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​Please scroll down to read our Unconditional Education blog posts.

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OUR UE MODEL AND SERVICES

Reflections and Intentions: Mid-Year Data Insights

1/23/2023

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Ah January, a month for celebration, reflection, and new intentions. Similarly in UE, we spend time this year reflecting on our work through feedback we received from our School Partners on the year so far. Just before the winter break we conducted our Mid-Year Partner Survey, soliciting feedback across our 69 school partnership sites to highlight our successes and, just as important, our areas for growth that will help us to hone our intentions through the end of the year. 
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We are excited to report participation in our survey across programs was our highest yet from 97% of partner schools with over 600 individual responses!
 
The Mid-Year Partnership Survey asks our partners how we are doing with components of the UE Model related to Culture and Climate, Direct Services, Progress Reporting and Equity. For students receiving direct services at our school sites, we asked our partners four questions: 
  • ​If they find the provider(s) of these interventions to be professional and collaborative
  • If the providers are knowledgeable and skillful in helping teachers to implement classroom interventions to support students receiving this service
  • If teachers feel well informed about what their students are working on and what growth they are making with Seneca.
  • If Seneca staff work to collaboratively explore racial identity, historical racism, and implicit/explicit bias and the ways these impact students’ needs and experiences in the classroom.
This year, both questions about staff being Professional and Collaborative and Knowledgeable and Skillful averaged above our goal of 80% at 93% and 86% respectively! We are very excited by these positive responses and that our partners continued to feel supported by their school site teams.

As in past years, data collection and reporting continue to be a program priority (#datatellsastory) and little by little this is an area where, at this mid-year point, we saw an increase to 75%, up from 74% last year and headed towards our goal for the year of at least 80% which we are hopeful to hit in our End of Year Surveys! 
 
Our second, and equally important program priority, is our commitment to equity (#opportunityoveroppression) and to disrupt the ways in which our existing systems create barriers to educational access and opportunity particularly at the intersection of race, economic attainment, and ability status. This is the second year that we have included our question about “working collaboratively to explore racial identity” and we are encouraged that for the second year we have averaged above our goals of 80%. Not only did we meet our goal though but continued to climb, reaching 85%, up from 81% last year.
 
We know however that there is more to the story than just the numbers and, to get the full picture we also elicit specific feedback and suggestions from our partners on where we can continue to improve practice. Equally important to the many highlights and celebrations we received are the areas for growth that partners ask for in order to recalibrate on our commitments and efforts in support or positive student outcomes. This feedback is crucial to our reflective process and setting our intentions for the remainder of the year. This year, we saw some similar themes emerge across our partners: A) wanting to hear more about goals and progress students are making, B) receive more training and guidance to implement classroom interventions, C) increase small group interventions provided, and D) for more school-wide professional development opportunities provided by Seneca.

“I would just like to know a little more about strategies that the therapist uses with my students, so that I can be sure to implement the same strategies in my classroom.”
 
“It would be great to get a little more insight on what the student's specific goals are and how they are trying to work towards those. That way, I could better support in the classroom!”
 
“It would be nice to have group sessions with students because the small groups seem to work well.”
 
“If possible, it would be great if Seneca therapists can facilitate groups or work in partnership with other therapists to co-facilitate groups.”
 
“I think Seneca staff could do more training to best support other students in the classroom.”
 
“More time for PD's presented by Seneca, such as escalation cycle, behaviors, data collection, etc.”
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We look forward to hearing from our partners again during our End-of-Year Partnership Survey. While we wait, here are just a few of the incredible highlights shared from the year so far:
“There is a strong partnership between Seneca leadership and the School Admin team. I feel that we are collaborating effectively. A particular strength has been our work around professional development this year for the entire school staff. These have felt impactful.”
 
“Something that is going well this year with the Seneca partnership is the strong relationships being built between Seneca providers, students, and other staff members. The partnership continues to support school staff members with interventions that have helped students make tremendous progress towards their individual goals.”
 
