Tree of Life Counseling Center

04/08/2026

𝗪𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧. 𝗪𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭. 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟓 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐬. 𝐀𝐝𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐭 & 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐲𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞⁣
⁣
𝐀𝐝𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞⁣
⁣
What we’re naming this week⁣
⁣
For 25 years, we adjusted ourselves around crisis. Hypervigilance, over functioning, shutdown, humor, caretaking — these weren’t flaws. They were intelligent responses to unsafe conditions.⁣
⁣
How this affects us⁣
We confuse survival strategies with personality traits.⁣
We feel ashamed of exhaustion because we forget how long we’ve been carrying everything.⁣
Helpers and caregivers internalize the belief that they should “just handle it.”⁣
Kids learned to read danger before they learned to read books.⁣
⁣
𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 / 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤⁣
⁣
Name one adaptation you developed that kept you alive.⁣
Say it out loud or write it down.⁣
Honor it as brilliance, not brokenness.⁣
Name what wisdom it has for you⁣
⁣

04/08/2026

As Miley Cyrus once put it powerfully:

“I didn’t speak badly about you — I spoke about what you did to me.

If that makes you look bad, that’s not my problem anymore.”

There’s a quiet strength in that kind of honesty.

Talking about your own experience isn’t the same as attacking someone’s character; it’s simply sharing the truth of what you went through.

Sometimes people feel uncomfortable when the truth brings their actions into the light. But accountability rarely comes from staying silent.

If the truth about someone’s behavior harms their image, then the real problem was never the story being told — it was the behavior itself.

04/06/2026

🌿 A Day in the Life of a Ketamine-Assisted Therapist
Where healing is rooted in relationship — with the medicine, with self, and with the world around us.

People often imagine ketamine-assisted therapy as a clinical procedure. But the real work is relational — not just between therapist and client, but between client and medicine, client and self, and client and the communities they move through.

🌅 Morning: Preparing the Field of Connection

Before sessions begin, I prepare the space with intention.
Not to create a “perfect room,” but to support a field where clients can meet themselves with more softness and less fear.

I’m not preparing for them — I’m preparing with them in mind, trusting that the medicine will meet them exactly where they are.

💬 Midday: Relationship With the Medicine, Relationship With Self
During KAP sessions, the medicine becomes a companion — not an authority, not an escape, but a gentle loosening that allows clients to reconnect with parts of themselves that have been silenced, stretched thin, or forgotten.

My role is to witness and support the relationships unfolding:
Client + medicine
Client + their inner world
Client + their body’s wisdom
Client + the stories they inherited and the ones they’re rewriting

I’m not the center of the process.
The relationship is.

✍🏽 Afternoon: Integration as Reconnection
Integration is where clients begin weaving what they experienced back into their daily lives.

We explore questions like:
What did the medicine help you see about yourself?
What Wisdom did you find?
What parts of you reached out for connection?
What relationships in your life feel nourishing, and which ones need boundaries or repair?
How does this insight shift how you want to show up in community?

Integration becomes a practice of re-rooting — reconnecting to self, to purpose, to people, and to the collective stories that shape us.

🌙 Evening: Honoring the Web
At the end of the day, I reflect on the relationships that moved through the room — not just interpersonal ones, but the relational field itself.

KAP isn’t about isolation or individualism.

It’s about remembering that healing is relational, that liberation is relational, and that we are shaped by every connection we keep, release, or reclaim.

Every day, I witness people building new relationships with themselves — ones grounded in truth, dignity, and possibility.

