, and the directness of labeling micro-aggressions or acts of racism, if my client experiences them. I think that level of directness is something I haven't known how to address exactly.

      I learned so much! The greatest benefit of this workshop was that I had language to explain to a new client of color my role as an advocate, (hopeful) ally position, and that I am consciously working on reducing my unconscious bias. Without this presentation and discussion, I wouldn’t have been ready, but now I am!

      This training was extremely helpful in allowing me to explore race-related challenges in my work and to learn about concrete strategies for validating client experiences and helping my clients who encounter racial stressors in their daily lives resist in ways that allow them to recharge, prevent or help treat symptoms of racial trauma, and ultimately enact social change.

      Dr. Metzger is incredibly insightful and knowledgeable about DE&I and skilled in the culturally sensitive delivery of evidence-based therapies!

      Excellent and timely topic. I enjoyed not only the application of the principles, but found it conceptually very useful to view the impact of racism from the lens of trauma. The latter was not something I had made explicit in mind until now.

      Videos were great and powerfully illustrative. I think having a real person talking about their experiences was very effective capturing the problem rather than just presenting statistics, which we may already know to be true.

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