Shows
Keeping CompanyEpisode 10: Anti-Racism, Advocacy and Mixed-Race ExperienceWelcome to Part #1 of my coffee chat with my wonderful guests Ella and Jade who join me in table-talk regarding our thoughts about mixed-race experience. We really had no firm idea about what we might discuss. It was an exhilarating experience to give voice to our collective thoughts as they evolve. In this episode, we share our experiences growing up with a multicultural background that includes some shifting of identity as the numbers of multiracial individuals has increased. We also touch on the impact of protests following George Floyd’s death on self-identity, privilege and colorism. What makes th...2021-03-3125 min
Room to Grow Podcast with Emily GoughIntergenerational Trauma, Anti-Racism in the Mental Health Field & Allyship with Meira GreenfeldI'm incredibly honoured to introduce you to Meira Greenfeld today. Meira has worked as a lawyer (and actually headed anti-racism work in Compton back in the day) and learned Constitutional Law from Professor Derrick Bell, the founder of Conflict Race Theory while at Harvard Law School. She provides trainings to help "regular" people promote social justice in their everyday setting. She is currently a racial trauma coach and practicing therapist helping clients move from feeling wrong for who they are because of how they are different to living meaningful lives because they are living in harmony with t...2021-03-161h 07
Keeping CompanyEpisode 9: How Do We Human?Welcome to Episode 9 of Keeping Company where I continue discussion with my guest is Christhmus Presence. To recap, Christopher is an advocate for restorative justice and practices in the Bay area. He is the founder of Therapists of Color for Social Justice, a collective of Bay Area therapists of color who are committed to supporting social justice & BIPOC Community healing via mental health. He also runs a number of Black-Indigenous-People-Of-Color (BIPOC) Telehealth Groups for adults and also 7th and 8thgraders. He also facilitates Asian Pacific American therapy groups.
You can find out more about what Christhmus...2021-02-2321 min
Keeping CompanyEpisode 8: Decolonizing Mental Health Services & TherapyThis week, I really had my work cut out for me with spelling. Do you find sometimes that there are just some words you perpetually have to keep looking up? One of mine is Presence. Yes, it’s one “s’ followed by a “c.” I mention this because this week’s guest is Christhmus Presence. And I can’t spell that either. There’s an “h” after the “t.” I’m embarrassed to say that it took me a while to realize that my guests name rhymed with seasonal gifts. Christmas Presents?
Anyway, you’ve perhaps heard of a Renaissan...2021-02-1625 min
Keeping CompanyEpisode 7: Cultural Appropriation, Excrement on Capitol Hill & The Productivity TreadmillI’m all for evolving in our identities, but I wasn’t done processing Hilaria Baldwin’s strange response to being called out for some rather bizarre inconsistencies that come across as….manipulation?? I wish she had entertained dialogue about it instead of defensiveness.
I’ve also been curious about why the violent individuals who attacked the Capitol Building and sought to harm our leaders brought excrement into the picture. Other than just being plain disgusting, was there some intended message of symbolism? Apparently, it was quite the effort and seemed strategic.
Are you tired? Everyone s...2021-02-0521 min
Keeping CompanyEpisode 6: The Organized Therapist-Part IIYes, it’s been a while since I've produced an episode. Hope and I had this discussion in October! Well, you know that time in 2020 did not run under the same laws of nature. In an upcoming episode I will share why I dropped off the globe for a month in 2020. I’m back with gusto to do my part helping us all get out of survival mode.
In Part II of my interview with Hope Eden, I continue our discussion of interdependency and Hope expounds on what she calls “sacred geometry in action.” We discu...2021-01-0631 min
Keeping CompanyEpisode 5: The Organized TherapistI’m very excited about today’s guest Hope Eden. First off, what a lovely name! It just inspires, well…hope. Hope is as inspirational in person as is her name. Her energy is so calming and within that calm is determined compassion.
Therapist extraordinaire and innovator, Hope has a significant following on Facebook where she is the administrator of a number of groups centered on organization in the fullest sense of that word. She helps therapists organize from within and without which is really the framework from which she operates. Hers is one of the few Facebo...2020-11-1121 min
Keeping CompanyEpisode 4: Finding Perspective in 2020This week, I explore what appears to be the collective mood in America. It seems more subdued than usual, but with the high energy and anticipation of calm before a storm. That’s the nature of anxiety. We seem to be having a succession of panic attacks punctuated by moments of quiet hypervigilance.
We humans do like our stability. The sun rises, the sun sets. It’s a good reference point for consistency. In 2019, we sifted through emails during morning coffee and schmoozed with peers at the water cooler after quick take-out during our lunch brea...2020-10-1725 min
Keeping CompanyEpisode 3: What is White Identity?Our final segment in my interview with Peter Smith covers White Identity and the ways in which society incorporates and excludes individuals according to various categories. Peter is a psychotherapist and artist from Glastonbury, Somerset in England with a philosophical bent as the son of two anthropologists. (This episode is family friendly, but Peter drops the S*&^ bomb in an emphatic moment).
In this episode, I ask Peter about the impact of George Floyd’s death in England where individuals also took to the streets in protest. Four thousand miles away in the UK, Ge...2020-10-0621 min
Keeping CompanyEpisode 2: Does Language Matter in Shaping Racial Identity?Please join me as I continue to talk to Peter Smith, a psychotherapist and sculptor who hails from Glastonbury, Somerset in the UK about various experiences that shape his identity. In this episode we continue to talk about the legacy of colonialism and how it has affected people’s identities. We reflect on the different forces at play during colonization and the nuances that affect relationships today among different “designated” races.
We also explore some of the language used around racism and consider the impact of new vocabulary to describe our experiences around race. Language around race m...2020-09-2921 min
Keeping CompanyEpisode 1: Colonialism and Its Impact on Black and White IdentitiesIn today's episode, Meira interviews Peter Smith, an artisan and psychotherapist from the UK. Peter was born in Jamaica, but left as a young child to live in the United States and then moved from the United States to England when he was eleven years old. In this episode, we explore the impact of colonialism on one's sense of self. Peter's experience allows us an interesting opportunity from which to explore intersecting identities and social constructs of race. Peter describes himself as a White male with privilege. He also refers to himself as Jamaican...2020-09-2521 min