wellnesswithkini

wellnesswithkini 📍Bay Area ‱ Healer ‱ EMDR Attachment Informed/Intergenerational Therapist ‱ Professor‱ Speaker

is absolutely right that this is typically how graduate school and training goes for counseling psychology. I am so p...
07/29/2025

is absolutely right that this is typically how graduate school and training goes for counseling psychology.

I am so proud of the fact that our graduate program Community Mental Health Program integrates developmental trauma, intergenerational trauma, systems based trauma, attachment wounding, colonization and land displacement trauma, and more as part of our core curriculum in training students through a liberatory lens. Students get the opportunity to learn through didactic and experiential skill development to tap into the dedicate and nuanced challenges of various forms of trauma. They are also equipped to work with diverse populations particularly BIPOC & LGBTQ+ children, teens, adults and families.

Our graduates leave the program ready to work in Community Mental Health to serve and support clients with the highest need.

Make a stand. We have been and continue to be in turbulent times. The trajectory looks bleak, but we have to maintain ho...
06/23/2025

Make a stand. We have been and continue to be in turbulent times. The trajectory looks bleak, but we have to maintain hope and keep fighting. ....................................................................
I know we all have days when we hit a WALL.
When we just wanna give up cause we feel like we have tried our best in the RESISTANCE,
When we FIGHT,
HOLD our ground,
do what is RIGHT,
SPEAK up,
take ACTION,
LOVE and nurture,
take CARE of ourselves,
GRIEVE losses,
TOLERATE disappointment and rejection,
STAY on our path,
stay POSITIVE,
stay CONNECTED,
be AUTHENTIC and EMBRACE our TRUE selves,
see our own BEAUTY even when the WORLD shuts it down.
It is just too damn much and I wanna give up and say “F**K IT!” BUT THEN I remember... this is bigger than me or you. This is for our future generations and for the world 🌎. I won’t give up until I die. Long live the revolution Viva la revolucion! é©ć‘œèŹæ­Č

Food for thought on Liberation Psychology and TransformationLiberation psychology was first articulated in the 1980’s by...
06/21/2025

Food for thought on Liberation Psychology and Transformation

Liberation psychology was first articulated in the 1980’s by Ignacio Martín-Baró, a Spanish born Jesuit and social psychologist working in El Salvador. He framed this orientation as one that seeks to develop and encourage understanding and practices that can support people’s desires and actions to create a more just, peaceful, and sustainable world (Rosado, 2007).

Martín-Baró envisioned a psychology that would acknowledge the psychological and community wounding caused by war, racism, poverty, and violence; a psychology that would support historical memory and critical reflection; and a psychology that would aid in the emergence of possibilities where people could creatively make sense of and respond to the world. What we reach for, according to Martín-Baró, “is an opening—an opening against all closure, flexibility against everything fixed, elasticity against rigidity, a readiness to act against all stagnation” (Rosado, 2007, p. 183). When I visualize elasticity, it has a structure that is containing and also has the ability to extend.

Who we are in the present moment contains a kernel of something ideal in the future: “hunger for change, affirmation of what is new, life in hope” (Rosado, 2007, p.183). Psychology should be able to support this opening and learn from the all sides(past and present). It isn’t always easy to maintain hope when we are surrounded by suffering. How do you stay connected in your purpose to pave the path for this hope?

Raúl Quiñones Rosado. (2007). Consciousness-in-action : toward an integral psychology of liberation & transformation. Ilé Publication

.therapist・・・Attachment styles are something I LOVE looking at in my relationships as well as within my client’s relat...
06/21/2025

.therapist
・・・
Attachment styles are something I LOVE looking at in my relationships as well as within my client’s relationships. They can be a wildly helpful framework for understanding our wounds, behavior and feelings in the context of relationship and even within ourselves. HOWEVER. I have always felt like it was a little incomplete. Yes, our caregivers and their parenting styles impacted us. But what drove those parenting styles? What shaped their attachment style to us? Was it inherent, systemic, or both? Read through these slides and tell me what you think below.⁠
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Let’s center justice in our healing work.⁠
⁠

There are very few counseling psychology programs that are foundationally embedded in liberatory and decolonizing psycho...
06/16/2025

There are very few counseling psychology programs that are foundationally embedded in liberatory and decolonizing psychotherapy pedagogy. We prepare students and graduates with the clinical counseling skills necessary to create systemic and individual social change and healing.