04/03/2026

04/03/2026

🌿 𝐔𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐟𝐭 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠⁣
⁣
Western play therapy often imagines healing as one child + one therapist + one room.⁣
⁣
But many children regulate, learn, and make meaning through shared play, not isolation.⁣
⁣
Here are tangible, decolonial shifts rooted in the Therapeutic Powers of Play:⁣
⁣
🌱 1. Shift the unit of intervention⁣
Move from “the child is the client” to the play system is the client.⁣
Track co‑regulation, relational play competencies, and dyadic/triadic goals.⁣
⁣
🌱 2. Use parallel + group play intentionally⁣
Set up side‑by‑side stations.⁣
Let proximity, rhythm, and shared space support regulation.⁣
⁣
🌱 3. Replace child‑led only with shared leadership⁣
Invite caregivers to initiate familiar games.⁣
Let the child modify or redirect.⁣
Honor the relational wisdom.⁣
⁣
🌱 4. Use collective regulation tools⁣
Rhythm, clapping games, drumming, call‑and‑response, shared sensory play.⁣
Co‑regulation is cultural intelligence.⁣
⁣
🌱 5. Document relational play themes⁣
Not just the child’s symbols — track the relationships: protection, synchrony, cultural roles.⁣
⁣
🌱 6. Challenge colonial pathology⁣
A child who prefers not to play alone isn’t “behind.”⁣
Their nervous system expects connection.⁣
That’s cultural knowing.⁣
⁣
🌱 7. Let collective play guide your hypotheses⁣
Ask:⁣
“What does this child know about safety and belonging that Western models ignore?”⁣
⁣
🌿 Decolonizing play therapy expands our clinical imagination.⁣
⁣
Healing isn’t always a solo journey.⁣
Sometimes the medicine is in the we.⁣
⁣

04/01/2026

For years, people have been told to “self-regulate,” “stay grounded,” or “just breathe through it.” But regulation is not a solo sport. It’s not a mindset. It’s not a personal achievement unlocked through discipline or better habits.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
Regulation is a physiological state — and physiology is shaped by safety.⁣⁣
And safety is shaped by the conditions we live in.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
Right now, people are being asked to stay calm while living inside environments marked by uncertainty, instability, community fear, and the constant threat of losing resources, rights, or belonging. These aren’t individual stressors. They’re collective ones.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
When the environment is unsafe, the body adapts. It becomes vigilant, irritable, exhausted, or numb — not because it’s broken, but because it’s responding accurately to the world it’s in.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐍𝐨𝐰: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭⁣⁣
• Burnout becomes baseline, not a temporary state⁣⁣
• Irritability and reactivity increase because the system is scanning for danger⁣⁣
• Sleep becomes fragmented because the body doesn’t trust it can rest⁣⁣
• Concentration disappears because survival takes priority over focus⁣⁣
⁣⁣
These aren’t personal failures. They’re physiological outcomes of living through sustained crisis.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲: 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐕𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭⁣⁣
When entire communities live without consistent safety, we see patterns that get mislabeled as “dysfunction”: mistrust, conflict, hypervigilance, emotional shutdown. But these are communal survival strategies. They emerge when people have learned — repeatedly — that stability is not guaranteed.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬: 𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐬⁣⁣
The next generation of clinicians, educators, and healers cannot rely on models that treat dysregulation as an individual issue. They must understand that the nervous system is shaped by the environments people grow up in, work in, and survive in.⁣⁣
Without that lens, providers will continue to misdiagnose survival as pathology.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐊𝐢𝐝𝐬 𝐑𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐃𝐲𝐬𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐄𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬⁣⁣
Children growing up in this era are not “more anxious” or “more reactive” because something is wrong with them. They are developing inside environments marked by instability, fear, and uncertainty. Their bodies are adapting to the world they’ve inherited.⁣⁣
They are not broken. They are responding to conditions adults have not yet changed.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝗪𝐞’𝐫𝐞 𝐍𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝗪𝐞𝐞𝐤⁣⁣
Regulation requires safety.⁣⁣
Safety requires stability.⁣⁣
And stability requires collective responsibility.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
If we want regulated bodies, we need environments where people are protected, resourced, and able to exhale.⁣⁣
This is not a mindset shift. It’s a community shift.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐓𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐃𝐨 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝗪𝐞𝐞𝐤⁣⁣
Choose one place in your daily life where you can reduce unnecessary vigilance — not by forcing calm, but by increasing actual safety or predictability.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
This might look like:⁣⁣
• asking someone you trust to accompany you into a space that feels tense⁣⁣
• setting a boundary around one draining conversation or obligation⁣⁣
• creating a small pocket of predictability in your day (same chair, same cup, same moment)⁣⁣
• naming to someone you trust: “My body doesn’t feel safe here, and it’s responding to that”⁣⁣
⁣⁣
This isn’t about fixing your nervous system.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
It’s about giving your body one moment where it doesn’t have to brace.⁣⁣
⁣⁣

