I help therapists, healers, and space-holders bring decolonial and liberatory values into their work—so you’re not just saying you’re aligned… you’re actually practicing it. ⬆️ More integrity, more connection, more liberation. ⬇️ Less burnout, less performative wokeness, less colonial residue. If you want a practice where marginalized clients feel safe, seen, and honored—and you want to feel more grounded and intentional in your work—subscribe and join a growing community of practitioners doing this work differently. You practice can be liberatory-- let's get you there!
Building Connections (action steps)
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Reader, I’ve been thinking a lot about what it really means to build authentic connections in the therapy room (and beyond) when we ground ourselves in awareness of systemic oppression and power. This is more than a nice-to-have or another checkbox on the diversity forms we see in our workplaces. It’s the heart of how we practice liberation and decolonization in our work. Let’s be real for a second: the therapy and healing world wasn’t exactly built with the needs of marginalized communities in mind. It was designed to fit within a Western, Eurocentric framework, and that’s left so many people—therapists and clients alike—feeling disconnected, unseen, and unheard. The systems of power that have shaped our world have also shaped our healing practices, and if we’re not consciously unlearning those patterns, we’re just inadvertently reinforcing harm. But here’s the thing: healing and connection can’t happen in isolation from the social and political realities we all live in. This is why building connections grounded in an awareness of power and oppression is so important. It means we’re not just passively listening or staying “neutral” in the room—we’re actively challenging the power imbalances that shape the therapeutic relationship. So, what does that actually look like in practice? Here are the action steps:
⬆️ I'll unpack these five actions in future emails ⬆️ And you don’t have to do this alone! We’re in this together—this unlearning, relearning, and creating something radically different. A world where therapy and healing aren’t just tools for personal growth but are also acts of resistance and liberation. That’s the work we signed up for, even if grad school didn’t teach us that. So, here’s my invitation to you:
And as always, if you’re down for more conversations about decolonizing our practices, I’d love to hear from you. Reply to this email and tell me how this resonates with you, or what else you need to start doing this work differently. We’re all figuring this out together, one liberatory step at a time. 💛 In solidarity and healing, Silvana @ Decolonize Your Practice PS. Ready to take it even further? Sign up for the last (or next to the last) Decolonized Consultation Sessions below ⬇️
PPS. Hi! Did someone forward this newsletter to you for the first time?
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Liberatory Letters
I help therapists, healers, and space-holders bring decolonial and liberatory values into their work—so you’re not just saying you’re aligned… you’re actually practicing it. ⬆️ More integrity, more connection, more liberation. ⬇️ Less burnout, less performative wokeness, less colonial residue. If you want a practice where marginalized clients feel safe, seen, and honored—and you want to feel more grounded and intentional in your work—subscribe and join a growing community of practitioners doing this work differently. You practice can be liberatory-- let's get you there!
February 2026 Reader, I belong to the subgroup of clinicians who became therapists because they went to therapy and… it worked! Therapy helped me so i wanted to help others though therapy… does that sound familiar? I joined an undergraduate program in psychology in 2004. I completed my clinical psychology internship at the local Air Force hospital in 2009. Of course I didn’t love the specialty classes. Of course I was lit up by philosophy and psychology, literature and psychology, sociology...
Reader, I’ve been reflecting on the fact that my prescheduled emails told you I was in deep rest mode, and now I’m questioning that. I think the news — and the pace and volume of it — really took a toll on me, and I’m still recovering from it. I don’t think I achieved deep rest.That is okay in the sense that this is useful information: more is happening ⇒ systems are escalating ⇒ it’s harder to return to any kind of baseline ⇒ this informs me about what may also be happening for the...
[from the archives] Reader, This is something that keeps coming up in conversations with other clinicians: and it's even more relevant now in 2026... even though i wrote this a while back How do we keep showing up for our clients when we’re moving through so much ourselves? When the world feels like it’s on fire, and we’re holding stories that mirror our own pain? Let’s be real: Being a therapist or healer in a chaotic world (to say the least) often means holding other people’s grief while...