Reader,

Since restarting the Community Liberation Sessions, I’ve been reflecting more deeply on something I’ve been offering for a while:

Affinity spaces.

Because I always get pushback:

So I’ve been reminding myself why these spaces matter, why they’re needed. And also, how they are imperfect.

Affinity spaces are meant to reduce the invisible and constant emotional labor that people with marginalized identities carry.
They create room for honesty. For shared context. For less explaining, and more truth.

And at the same time, they often receive backlash….
They’re misunderstood as exclusionary. They’re seen as preventing learning, and gatekeeping knowledge.

So I wrote more about it.

If you’ve ever felt unsure, resistant, or curious about identity-based spaces —whether participating in them or offering them— and especially if you’re doing justice-oriented work in therapy or other healing spaces, I want to invite you to read this:

​about affinity spaces in therapy and healing work​

It’s a deeper unpacking of what these spaces are, what they are not, and why they are one piece of a larger ecosystem of liberation work.

And if you’re feeling called to join an affinity space for therapists, healers, and space-holders…

Or if you’re feeling the need for practice, processing, and community— you’re welcome to join us.

The Community Liberation Sessions are:

• a space to bring real dilemmas inside oppressive systems
• a space to process burnout and moral tension without having to minimize it
• a space to practice liberatory ways of being in real time
• a space where you don’t have to do this work alone

A facilitated community space. A place for knowledge exchange.

→ You can learn more and sign up here​

Bring your questions and your contradictions. Bring the parts of this work that don’t fit anywhere else.

We’ll practice together.

With care,

Silvana

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

PS. You can read previous Liberatory Letters here.

PPS.
​The next Community Liberation Sessions will take place on:
BIPoC clinicians: Apr 20 — 3 pm PT / 6 pm ET
white clinicians: Apr 23 — 2 pm PT / 5 pm ET
​sign up here​

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⬆️ Let's connect!