Reader,

One thing they don’t teach you in grad school (or in any certification program really) is policies.

Do you charge for a late cancellation or no-show? Do you keep a card on file? How do you “make” people agree to your policies?

Yes, yes, this is a piece of cake for some clinicians. But not all of us are born with a business brain. Not all of us were nurtured into one either.

And here’s the moral question underneath the logistics:

Is it anti-oppressive, even liberatory, to switch policies? To have people sign agreements? To require a card on file?

Or does that just feel like replicating systems of control?

When I make changes to my policies (and I believe this is something Western therapy rarely addresses) or when I make changes in any agreements between me and the people I serve, whether clients, supervisees, or other mental health professionals, I also make space for something else.

Grief.

If my new policies, changes, requests, boundaries, or need for a different container have thoughtfully come from within and are truly aligned with how I want to be in community and provide healing moving forward, and someone does not agree with those new boundaries, then the grief is real.

I may lose a client. A colleague.

And that loss matters.

It reminds me that healing is cyclical.

It keeps me humble. It keeps me from assuming someone’s healing or growth is meant to happen with me. It interrupts the savior complex that capitalism quietly rewards in private practice and community mental health (and everywhere in between).

Setting boundaries and making requests may shift the community around me. Sometimes that means someone leaves. And that is okay.

Relationships can be cyclical. Care can be seasonal. We can treasure the time we had together. We can help people find someone new. We can genuinely wish them well as they continue their healing elsewhere.

That, to me, is decolonial-oriented care.

Because decolonial care is not about being boundary-less. It is not about self-sacrifice in the name of access. It is not about collapsing yourself to keep everyone comfortable.

It is about consent. It is about transparency. It is about naming power. It is about recognizing that policies are not neutral, and neither is the decision to avoid them.

A card on file can be a tool of control. It can also be a tool of sustainability. The difference is not in the policy alone. It is in how it is communicated, how it is contextualized, and whether it is aligned with your values or driven by fear.

We are allowed to evolve our containers.

We are allowed to say, this is what I need in order to continue offering this work in integrity.

And we are allowed to grieve when not everyone comes with us.

Community Liberation Sessions

If these are the kinds of tensions, questions, dilemmas you’re holding quietly, you don’t have to hold them alone.

Community Liberation Sessions (formerly Decolonized Consultation Sessions) are 50+ minute facilitated affinity gatherings for:

• Asking the questions that don’t feel safe elsewhere
• Naming harm, burnout, and moral tension in our work
• Thinking through real dilemmas inside oppressive systems
• Practicing accountability without shame

This is not supervision. It is not a training. It is not therapy.

It is a facilitated community space.
It is knowledge exchange.
It is practice.

🗓 Upcoming sessions:
​BIPoC clinicians — Mar 18 & Apr 20 (3pm PT / 6pm ET)
White clinicians — Mar 19 & Apr 23 (2pm PT / 5pm ET)

💻 Free to attend. Limited replay available.

Pick the group that fits you:

Unsure which group to join?
​Read more about affinity spaces here​

Or read more about the sessions if it’s your first time joining

Bring your questions. Bring your dilemmas. Bring your contradictions.
We’ll practice together. 💛

Reflection Questions

1. When I change a policy, what am I actually protecting?
2. Do my boundaries come from fear, alignment, or exhaustion?
3. What grief am I avoiding by trying to keep everyone?
4. Where have I equated accessibility with self-erasure?
5. What would it look like to hold both sustainability and solidarity?

Hit reply and let me know what came up for you. I read every response.

With liberatory care,

Silvana

​​Liberatory Letters | The Practice of Liberation | Decolonize Your Practice​

PS. You can read previous Liberatory Letters here.

PPS. The POL goes out in two week.

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⬆️ Let's connect!