Adijat Bunmi Adekunle (she/her) is a Mental Health Therapist and the Clinical Director of Heartfire Medicine. Adi co-founded Heartfire after a decade of determined, uncompromising effort to provide clinical mental health counselling for underserved groups and individuals like BIPOC, 2SLGBTQIIA+, and Muslim communities in Saskatchewan. The path to directing a private practice was paved for Adi in countless experiences of prejudice, microaggressions, performative allyship, and “culturally competent” or “culturally informed” professionals, rather than ones who were culturally humble or appreciative. She doesn’t only understand the imperatives for mental health professionals working with BIPOC clients — she’s also intimately familiar with the struggles as a client, and seeker of support as a Black Woman herself. She has spent her career holding space for non-judgemental acceptance, compassionate patience, and an intersectional approach to the traumas of oppression, especially in our BIPOC, Queer, and Trans communities. Sitting down with Adijat, or participating in a Heartfire Learning experience, means a safe place to collaborate, determine goals, and empower not just yourself, but your community and beyond. Her areas of focus include racial and cultural safety, gender and sexual diversity, intergenerational trauma and anxiety, especially in teens and children. Adijat holds a Master’s in Social Work from Dalhousie University, a Bachelor’s in Social Work from the University of Regina, and a Bachelor’s in Psychology from the University of Saskatchewan.