Nicola shares that she is of Chinese Indonesian ethnocultural heritage and came to Canada at 7 years old. She voices that she has experienced overt racism, such as being told to go back to her country and being called racial slurs. She said that for a racial reckoning to occur, one needs to know history and know self.
Dr. Nicola Hermanto is a 1.5-generation immigrant to Canada with a Chinese Indonesian ethnocultural heritage. As part of a minoritized group in her homeland and racialized as Asian in Canada, she has always lived life “in between” cultures. These experiences inform her work as a psychologist where she has a special interest in supporting trauma-impacted individuals with racialized, multicultural, and diasporic identities. Nicola is passionate about helping people get to the root of their issues while honouring their cultural roots. Alongside her clients in therapy, she is learning and unlearning what it means to heal, belong, and take meaningful action. Her work is grounded in the belief that personal healing fuels collective change towards more socially just relationships, communities, and the world at large. Nicola has lived in Jakarta, Toronto, and Montreal, and currently resides in Halifax (Kjipuktuk) with her partner, young son, and spicy cat.
