Change Agents
“I’ve found the cure for depression is action.”
– Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia & climate activist
You carry the weight of the world.
You are dedicated to creating a better world for all. But at what personal cost?
You’re feeling stressed, depressed, tired, afraid, and discouraged about the present and future.
COVID added to the sense of uncertainty, isolation, and dislocation from the world many thought we knew. It’s hard to assess risk.
You thought you knew people’s hearts, but disagreements over personal choices have led to painful relationship ruptures. You no longer know who feels safe.
Perhaps you are newly awakened to systemic racism or have been on the receiving end all along.
Climate grief is a ghost lurking beneath the surface of every choice and plan for the future. You’re worried for your children and grandchildren.
You’re drained and ready to quit. The enjoyment you got in the past by joining arms with others is lost.
“The children almost broken by the world become the adults most likely to change it.”
– Frank Warren, founder of PostSecret and mental health activist
It’s personal.
It’s because you know what it’s like that you want to help.
If you’re working for change, there’s a good chance that you’ve been personally affected in some way because you…
- Grew up in poverty
- Experienced violence in your community
- Couldn’t get health care when you needed it
- Had your physical boundaries crossed against your will
- Experienced racialized trauma
- Didn’t get appropriate caregiving in childhood
- Are close to people who’ve experienced harm
- Care about the state of the world, the people, and creatures in it.
By starting with these challenges, you’re more easily affected by the effort of making change, like pushing boulders uphill.
Sustainable self-care…
The buzzword for sustainability in change work is “self-care.” But what does this mean?
When your Self has been affected by your own trauma or witnessed that happen to others, things are out of sync. Your biology can’t support you to mobilize for action because it’s accumulated too much stress already. The resting response you need doesn’t come.
Bubble baths, massages, scented candles – these all help but are temporary.
Deeply caring for your Self means caring for the mind and body in a way that re-tunes your nervous system to regain the healthy flow that is your birthright. I specialize in mind-body therapy that leads to lasting change.
A trusted ally…
You need a level of knowledge that your therapist “gets it.”
I won’t minimize or question your core values and life experiences.
I’ll attune with you and support your need for a safe place to express your hopes and fears, and join you in exploring what matters to you most and how you can best make a difference.
Together, we will look for the signals of organic wisdom from your own system that will guide you toward your purpose. When your channels of experience and knowledge are in synchrony rather than fragmentation, you recognize and can follow your path with so much less effort and confusion. You can comfortably connect with others to support each other in your work.
Ease increases. Enjoyment returns.
Let’s talk about how I can support you.
“I think the importance of doing activist work is precisely because it allows you to give back and to consider yourself not as a single individual who may have achieved whatever, but to be a part of an ongoing historical movement.”
– Angela Davis, American political activist & academic