“I believe school culture has been positively impacted by our Seneca partnership, specifically I feel like scholar voices have been uplifted by our partnership.”
 
“Very positive impact on culture. They address myriad aspects of school culture, from students to staff. They are responsive and quick, but also methodical.”
 
“Student behavior has improved. There has been a shift in the way students respond to conflict. I believe it is due to the structure and support from our Seneca staff working with our school admin.”
 
“Seneca therapists are always there when a student needs support.  There is always a change for the better when Seneca becomes involved with a student.”
 
“Students begging to get back into the social skills group b/c of the support and growth they experienced there.”
 
“As staff I feel supported and appreciated through the emails we received every Wednesday. For me it is a way to lift myself up when I have needed it the most. I have been supported in my classroom when I called for support with some students and I have seen staff coming to my classroom with other students and seeing how she engages with them and how she makes an impact on them is always a reminder on how important it is to have our Seneca coach here.”
 
“I receive regular updates on what skills students are practicing in their sessions so that they can continue to practice these newly learned skills in non-therapeutic contexts.”
 
“We couldn't have survived without Seneca and their support system a few years back when they first came on campus. Our behavior needs were so intensive. Now behaviors are leveling out thanks to in part the strategies they have taught our students and the support the students receive.”
 
“The service providers from Seneca with whom I have contact have been exemplary in the care they demonstrate for meeting the needs of the students with whom they work as well as in communicating with me and other staff members about the implementation of strategies for improving service provision to these students.”
 
“Our clinicians' care for the students is transparent, warm, and consistent. I really feel we are in this together and all our kids are ALL our kids. My students express positive feelings towards our clinicians.”
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​Blog Post Written By: Jordan Ullman, Assistant Director of Assessment and Evaluation
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Financial Wellness in 2023

1/17/2023

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Oh HI, Linzy here with the Operations Strand. Come over here, I have something that your future self will love…
2023 has arrived and the Ops team has their money on their mind during this season of intention!
We are making 3 big money moves for this month’s PLC sessions. Read on and join us on the journey.
  1. On 1/27 from 10 – 12, we are attending Seneca’s Financial Wellness Presentation and Q & A on retirement options and benefits.  This will be led by HR Director, Lori Slominski and a representative from The Standard (that company that runs our retirement accounts).  The session will include a full walk through of what the agency offers, plus how to navigate available resources within the Standard website.  All staff are invited, so keep an eye out for an email from Lori next week to get registered.
  2. Wanna do something for YOU? Right NOW?!  Take a look at how your 403B is doing by logging onto https://portal.standard.com/my-home/.  Once you log in, go to “My Account” and check our your “Retirement Readiness Snapshot”. You can make real time adjustments to your score from that page – your future self will thank you!
  3. Check out this quick article by the Career Contessa on creative money saving techniques and tailor your plans to your personal financial goals.​
When it comes to Financial Wellness, diversifying your approach is the way to go – so go toward the green money making light and design a plan that works for you!​
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Blog Post Written By: Linzy Gustafson, Director of Implementation 


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BOOK HIGHLIGHT: ‘My Grandmother’s Hands’ by Resmaa Menakem

6/21/2021

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White-body supremacy is always functioning in our bodies. It operates in our thinking brains, our assumptions, and mental shortcuts…But it operates most powerfully in our lizard brains, inciting the fight, flee, or freeze response … (Menakem p.6)
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As part of Unconditional Education’s commitment to ongoing growth and development, staff have spent time diving into the work of great leaders in the field of healing centered approaches to community care. As part of this process, we are hoping to ground our relationships with students, families, and each other in ways that acknowledge and address a more holistic and culturally grounded view of trauma and healing.