I chose to be the chair of the Masters in Counseling, Community Mental Health concentration because healers are needed now more than ever in this political climate.

Sometimes people ask me, is psychotherapy political? If you are doing systems based psychotherapy which I think all therapy should be, yes. And for those most deeply impacted by systemic and institutionalized oppression, ABSOLUTELY. And for those who are not directly impacted, it is worth considering the privilege that comes with the choice to be silent.

We don’t live in a vacuum, trauma is not in a vacuum. Healing is not in a vaccum. We are interconnected and impacted by capitalism, patriarchy, inequality, discrimination, racism, xenophobia, transphobia, white supremacy, etc. It is embedded in US culture.

So yes, I absolutely feel strongly about our program because it is psychotherapy, activism, and resistance. It is one way we can combat the current climate and heal wounds. We as a collective, need to heal together and take care of one another.

・・・I’ve worked in donation-based and barter models, especially early on in my career. I still value what they represen...
06/15/2025


・・・
I’ve worked in donation-based and barter models, especially early on in my career. I still value what they represent— reciprocity, accessibility, and mutual care.

But over the years, I’ve run into too many healers, caregivers, and space-holders who are burned out and under-resourced. Not because they don’t care, but because they’ve been guilted into giving everything to their communities, often without receiving support in return.

And when they finally try to charge, set boundaries, or prioritize sustainability, they’re accused of being extractive by the very people they’ve been carrying.

There is something beautiful about donation models, but only when everyone involved understands reciprocity and takes shared responsibility. Without that, even free offerings can become extractive.

Care work is still work. Healers deserve rest, support, and compensation without shame.

If you are someone who gives deeply, I hope you’re letting yourself receive too. đŸŒžđŸ’•đŸŒ±

・・・We stand with the immigrant community of LA. Swipe for a list of Los Angeles Immigration Resources + Organizations ...
06/08/2025


・・・
We stand with the immigrant community of LA. Swipe for a list of Los Angeles Immigration Resources + Organizations you can support →

Follow and support:

Share resources. Educate your neighbors. Support local aid funds. Volunteer with legal aid services.

Drop more resources in the comments below ↓

・・・Liberation and Decolonial Psychology represent profound movements, extending beyond individual therapy to address s...
05/29/2025


・・・
Liberation and Decolonial Psychology represent profound movements, extending beyond individual therapy to address systemic wellbeing. đŸ™‚â€â†•ïž

Pioneered by figures like Ignacio MartĂ­n-BarĂł, Liberation Psychology emerged from social struggle, making psychology relevant to the oppressed. It empowers marginalised communities as active agents in their healing, prioritising their voices and experiences over traditional individual pathology, directly addressing suffering caused by injustice.

Building on the decolonial turn by scholars like Walter Mignolo and Catherine Walsh, Decolonial Psychology critically examines how colonialism shapes psychology. It challenges Western-centric “truths,” valuing Indigenous knowledge systems and non-Western healing practices, aiming to dismantle colonial power structures in mental health and restore cultural identity.

These approaches are vital because traditional psychology often pathologises cultural differences and ignores systemic trauma like colonisation, racism, and classism, inadvertently reinforcing dominant narratives. Liberation and Decolonial Psychology offer a framework to challenge these harms, heal systemic trauma at its root, and promote genuine, culturally-rooted mental health equity for all.

