Expression Wellness Group
Chilliwack and Abbotsford offices Abbotsford, BC, Canada

Well, there is no doubt that I, like the rest of us, am celebrating the heck out of saying goodbye to this year. For most folks (myself included) it’s been REALLY REALLY HARD. Taking some time today though to reflect on the good that came from the hard- I believe this is the way we transcend the trauma. We make meaning and find joy in that which was, or has been unbearable. So this is my list... might not be yours, although I suspect there is some shared humanity here. Much love today as we welcome in 2021 with hope and open arms. Much love. Be safe tonight - Christina

Been deeply reflecting on the impact of covid on people’s mental health and on our communities- especially small businesses. It can feel so powerless sometimes to know how to help, or how to make change in such difficult times. But one thing you can do is shop local this Christmas. Please tag your favourite small business (or your own small business) with some ideas of things we could purchase from there. Make sure you let us know what community it’s in. We can’t do all the things, but we can do small things with great love. (Don’t know where I heard that, but I heard it somewhere)... probably Glennon... much love today. - Christina

A reminder to our fellow therapists that we’ll be hosting the fabulous Vikki Reynolds in a few short weeks. If you have not yet registered for this online workshop in December 2nd and 3rd (9:00-12:00), please reach out. Vikki will be presenting and leading conversation about ethics and social justice in our private practices. ... We’re excited to have both her and you come alongside us. Contact us [email protected]

Kai Cheng Thom writes: "I think the major difference between a social justice and a white/colonial lens on trauma is the assumption that trauma recovery is the ...reclamation of safetythat safety is a resource that is simply 'out there' for the taking and all we need to do is work hard enough at therapy . "I was once at a training seminar in Toronto led by a famous & beloved somatic psychologist. She spoke brilliantly. I asked her how healing from trauma was possible for ppl for whom violence & danger are part of everyday life. She said it was not. . "Colonial psychology & psychiatry reveal their allegiance to the status quo in their approach to trauma: That resourcing must come from within oneself rather than from the collective. That trauma recovery is feeling safe in society, when in fact society is the source of trauma . Colonial somatics & psychotherapies teach that the body must relearn to perceive safety. But the bodies of the oppressed are rightly interpreting danger. Our triggers & explosive rage, our dissociation & perfect submission are in fact skills that have kept us alive . + . The somatics of social justice cannot (i believe) be a somatics rooted in the colonial frameworks of psychology, psychiatry, or other models linked to the dominance of the nation-state (psychology was not always this way, but has become increasingly so over time) . The somatics of social justice cannot be aimed at restoring the body to a state of homeostasis/neutrality. We must be careful of popular languaging such as the 'regulation' of nervous system & emotion, which implies the control and domination of mind over emotion & sensation. . "Because we are not, in the end, preparing the body to 'return' to the general safety of society (this would be gaslighting). we are preparing the body, essentially for struggletraining for better survival & the ability to experience joy in the midst of great danger. . "In the cauldron of social justice healing praxis, we must aim for relationality that has the potential to generate social change, to generate insurrection. we must be prepared to challenge norms. acknowledge danger. embrace struggle. take risks. . "& above all, we must not overemphasize the importance of individual work (which is important indeed) to the detriment of a somatics that also prepares us, essentially, for war. somatics that allow us to organize together. fight together. live together. love each other. Kai Cheng Thom . Art by Shelby McQuilkin . .