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One guiding text has been Resmaa Menakem’s My Grandmother’s Hands, which invites readers to take a voyage through the historical perpetuation of racialized trauma, diving into the history of white body supremacy and its impact. Menakem evokes his readers to acknowledge, understand and heal from the somatic effects of this racialized trauma. He recognizes the role of these somatic responses in one's ability to protect themselves from historical and ongoing harm and suggests that this kind of perpetual harm and the associated somatic impact require a different type of healing than may be traditionally applied in mental health work. The reading explores the somatic responses racialized trauma can have on both the “black-body”, “white-body” and also presents an array of healing practices. The book provides a balance of both theory and practice, asking the reader to slow down, reflect, and engage in specific healing practices at the end of each chapter.

Menakem realizes racialized trauma stems from white supremacy that is deeply embedded in American society. More importantly, Menakem teaches readers trauma is simply an irrational reaction that can be passed intergenerationally and subsequently causes a fight, flee or freeze response that can show up in (and often hinder) everyday interactions. In understanding the somatic effects of racialized trauma Menakem teaches readers how to navigate white supremacy to reach healing while acknowledging healing practices are often painful and challenging.

Sometimes people are accustomed to overriding their feelings and pain to get by day to day, until something/someone challenges them to think differently and seek change. It is only by doing the healing work that we can learn to relate and move differently together in the world.  I would recommend My Grandmother’s Hands to anyone who is looking to heal from what can appear to be a somatic-conditioned lifestyle. My experience with this book’s practices brought serenity and a new level of understanding to responses of intergenerational trauma. 

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Blog Post Written By: Lauren Williams, Mental Health Counselor
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Returning to Our Bodies: Caring for Ourselves to Bring Our Full Selves

4/29/2021

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“The more consciously we inhabit our bodies and surrender to the flow of life in us, the more that flow moves us towards wholeness, connection and fulfillment…. Coming back into our bodies isn’t easy and takes courage, but aliveness itself is our strongest ally in the process.”                                        
                                                                                                                                                                                  -Alta Starr
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​As many of our schools and students have returned to in-person learning, I urge us to resist returning to the status quo. The past year of immense loss and global grief has given us space for deep healing, connections, and engaging in generative practices of self-care. 

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While our bodies will remember the habits and memories of the physical life that existed before the pandemic, we can utilize alternative practices to slow down and deepen our somatic awareness. Centering and grounding practices like meditation, centering, yoga, stretching, deep breathing, quiet reflection, physical exercise, and rest are more important than they’ve ever been. As we move towards a world with more justice, liberation, joy, and freedom, our bodies – and the connection between our body and mind – are essential. 

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I’ve compiled a list of community organizations, activists, and practitioners who are connecting practices of liberation to our bodies. Integrating these somatic and embodiment practices into our everyday allows us the opportunity to act more consistently in alignment with our values even when we are under pressure. Take a moment to explore the offerings below and see if you can create a new normal with your body. Make your practice your own. Do not rely on punishment if you miss a centering activity or are unable to easily incorporate this into your life. Small moments of rest and reflection whether that be when your day begins, before you step in a classroom, a post workday ritual, or 60 seconds of mindfulness on your break time can be the political or self-care practice we need to continue to engage in this work with dignity, care, and compassion as our full selves.

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Media:
The Nap Ministry on Instagram
Generative Somatics on Instagram
Self-Care Is For Everyone online store
Prentis Hemphill LinkTree
  • Podcast: Finding Our Way
  • Video Practices: Street Somatics & Centering Practice
Adrienne Maree Brown LinkTree
  • Podcast: Centering at the End of the World Practice

​Literature:
Resmaa Menakem LinkTree
  • Book: My Grandmother’s Hands

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Blog Post Written By: Mackenzie Boyle, Program Manager (SOAPS)
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Unlock Creativity - FREE MasterClass

4/15/2021

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Hey All-In!  Join us in Unlocking Creativity for youth this Spring!

​In honor of Arts Education Month, Seneca is thrilled to provide FREE MasterClass subscriptions to our community (Students, Seneca Staff AND School Partners) thanks to Elevate Oakland's #MasterClassGrants program.