Putting these principles into practice redefines mental health care beyond the conventional. It means moving into accessible, community-based interventions, developing culturally responsive approaches, and shifting research to truly collaborate with communities. đŸ«‚

For mental health professionals: it’s time to actively engage in advocacy and activism, showing up and standing in solidarity with communities striving for collective liberation and healing. ✊🍉🌈


Free online workshop for clinicians and clinicians in training. Please make sure to register below or email ctaite1@ciis...
05/20/2025

Free online workshop for clinicians and clinicians in training. Please make sure to register below or email ctaite1@ciis.edu to RSVP.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy
Guest Presenter: Dr. Brittany Hammonds, DSW, LCSW, LCAS, CCS

Dialectical Behavior Therapy Workshop
This workshop will discuss dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) and how it can be utilized in the mental health field. This workshop will also provide an overview of the different skills that are involved with DBT.

Learning Objectives
Students will:
have an increased knowledge about the history of DBT
gain knowledge on implementing DBT in clinical practice
gain an overview of the different categories of clinical skills that are involved with DBT

About the Presenter:
Brittany Hammonds, (she, her, hers), DSW, LCSW, LCAS, CCS is a licensed clinical social worker, licensed clinical addiction specialist, and a certified clinical supervisor. Brittany received her MSW from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 2015. Brittany also received her doctorate in social work from Tulane University in 2021. Brittany has experience with working with adults and adolescents. Brittany specializes in working in substance abuse and/or other addictions. Brittany also has experience with anxiety, depression, mood disorders, and life adjustments. Brittany utilizes Motivational Interviewing, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for treatment approaches. Brittany offers a safe place for her clients. Brittany utilizes a strengths-based approach and empowers her clients. Brittany refers to herself as the guide and her clients are the experts of their own lives. Brittany thrives with working with a diverse clientele.

Event Details
Saturday, May 24, 2025
1:00-3:00pm PT
Zoom Registration Link: https://ciis.zoom.us/meeting/register/MncNUFJuSNSHMDk0Cxq78g
Thanks and we hope to see you there!

These last few months have been a whirl wind of conferences and presentations and I wouldn’t change a thing. It’s a deep...
05/16/2025

These last few months have been a whirl wind of conferences and presentations and I wouldn’t change a thing.

It’s a deep honor and joy to share about intergenerational trauma, decolonization, health disparities and equalization of power, systemic impacts, resilience, collective healing in community, research on epigentics, best practices, trauma-informed approaches, and the evolving and growing field of trauma treatment and therapy. Today’s attendees were engaging, wise, and leaned into connecting and sharing stories about thier own healing journey and redefining crazy.

Thank you to the Mental Health Association of San Francisco for putting together this years conference on “2025 Redefining Crazy: Rewriting the Rules”. As promised, there were opportunities to focus on challenging traditional perceptions and approaches to mental health, explore innovative strategies, empower individuals with lived experience, and foster collaboration among mental health experts, advocates, and policymakers to create positive change in the field.

Everytime I present on “Intergenerational Trauma, Resilience, and Collective Healing,” I experience something different. However, what remains consistent is the depth and revealing layer of connection between myself, the content, and the audience.

・・・So many of us are mothering without a blueprint.⁣⁣We’re not just raising children—we’re reparenting ourselves, unle...
05/12/2025


・・・
So many of us are mothering without a blueprint.⁣
⁣
We’re not just raising children—we’re reparenting ourselves, unlearning survival strategies, and trying to show up with the kind of love we never got. That’s sacred work. And it’s also hard work.⁣
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If you find yourself exhausted from trying to stay calm, gentle, and emotionally present—especially when your own nervous system is screaming for safety—you’re not failing. You’re doing something radically brave: choosing connection over control, repair over shame, and presence over perfection.⁣
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Psychologists call this intergenerational healing. It’s the process of breaking cycles by slowly rewiring how we relate, respond, and raise. And every small, intentional choice counts.⁣
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You don’t have to do it perfectly to be a good mom. You just have to keep choosing the path that aligns with the love you want your child to internalize.⁣
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Happy Mother’s Day to the ones doing it differently. We see you. We honour you.⁣
💛⁣
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・・・You don’t need names or records to begin ancestral connection.Start with your body. Move with reverence.Let your he...
05/10/2025


・・・
You don’t need names or records to begin ancestral connection.
Start with your body. Move with reverence.
Let your healing be the offering.

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