Deirdre McLaughlin Counselling & Consulting

01/16/2025

hello friends. when i started this account, it was to educate on s*xual health, mental health, and gender. with the recent changes to meta's policies, i can no longer in good conscience continue on this platform. i know everyone will be guided by their own conscience on such matters, though i urge you to be aware and think critically. lead with love in your lives.

does anyone else feel, as i do, that it's a time to step away from the screen and join in community with others? me, i joined a silent book club (perfect for introverts). i went cross-country skiing and literally ran across three moose (intimidating). i am in the process of cherishing the simple pleasures and goodness in myself and others. i hope you find these in your lives, too. we are at our best when we are in connection with others, feeling the regulation that comes from community. i truly wish you all the best. 💕

11/20/2024

we love you. 🦋 we honour you. 🦋 we thank you. 🦋 we need you. 🦋 we see you. 🦋 we show up for you. 🦋 we support you. 🦋 we hold you.
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11/08/2024

do you know audre lorde? if not, then please get yourself right with the lorde. she wrote this essay in 1978. adrienne maree brown leaned into it when she wrote her 2019 book "pleasure activism: the politics of feeling good".

many of us feel called into some sort of activism at this time. for many of us, what is happening at home + around the world is an affront not just to our bodies, our s*xuality + our dignity, but to our right to self-determine how to live a life of joy. in order to claim + reclaim these, you must remember joy. be in touch with pleasure. you must trust in their goodness + wisdom.

as lorde writes, the erotic is available to us, even in conditions of oppression. it is a generative, expansive force. it is a catalyst for change. in an interview about pleasure activism, brown asks several questions:

1) what is it you love + long for?

2) what would it take to make the work we do for justice + liberation the most pleasurable experiences we can have with each other?

3) how do we center the pleasure of those most marginalized, those that are dealing with the most complex oppression?

start small. start today. start with your own sensuality. make a sumptuous soup. then make some for others. metaphorically or literally ~ dealer's choice. connect with yourself + then with those around you. remember joy + then use it for change.

🌈

10/16/2024

low cost counselling available

08/01/2024

my office and my office companion. if you need me, you will find me with the mullein, tangled in the weeds of chapter four of my thesis.
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07/20/2024

👋 hello, it's been awhile since i've posted. mostly because world events have caused the proverbial cat to get my tongue. but i think there's power, also, in the collective and the personal. the personal in the collective. so here are my current thoughts on s*xual health (a little on the serious side, so care for yourself accordingly):

1) regardless of religion or political alignment, s*xual health education remains a fundamental way to protect against s*xual abuse, s*xual assault, unwanted pregnancy, sti transmission, su***de + homelessness among lgbtqia+ youth, and gender inequality. sheltering people from facts is not the same as protecting them.

2) recently, i have noticed friends posting about s*xual assault as a war crime. this is nothing new, unfortunately. it has always been a tactic to dehumanize, demoralize, and degrade a person or people that one is trying to dominate or subjugate.

3) begin to draw a connection between nonconsensual land/resource theft and nonconsensual s*x, both historically and presently. you may see how respect and reverence for places, things, and people are interrelated.

stay loving, engaged, and open-hearted. i think these are the best ways to push back on feelings of separation or powerlessness. so, 👋 hello. it's been a minute. i hope you're all well ❤️

06/28/2024

06/05/2024

04/25/2024

when we find joy in the freedom and dignity of of others, we begin to heal. when we connect with humility, we connect with the land.
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*xualassaultawarenessmonth *xualassaultawareness

04/22/2024

03/31/2024

now is a time for more love & less division. anti-trans legislation has become a way to sow confusion & fear on a topic that many people know little about. but here's the thing: you don't need to know very much. all you need to believe is that everyone has the right to dignity, bodily autonomy, and self-determination. & if you want to learn more, feel free to dm me or check out the links in my bio. i wish proud visibility to all of my trans kin ~ today and every day. thank you for being you, & keep shining on!