Visit https://lnkd.in/gUfsPWe to learn more and claim your free membership today! #UnlockCreativity

​This is an AWESOME resource - check it out!

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Blog Post Written By: Linzy Gustafson, Assistant Director of Implementation
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Community Day School Hybrid In-Person Learning Hubs

4/1/2021

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Community Day School (CDS), an alternative program in Oakland Unified School District is the proud home of the Wolverines and is dedicated to using a therapeutic and restorative justice-centered approach to give students a second opportunity to succeed in school. The campus empowers middle and high school students to build upon their strengths by supporting them academically, socially, and emotionally, through individual and small instruction, counseling, and career exploration.

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As our students face a broad array of challenges in life, we work to help them understand how change is inevitable and how resiliency is a must. Regardless of the change being negative or positive, the Unconditional Education motto is vibrant at Community Day School. District and Seneca staff are working together to re-open campus and provide students with academic/technical support, meals, and a reliable space for them to find success. OUSD has provided each classroom with two air purifiers and personal protective equipment, and requires all members to complete a daily healthy screening before entering the learning hub. Here are just a few images of how our gorgeous campus is gradually transitioning back after a year of disarray.  

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Blog Post Written By: Cedric Guillory, Mental Health Associate
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The Many Hats of a Student Support Assistant

3/24/2021

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​“We all wear different hats here, formal and informal. Can you talk about the hats you wear in your community and what they mean to you?” This was a question my housemate asked someone applying to live in our cooperatively run house during their informal interview. It is a question I’ve been subliminally thinking about at work all year. 

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I’ve always worn different ‘hats’ as a Student Support Assistant (SSA). Our work weaves across the behavioral, socio-emotional, and academic realms depending on the students we are working with, what our school partners expect from us, and sometimes just depending on what kind of day it is. Yet I’ve found this to be especially pronounced during distance learning.

​At the dentist this week, the hygienist asked me what I do for a living, and I was tongue-tied for a moment. Last year I might have said something like, “I provide mental health and behavioral support for students at school,” because that felt like my primary role. Academics were often put on the backburner during support time with my kids because the behavioral, socio-emotional pot was boiling over.

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In distance learning, however, many SSAs are trying on the ‘teacher’ hat in new ways. One SSA said that last year she felt like a lot of her job was, “...a lot of crisis response and general in-the-moment behavioral redirections, incentive plans, tracking, and stuff like that,” whereas since distance learning, her work has shifted to encompass more of an academic support role focused on supplemental teaching. Some SSAs are also running reading intervention groups, or in my case, a community meeting every day for a group of sixth graders. School staff are spread thin, and as SSAs, we often flex and bend to fill in the gaps. With shortened class periods and long independent work blocks, there are a lot of academic gaps to fill. 

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Providing emotional support also looks different outside the often hectic school setting, with both potential for disengagement and intimacy. One SSA said she finds herself, “often feeling like a therapist” during her one-on-one Zoom check-ins with kids, with “a lot more kind of ‘talk therapy’ that comes up.” In the words of another SSA, “...we spend the most time with students, so we often have to switch out of different hats because we have to meet the different needs of the students throughout the day.” The need for emotional support has always been there, but the opportunities and needs for one-on-one check-ins with students have grown during this year of isolation.
 
One SSA described our role as always wearing the hats of teacher, therapist, case manager, and behavioral coach rolled into one, and for her that hasn’t changed during distance learning. The main difference for her is that she is now finally accessing training on supporting students’ needs outside the behavioral realm: “For example, I had to dispense a lot of academic content without any training on how to teach math, ELA, etc. to students [last year].” This year, however, she had the opportunity to receive some training around supporting students with academic needs. 

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​Sometimes I feel spread too thin as an SSA. Other times, I feel grateful that I get to be so many different versions of myself in one day. To a group of 12 sixth graders, I’m their community meeting teacher. To other kids, I’m the person who helps them with their schoolwork and organization skills. Then there is my 3rd grader who asked, “Wait, are you my therapist?” And I get to take the things I’ve learned in each of these roles and apply them to whatever situation I find myself in. It’s a balancing act that can be draining, and is not for everyone, but I find that grounding in the relationships I am building—despite whatever hat I’m wearing—keeps me from slipping.

