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Reader, You are receiving this (pre-scheduled) email while I transition back from a break. So it doesn’t address or reflect on anything that might be happening in the world at the moment. (And honestly, I’m really hoping nothing major is happening… because we’ve all had plenty happen already.) Short and sweet: Here are a couple of articles I was glad to come across last year... This is one that made me think the most: Why We Should Stop Saying “Underrepresented” by N. Chloé Nwangwu Why? Because it’s always worth questioning the language we use. Words have power, and adapting our language so it’s not causing harm is an act of care and mindfulness (and an act of decolonizing yourself). I hope you get as much out of it as I did! And this next one isn’t an article—it’s part of an art installation I saw in Portland last year: We Don’t Want a President by Demian DinéYazhi’ I hope it gives you a great perspective on colonialism—not just in the mental health and wellness industry, but in life as a whole—and how it continues to impact us all. Even though I’m sending this while I’m coming back from my hibernation break, I want to hear from you: Are there any articles you've read this last year that were really meaningful and informative to you? Send me your answer, I so want to read it when I’m back. In community 🌻 Silvana @ Decolonize Your Practice PS. You can read previous Liberatory Letters here. Let's connect! |
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...