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!
Safe spaces are a myth
Reader,
Lately I’ve been thinking of the idea of creating safe spaces especially for people who hold systemically marginalized identities. That was my aim as a facilitator… “creating a brave and safe space for all participants”, but that is impossible! Yes, impossible, I bet you knew that already.
I wish I could, but I cannot ensure your safety if we’re in a shared/communal space, so why should I offer that? I’m not trying to be pessimistic or jaded when I say this. But I know that sooner or later, someone, even with the best of intentions, could cause harm. And I do want to be prepared for that.
How do you prepare for and recover from harm in communal spaces?
By setting a container for your meetings.
By offering repair.
If you have provided relationship counseling, or are trained in systems, you know how it goes. Even in the most loving of relationships there is the potential of causing unintended harm. And here is where we learn to offer repair.
But I know life is more complex than relationship counseling. And offering repair in communal spaces means:
- I need to be ready to hold space for all people involved.
- I need to have in mind the identities of the individual who caused rupture and the identities of the individual who was harmed.
In other words, if you caused rupture and offer repair, don’t expect your offer to be accepted. And if you were harmed by rupture, I’ll do my best to hold space for you and your needs.
Want to add more complexity to this puzzle?
Have in mind your identities, were your privileged identities harmed, or were your marginalized identities harmed? or both??
What's your reaction when one of your privileged identities is harmed vs. one of your marginalized identities?
How do you set a boundary if you're not ready for repair?
How do you create responsive and brave spaces in your community that can offer repair?
In community,
Silvana @ Decolonize Your Practice
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...