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Blog Post Written By: Trinity Morton, Student Support Assistant
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Inviting Joy in this Virtual World

3/18/2021

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One year ago, schools shut down and shifted to the virtual setting. A year of Zoom calls, video meetings, phone chats, text messages, and emails. A year of challenges for our students, families, and us as educators. These challenges extended past our virtual schools to the real world. Through it all, I have seen the unbreakable human spirit. Love, compassion, hope, courage, respect, and curiosity. These Seneca core values appear innate to educators, and to me. They seem resilient to the adversity we face. They are truly unconditional. Our other core value, joy, seems to come and go. One moment it feels within my grasp, and the next, slipping through my fingers.

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​As the days have turned to weeks, the weeks turned to months, and the months into a year, I seek out this joy. The teachers I work with seek it too, but it can be hard to find amid a sea of black screens. Administrators and service providers want to find it as well, but it can be daunting in the digital divide. We aim to solve a myriad of new problems in school structures and the student experience. Our school looks for opportunities to dismantle white supremacy in the education system, and I grapple with how to be an ally. It’s my belief that to move forward in these pursuits, joy is essential.

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Seeking joy in times like this can be difficult. I admit in my work with students I’m quick to dive
right into an algebraic equation or to discuss providing evidence for a topic sentence. An area of growth for me is connecting with students virtually. I miss greeting students in the morning, eating with them at lunch, and playing basketball with them in the afternoon. This is also true for my connections with coworkers. Instead of chatting over copies and coffee in the morning, or debriefing at the end of a class, we are face to face in an online meeting with little time to spare. When our school delved into the hard conversations of anti-racism, we could not come together in the following days and lift each other up. I am nostalgic for those organic moments of togetherness within a school day, when joy was not hard to find and I didn’t have to search hard for it.

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Without those natural humanizing moments, I’ve attempted to be more intentional about joy. When I check in with students, we discuss what we’re enjoying in and out of school. In my meetings with teachers, we talk about lessons, activities, and how to improve outcomes for students. I then take time to ask teachers “What would make a lesson fun for you?” We tinker and collaborate on how to bring joy to the classroom for them, and for the students. In my digital interactions, I strive to carve out a few minutes of lightness and laughter. 

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​As I sit reflecting upon this past year, a different perspective emerges. These fleeting joys I seek are the simple byproduct of in person human interaction, which I miss dearly. Having those moments can re-energize us as educators and motivate students to keep going. There is a tremendous amount of value in keeping our spirits high. It is important, but there’s also a deeper happiness to be found which can’t be sought after or created so easily. The true joys of Unconditional Education come from within the work itself.
 
I recently had an IEP meeting with a freshman student. This student graduated 8th grade and started high school virtually, during a pandemic. I cannot imagine living through a pivotal time in such circumstances. The start of this school year was difficult for them, but this recent meeting felt more like a celebration. The student and their clinician were happy to report progress on a journey which enabled the student to recognize their thoughts and feelings, and to give them words. The team, the student, and their mother were thrilled to discuss the positive improvement in the student’s behavior. Their math teacher was ecstatic to discuss the student’s newfound confidence in solving problems step by step. The student and I made plans to tackle a new goal in self-advocacy, an area of challenge, but one that we are embracing in partnership.

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​This cheerful meeting was no happy accident. It took daily effort from the student, their mother, their teachers, support staff, and a team of service providers. Small moments of joy did sustain all of us in this work, but they can be conditional. They depend on the environment, the activity, and how we as people are connected to each other, which are all challenges in a pandemic. Rather, it is the loving, compassionate, hopeful, courageous, respectful, and curious moments we pour into education everyday which leads to meaningful joy. It is this joy that empowers a young person on their journey. It fills the heart of their family. It is why we persist as educators. A sustainable joy, unconditional.

