Mana Counseling Services, LLC

05/04/2025

I have been dancing hula for 15 years as a way to stay connected to my native hawaiian roots and culture so far from home. We have a very special concert coming up called Hoʻomau or “perpetuate” - a concert to uplift the authentic culture of the Native Hawaiian people - a people and nation that have been genocided and oppressed for centuries by the U.S. and other nations.

On Saturday, June 21st, Keaka O Kalani (my hula school) & NoCoHula (our sister school) are so proud to be a part of a concert dedicated to perpetuating Hawaiian culture and honoring the legacy of Kumu Hula Randy Kaulana Chang. This two hour performance will showcase 40 years of his teaching career through hula and song carried down by his son, Joshua Kamuela Chang.
Josh Chang will be joined onstage by his talented musician friends Tinifuloa Grey and Anthony Stanley. We hope you will join us for what will be an amazing night of beautiful music and dance as well as an enriching experience for the mind and soul.

EARLY BIRD PRICES ARE AVAILABLE UNTIL MAY 12TH so get your tickets soon! All seats are reserved seating, so be sure to buy early to ensure the seat you want.

To learn more, purchase tickets or donate, go to the 👈

Please help us spread the word and forward to anyone you think might enjoy this special opportunity! We also have sponsorship opportunities (providing ad space in the printed programs) if you or anyone you know is interested in that as well...Just have them dm me!

Any questions, please let me know!

03/18/2025

We’re excited to celebrate our amazing trainers! 🌟 Today’s spotlight is shining on the incredible Charnessa Pleasant and Alexis Ornellas! 🎉 Join us in congratulating them on their well-deserved promotion to IFSI Assistant Mentee Trainer! We couldn’t be more thrilled to see you shine! Keep inspiring us all! 🌱🔥
Charnessa Pleasant is a Certified Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapist and corporate wellness consultant. She partners alongside high performing leaders to help them strike the best balance between work, life, and wellness.
Alexis Kamakanoe Ornellas (she/her), LPC, Certified IFS Therapist and Approved Consultant, is a truth teller and soul committed to collective liberation and the land back movement. She has been a psychotherapist in Colorado on the lands of the Ute, Cheyenne and Arapaho nations since 2010. She started providing psychotherapy in the mental health industrial complex working with women suffering from severe complex trauma, addiction, and systemic oppression.

03/12/2025

I did a thing!

Dear Aloha is a beautiful and heart breaking short film made by Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) filmmaker Cris Romento sharing stories of what it is like for some being of the Hawaiian Diaspora, or a Kānaka away from Hawai’i. As a fellow Kānaka, i know some if the struggle to well.

I wrote an interview article for her audience and the Hawaiian Diaspora lāhui on the impacts of generational trauma in the Hawaiian diaspora. Please read and share!

What is generational trauma for the Hawaiian Diaspora?

01/02/2025

I’m 42 today.

I’m grateful for these first few pictures taken today with my ohana, especially my dad, who came to visit all the way from Moloka'i only to develop bacterial pneumonia and spend most of his trip here in the hospital. I’m grateful he’s stable, out of the hospital, and on the mend.

There’s much I’m grateful for this year.

I’m grateful for all the time we spent outside connecting to the land.

I’m grateful for hula and my halau.

I’m grateful for trips to my ancestral homeland of moloka’i and to where I grew up (NYC) for my daughter’s first time.

I’m grateful for all the connections I made this year in the name of liberation- within the IFS community and with others within the mental health field.

I’m grateful to all the Kānaka, both in Hawai’i and in diaspora, who make me feel less alone on this reclamation of indigineity journey.

I’m grateful to my clients and consultees who have taught me so much.

I’m grateful to my fellow ifs therapists who donated their time too to supporting Palestinian activists in their fight for liberation.

I’m grateful to the IFS institute for letting me become a trainer knowing I’m ready to dismantle/decolonize the model.

I’m grateful to my husband and Keiki for everything they are and who they encourage me to be.

I’m grateful for hitting the ancestral healing hard this year.

I’m grateful for a strong body and my love of food.

I’m grateful for parents and friends who love and support me.

And I am so grateful to feel clear about my mission in this world to fight for collective care, collective healing, and liberation for all.

