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!
I’m exhausted!
Reader,
Going on semi-vacation a couple of weeks ago was great and was a much needed break. But it also made me realize that I was not just tired and in need to rest, I’m actually exhausted! Remember back in college or grad school when the term was over and all of a sudden you either got sick or experienced the fatigue that you had not experienced during the term? That's what happened to me during my break.
I noticed that this exhaustion is a mix of physical, cognitive, and emotional fatigue that I’m thankfully taking care of. I also noticed that this fatigue is the result of wanting to be “more productive” and wanting to “do more with my time” both personally and professionally. And then it dawned on me that capitalism and white supremacy culture were both sneaking back in making me feel not good enough and putting my worth on work and money. Does this happen to you?
To me this has been yet another reminder that decolonizing my practice and decolonizing myself is this continuous endeavor that finds push back from the systems we live in. That decolonizing my practice is not just about a land acknowledgment and beyond, it’s not just about supporting and centering people who hold systemically marginalized identities, or about acknowledging my privileges and/or making my services more accessible in whatever way possible.
In the last couple of weeks I have heard from clinician friends how they are setting the intention to not put anything in their schedule on certain days, how they are not enrolling in my program now because they want to rest and have space first, how they want to take things slowly even though the world around us is moving so fast, how they are taking more naps. And I LOVE that all these conversations with clinician friends are professional-ish conversations that focus on what they need to do in their personal lives to be better for themselves, their loved ones, their clients, and their communities.
I will admit that I wish I had not arrived at this point of fatigue to realize I need to reassess my priorities. But here I am, giving myself all the compassion I can (i.e. not giving myself a hard time for “failing” again), feeling the feelings, and discerning what is the need behind the feeling and what are the boundaries I need to set.
Has this happened to you? How does white supremacy keep on sneaking back into your practice and how are you pushing back? Hit reply and let me know... I'd love to be inspired by how you push back and I'd love to share your suggestions with this community!
Looking forward to hearing from you! 💛
Silvana @ Decolonize Your Practice
PS.
Some posts ago I asked you if there were any trainings you would like to share with this newsletter community. I want to thank Amanda, kaseja, and Elena for sharing this offering from Linda Thai, this one from Plácida Gallegos, and (omg!!) the Call Blackline to support BIPOC with an LGBTQ+ Black Femme Lens.
Let's connect!
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!
Reader, A quick update on what I've been up to: 🛋️ The Practice of Liberation is where I offer a quieter, slower, more intimate space and deeper look into what decolonizing my work, my connections, and myself actually looks like.It grew from the same intention as Liberatory Letters, but moves with a more tender, gentler, introspective pace — one that centers who we are, how we practice, and what liberation looks like in daily life.It’s meant for those ready to practice liberation in real...
Reader, A quick update on what I've been up to: 🛋️ The Practice of Liberation, a slower, more intimate space and deeper look into what decolonizing my work, my connections, and my inner world actually looks like.It comes from the same heart as Liberatory Letters, but moves with a gentler, more vulnerable rhythm — one that centers lived practice and honest reflection, not just the professional role.It’s for those of us who want to live liberation in real time, not just intellectualize it.You...
Reader, We talk a lot about “success” at the end of the year — how much we achieved, how much we accomplished, how many milestones we hit. But if we’re honest, most of us inherited a definition of success that was never ours to begin with. Success, for many of us, was shaped by systems that taught our families that safety had to be earned. That rest was conditional. That slowing down was dangerous. That productivity was proactivity.There is nothing wrong with wanting more: more ease, more...