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Blog Post Written By: Alan Ellis, Academic Intervention Specialist
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Meeting Each of Us Where We Are, Unconditionally

3/2/2021

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Seneca has always prided itself on providing Unconditional Care to children and families to assist them with various challenges and provide resources to thrive in daily living. However, let's be honest, this pandemic has made our usual roles even MORE challenging than before. 

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With the Unconditional Care model in mind, our team at Prescott Elementary and Seneca Oakland Alameda Public Schools (SOAPS) have actively brainstormed creative ways to engage families to ensure they receive adequate forms of support and resources no matter the circumstances. We’ve provided portable desks, academic supplies and posters to families to assist them in creating a designated space, within the home, where the student can access their education. To promote engagement, we’ve incorporated an incentive wheel in which students are surprised with incentives, at random times during instruction, when they display positive engagement. Some of the incentives include a 10-minute game break, homework pass, and extra picks at the student store or “grab bag”.   We aim to provide a fun and structured environment for the students, while also holding them accountable with their expectations.  ​

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​Bet you thought positive reinforcement just worked on students? Nope, it works with parents/caregivers as well. As a result, we’ve included families into student contracts and incentives so parents/caregivers can be included in the process. In addition, we’ve worked to communicate student improvements and successes, instead of challenges majority of the time, and to acknowledge family members for providing support because they deserve recognition as well.  

​I hope I’ve been able to normalize the challenges we’ve all been facing and to provide ideas you may not have used yet or just inspire you to keep trying! We are all doing our best during this unprecedented time, so while we are providing love and compassion to our clients, don’t forget to love yourself as well. #SelfCare  
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Blog Post Written By: Breanna Donaldson, Clinical Counseling Associate
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Humanizing & Decolonizing our Complexities – Therapists are People Too

2/23/2021

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​The past 12 months have been rough for most people. While certainly not inherently worse, there have been unique challenges for those of us working as therapists. We have weathered the global COVID-19 pandemic and its associated personal, social, and political impacts right alongside the young people we work with and their families.

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We have been isolated and overwhelmed, faced unthinkable loss both in our families and in our communities, as well as on a global scale, and we have been subjected to one political firestorm after another. On top of that we had to learn zoom. Many of us have risen with hope as part of the movement for Black lives -- and have also found ourselves heartbroken and exhausted as structural and interpersonal race-based violence continues to proliferate. Some of us did all of this with our children attending online school right beside us, never getting a break from being on duty or, conversely, in total isolation, without having the experience of in-person connection that usually fills us up and keeps us going. 
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Our beautiful, flawed, resilient, and precarious human-ness has been on full display, and given the limitations of the COVID lifestyle, there’s not a lot we can do about that. It has affected each of us differently given our own identities, family structures, geographical and social locations. One thing is for certain: our common humanity is more pronounced than ever in our work.

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In learning to live with what is becoming ‘COVID normal,’ I sit with questions about what it means to be a therapist and balance my humanity with the service I am offering to others. Consider this illustration of a therapist’s office, with a 2020/2021 twist.  Simply drawn, the room is immediately familiar: the classic therapy couch, chair, framed degrees on the wall, and a box of tissues on the table. But the therapist’s chair is empty, and both the therapist and client are on the couch, sitting close together, facial expressions somewhere in the vicinity of bewildered. The therapist’s pen and clipboard are strewn on the floor.