12/18/2024

Hey all, this IFS consultation group for IFS Level 1 or equivalently trained mixed race practitioners will be opening for its 3rd series starting 1/17/25!

This group is for you if you have multi-ethnic heritage, identify as multi-racial, and would love to be in an affinity space with others who get the complexities a multi-racial identity brings while also receiving IFS consultation.

Group will be capped at 6 participants and this group can count towards your IFS certification consultation hours. Its a space for both IFS consultation and being in relationship to parts of you connected to your mixed identity that are being impacted by or impact your work.

You may also work with clients with a multi-racial identity and would love consultation related to how to incorporate IFS in working with multi-racial people.

About me: I am a Certified IFS Therapist, IFS-I Assistant Trainer Mentee, Approved IFS consultant, and LPC supervisor. I provide IFS consultation and holistic psychotherapy through a decolonizing and liberatory lens, focusing on IFS therapy for multiracial people and BIPOC, therapy for therapists, complex/developmental trauma and perinatal mental health. I identify as a cis-gendered q***r multi-racial Kānaka Maoli woman in a light skinned body, a person who stutters, an activist and budding abolitionist, an artist, a dancer, a mama, an ex New Yorker, nature lover, chronic illness and complex trauma survivor and a highly sensitive person. You can learn more about me and the work I do at www.manacounseling.com/

To register and see full group description, click here:
https://forms.gle/2CGukzSawpUwGHXk8

12/04/2024

This ongoing group is for you if you have multi-ethnic heritage, identify as mixed or multi-racial, and would love to be in an affinity space with others who get the complexities a multi-racial identity brings. You may also work with clients with a multi-racial identity and would love consultation related to how to incorporate IFS in working with multi-racial people. Group will be capped at 6 participants and this group can count towards your IFS certification consultation hours.

This is the third series of this group, therefore some members may be continuing and some will be new. You are welcome to stay in this group as long as it feels useful and supportive for you as long as you are willing to commit to the whole session series.

Please note that this will be a group that is committed to not avoiding topics of global oppression or inequity because we understand that the systems of white supremacy, patriarchy, capitalism, transphobia, homophobia, fatphobia, anti-blackness, anti-semitism, islamaphobia and any other "isms" not listed here are the incredibly problematic waters most of us swim in. You are not expected to get everything right nor be perfect in how you show up when/if these conversations arise, but there is an expectation of willingness to turn towards these topics with as much Self-Leadership as possible while being with and speaking for parts of us activated by the topic.

Here is what you can expect from this group:

8 2 hour groups per series

A group of up to 6 participants

Brief IFS meditations/check in

Case consultation

Skills practice/experiential learning

Q +A’s/didactic learning

Speaking for and working with your own parts connected to your mixed identity and experiences that are impacted by or impact your therapeutic work

Every group member will have dedicated consultation time where they bring a topic/focus for consultation.

Please note - if you are wanting these hours to count towards IFS certification (recertification included) you will be required to utilize part of your consultation time for case consultation and application of IFS skills

Where:

Google Meet

When:

*All dates are Fridays 10 AM -12 PM MDT time, 2025

January 17th

January 31 st

February 21st

March 21st

April 18th

May 2nd

May 30th

June 20th

How much:

$720 via stripe. 1 full payment or payment plans of 2, 3 or 4 payments are welcome with no additional fees in order to reduce financial burden. Early bird discounts have also been eliminated to make payment more equitable.

Who I am:

Alexis Ornellas (she/her) is a Certified IFS Therapist, IFS Assistant Trainer Mentee, Approved IFS consultant, and LPC supervisor. I provide IFS consultation and holistic psychotherapy through a decolonizing lens, focusing on IFS therapy for multiracial people and BIPOC, therapy for therapists, complex/developmental trauma and perinatal mental health. I identify as a cis-gendered q***r multi-racial Kānaka Maoli woman in a light skinned body, a person who stutters, an activist and budding abolitionist, an artist, a dancer, a mama, an ex New Yorker, nature lover, chronic illness and complex trauma survivor and a highly sensitive person. You can learn more about me and the work I do at www.manacounseling.com/

You can register here:
https://forms.gle/QLFUqDZRooVTaSUH9

11/14/2024

This IFS consultation group for Mixed race practitioners Level 1 or equivalently trained will be opening for a third series starting 1/17/25!

It is for you if you have multi-ethnic heritage, identify as multi-racial, and would love to be in an affinity space with others who get the complexities a multi-racial identity brings.

You may also work with clients with a multi-racial identity and would love consultation related to how to incorporate IFS in working with multi-racial people.

Group will be capped at 6 participants and this group can count towards your IFS certification consultation hours.

About me: I am a Certified IFS Therapist, IFS-I Assistant Trainer Mentee, Approved IFS consultant, and LPC supervisor. I provide IFS consultation and holistic psychotherapy through a decolonizing and liberatory lens, focusing on IFS therapy for multiracial people and BIPOC, therapy for therapists, complex/developmental trauma and perinatal mental health. I identify as a cis-gendered q***r multi-racial Kānaka Maoli woman in a light skinned body, a person who stutters, an activist and budding abolitionist, an artist, a dancer, a mama, an ex New Yorker, nature lover, chronic illness and complex trauma survivor and a highly sensitive person. You can learn more about me and the work I do at www.manacounseling.com

See to register and see full group description.

10/18/2024

The last year has changed me so deeply, it feels like time for a reintro.

Aloha mai kākou, My name is Alexis Kamakanoe Ornellas. I live on the stolen lands of the Ute, Cheyenne and Arapaho Nations, colonially known as Colorado.
I am a cis q***r mixed race Kānaka Maoli woman in a white presenting body, a mother to the light of my life, a wife to my trickster husband, a person who stutters, a chronic illness and complex trauma survivor, an activist and budding abolitionist, a psychotherapist, an LPC supervisor for those getting licensed in the state of CO, an Internal Family Systems Therapy consultant for practitioners learning and implementing the model and a newly accepted trainer for IFS-I to teach the model of IFS through a decolonizing lens.

Iʻve been on a deconstructing and decolonizing journey over the last 10 years and it has forever changed me and the way I see the world. I will be fighting for collective liberation until my dying breath.

Because of that, decolonizing therapy is one of my greatest passions. I support mixed and BIPOC folks and others with marginalized identities in working through their developmental, intergenerational and historical trauma through IFS therapy, somatic therapy and other ancient and traditional practices. I am also all about dismantling the oppressive and capitalistic systems that make us all sick and exhausted. Supporting parents who want to be cycle breakers and therapy for therapists is also my jam.

Being a mixed Kānaka born and raised in the Bronx was an absolute mindf**k. I come from an English Irish white midwest mom and a Kanaka Maoli Chinese brown immigrant father. Iʻm a little bit New York with alot a bit indigenous with major disconnection from my indigenous roots outside trips back to the ʻaina to see ohana. I majorly down played my heritage because of how white presenting and disconnected I was. My reconnection and reclamation journey is one of my biggest passions and I love supporting other diaspora Kānaka in their reconnection and reclamation journey while also fighting for Hawaiian lands to be in Hawaiian hands. May hawaiian sovereignty and the end of US occupation happen within my lifetime.

I hate small talk. I love chocolate. I curse like a sailor. I dance hula. I love our dog Kekoa and animals in general. I work out alot of s**t through lifting heavy and nature is my medicine. I have and will always be an avid fantasy reader, and you will often hear me bumpin rap and afro-caribbean music in my car. Painting is a past time that brings me creative joy and I will give anything for those I care for most - my daughter, husband, parents and dear friends.

Free Congo, Free Sudan, Free Hawaiʻi, Free Puerto Rico, Free Palestine and all other occupied and genocided lands/people until its backwards.

08/31/2024

I had a fabulous time volunteering with Pi’ilani Civic Club for the annual Ho’olaulea event in Denver.

I often perform hula at it but opted for a service experience this year due to a number of factors that kept me from being able to commit to dancing.

And I got to make my first lei po’o (head lei) and sit in community with fellow Kānaka wahine.

I had distanced myself for a long time from this Hawai’i based civic club due to being unable to repair with another member unwilling to examine her own whiteness. But now that issue is null and void and I can return and be connected again with the club and people like Lisa Kelekolio (pictured above in the photos), fellow Kānaka Wahine doing great work for the indigenous communities locally.