​This year more than ever, it may be true that we are 
‘on the couch’ with our clients. As we live through so many tragedies and painful changes side by side, we are all simply doing our best with the tools we have at any given moment. There is healing in joining, and perhaps this joining is integral to the deconstruction of the western, white supremist ideologies that therapy as we know it was built on. These frameworks serve to maintain the veil of separation between therapist and client, upholding the false notion that one person in the room is an expert, and the other, a problem.
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​As therapists in training, we are taught about boundaries, professionalism, and keeping our selfhood out of the therapeutic relationship. Do not talk about yourself. You are a blank slate. Do not burden the client with your issues. Keep your messy humanity out of the work. Of course, this has value in terms of cultivating a space where the client can be the focus of the attention and receive necessary support, rather than be in a position of feeling beholden to the needs of the therapist. That being said, the antiquated notion of the therapist sitting in silence -- quietly diagnosing, holding knowledge and power, showing no vulnerabilities -- is deeply rooted in the othering that is inherent to the western and white supremist ideologies that the field of psychotherapy was built on. Going back to the illustration for a moment, it is important to note that both the therapist and client are white men.

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​In the drawing, to be even more specific, the therapist is wearing what appear to be Sigmund Freud’s signature glasses. I imagine this was an artistic choice made by the illustrator to indicate simply and clearly the who’s who of the scene, and it is effective. However, when taking into consideration the role that medical and scientific racism has played in the creation of therapy as we know it over the past 100 years or so, this is an opportunity to reflect on and shift out of the unspoken understanding that therapy is by and for white people. As a white therapist myself, looking at this from a decolonial or liberatory lens gives us a chance to consider the alternatives. By releasing ourselves as service providers from the western and white supremist ideologies of individualism, objectification, and hierarchical relationships (which Freud exemplified) we have an opportunity to participate in healing internally and in our therapeutic relationships.

Dr. Eduardo Duran spoke on “Decolonizing Therapy and Healing the Soul Wound,” recently at the Compassion in Therapy Summit where he shared, “in a practice of therapy or a community intervention, if we bring in only a western approach, we are acting as colonizers, and basically imposing more trauma on the community,” causing more harm even as we operate with positive intentions toward healing.

So how do we make this shift as individual humans who want to heal ourselves and be better therapists at the same time?

​One avenue for this will come from Seneca’s All-In Program’s upcoming 3 month long clinical training series with Dr. Jennifer Mullan, who is most widely known for her revolutionary Instagram account, @decolonizingtherapy. Through this medium as well as her role as a psychologist, consultant, trainer, and activist, her work has significantly contributed to the ongoing conversation around the importance of, as our training series is called, “Politicizing Your Practice.”
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By directly acknowledging our own intersecting identities in the therapeutic relationship, actively taking an anti-racist stance and striving to dismantle white supremacy in all its forms, accepting our areas of growth, releasing perfection as an ideal, and embracing the cultural and contextual knowing of the individuals and communities we work with, we can begin the work of deconstructing the inherently oppressive elements society of as they show up in therapy, social work, and even the role of the non-profit agency itself. There is no one single way to approach this as it’s not a linear progression that starts in one place and follows a straight line to another. For each person, this journey will be different. Speaking for white therapists like myself, often the work starts with learning about how we are benefiting from and upholding white supremacy in our daily lives. Everyone has their own path, but nobody is alone on this journey.
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In doing this work, as we ‘sit on the couch’ with our clients, perhaps we can cultivate our humanity together. By starting with acknowledging our own humanity and honoring that of the people we work with. This is more than being kind or cracking a few jokes during a session to build rapport. It’s a deep and meaningful exploration of ourselves and each other, our histories shared and distinct, and a readiness to face the complexities of truly showing up as human in our relationships.
"The energy of resistance is fundamentally about claiming our humanity, our right to be fully human. This right is both for ourselves and for others. We must clearly see those forces that try to hold us down or hold us back. The inner work is about not holding ourselves down or holding ourselves back from manifesting our own highest humanity. It is about setting our souls free to sing, to shine, to soar. What song will you free your soul to sing? How can you support someone else in allowing their soul's power and beauty to shine more brightly? Let's all claim the cancellation of the captivity and enslavement of our minds and souls!” -Dr. Shelly Harrell
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*Please click the underlined words to discover pages related to the topic!
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Blog Post Written By: Brittany Allinger, Outpatient Clinician
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