Imua!

07/19/2024

This IFS Consultation Group for Global Majority Practitioners starts 8/26/24
This consultation group is for you if you are an IFS therapist/practitioner, Level 1 trained, who identifies as a member of the global majority. (Understand what global majority means and the importance of it here: https://britthawthorne.com/blog/people-global-majority/).

This 8 session series will consist of IFS practice, case consultation, and didactic learning so that you can deepen and expand in your IFS skill set. It can also count towards IFS certification consultation hours. Special consideration will be given to facilitating IFS through a decolonizing therapy lens (which you can learn about here: https://www.decolonizingtherapy.com/what-is-dt)

In the name of decolonizing mental health, this will be a group that is committed to not avoiding topics of global oppression or inequity because we understand that the systems of white supremacy, patriarchy, capitalism, transphobia, homophobia, fatphobia, anti-blackness, anti-semitism, islamaphobia and any other "isms" not listed here are the incredibly problematic waters most of us swim in. You are not expected to get everything right nor be perfect in how you show up when these conversations arise, but there is an expectation of willingness to turn towards these topics with as much Self-Leadership as possible while being with and speaking for parts of us activated by the topic.

Here is what you can expect from this group:

8 2 hour groups per series

A group of up to 6 participants

Brief IFS meditations/check in

Every group member will be expected to facilitate and receive an IFS session once during the 8 session series that will incorporate the consultant pausing you and giving feedback to help in your learning.

Case consultation, didactic learning, q +a

Please note - if you are wanting these hours to count towards IFS certification (recertification included) you will be required to utilize part of your consultation time for case consultation and application of IFS skills

There are no refunds for missed groups. There is a possibility to record the session you will miss if all group members consent.

Where:

Google Meet

When:

*All dates are Mondays 10 AM-12 PM MDT time

August 26th

September 23rd

October 21st

November 18th

December 16th

January 13th, 2025

February 10th, 2025

March 10th, 2025

How much:

$720 upfront ($80 discount), or 1 payment of $400 to register with the second payment of $400 due by the third group. If these cost options are a significant barrier for you, please donʻt hesitate to email me to see if there is an arrangement we can make.

Who I am:

Alexis Ornellas (she/her) is a Certified IFS Therapist, Approved IFS consultant, LPC supervisor and Functional Health Coach. I provide IFS consultation and holistic psychotherapy through a decolonizing lens, focusing on IFS therapy for multiracial people and BIPOC, therapy for therapists, complex/developmental trauma and perinatal mental health. I identify as a cis-gendered q***r multi-racial Kānaka Maoli woman in a light skinned body, a person who stutters, an artist, a dancer, a mama, an ex New Yorker, nature lover, chronic illness and complex trauma survivor and a highly sensitive person.

Use the link in my bio to register and to learn more about me and the work I do.

07/18/2024

I just finished up my fifth experience as a program assistant for an Internal Family Systems Therapy Level 1 training- this training as an affinity space for the global majority.

It was an absolutely magical experience, partially due to this training staff shown here.

These people are kind, hysterical, flawed, and show up as whole humans doing this ifs work.

I feel blessed to have been a part of it. So much so that I feel ready to start the trainer track process to become an IFS trainer for the IFS institute. We will see how that goes!

Please Keep me in your hearts and minds as I embark on this next stage of my career that feels oh so right, and damn scary. Stay tuned.

05/16/2024

Thinking of my makuakane (dad) today.

Integrating the huge piece of ancestral healing I did last week during .counseling 6 day Healing Circle training retreat.

I found a part of me feeling completely terrified, that had been carrying terror and pain of my lineage, particularly from my Hawaiian grandfather and grandmother.

The group experience was able to help my part and my dad and my grandparents unburden that legacy burden of terror connected to colonization and Christianity being forced down their throats.

The best way I can describe it is I feel whole.

And yet, today is the Nakba Rememberance day. The day in 1948 where 750k-1mill Palestinians were displaced by militia that became Israel’s IDF- not including the thousands that were slaughtered.

It’s hard to keep the feeling of wholeness while witnessing/remembering that level of suffering.

May all be free from colonization and heal from its wounds.