03/30/2026

✨ 𝐀 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐧 𝐋𝐂𝐒𝗪‑𝐒: 𝗪𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲, 𝐂𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭⁣
⁣
Meet 𝐋𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚 𝐀𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲, 𝐋𝐂𝐒𝗪‑𝐒 — our bilingual (Spanish/English) clinician whose days are spent walking alongside children, teens, and families navigating medical, emotional, and systemic challenges. From supporting kids with chronic blood disorders to offering culturally attuned care for immigrant youth, Leticia brings a steady presence, deep compassion, and a commitment to honoring each person’s lived experience.⁣
⁣
Her work blends 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐲, 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲‑𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐮𝐦𝐚‑𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞, all grounded in her belief that healing happens through relationship, safety, and connection. Whether she’s collaborating with medical teams, guiding parents, or creating space for young people to feel seen and understood, Leticia shows up with heart, skill, and cultural wisdom.⁣
⁣
We’re grateful to have her on our team — and even more grateful for the communities she serves with such care.⁣
⁣
𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐋𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚:⁣
🌿 𝗪𝐞𝐛𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞: https://treeoflifecounselingcenter.org/leticia-avery⁣
📞 𝐏𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞: 210‑570‑8898⁣
📧 𝐄𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐥: info@treeoflifecounselingcenter.org⁣
⁣

03/27/2026

🌿 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝗪𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐲- 𝐑𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥, 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐡𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐦 𝐚𝐬 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐑𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 🌿⁣
⁣
Families already use rituals — songs, prayers, hair‑braiding, shared meals — to help children settle and feel safe. These aren’t “extras.” They’re cultural regulation systems. Bring them into the playroom.⁣
⁣
𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐈𝐬 𝐀𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐞⁣
⁣
Stories teach survival, identity, and meaning. Ask caregivers:⁣
• What stories guide your family?⁣
• Who are the protectors or teachers in your lineage?⁣
⁣
𝐑𝐡𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐦 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬⁣
⁣
Clapping games, rocking, humming, drumming — many children regulate through rhythm long before words. Follow their rhythm instead of redirecting them to “quiet play.”⁣
⁣
𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝⁣
⁣
Ask what rituals or rhythms matter at home and use them as openings, transitions, or closings in session.⁣
⁣
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐟𝐭⁣
⁣
When we center ritual, story, and rhythm, children get to heal in the languages their bodies already know.⁣
⁣

03/25/2026

𝗪𝐞 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧 — 𝗪𝐞 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐎𝐮𝐭: 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟓 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐬⁣
⁣
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐬⁣
⁣
𝐒𝐡𝐮𝐭𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧, 𝐍𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐱𝐡𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐨𝐝𝐲’𝐬 𝐄𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐤𝐞⁣
⁣
Shutdown, numbness, and exhaustion are some of the most misinterpreted responses to long-term crisis. People think they mean you’re failing or not trying hard enough. And in relationships, it gets even more painful — partners may think you don’t care, or that you’ve stopped feeling anything at all.⁣
⁣
But shutdown isn’t a lack of emotion. It’s the body’s emergency brake.⁣
⁣
When the nervous system can’t fight or flee anymore, it protects you by going dim. ⁣
⁣
Energy drops. Emotions flatten. Concentration disappears. You feel foggy or far away from yourself. That’s not weakness — that’s your body preserving what’s left.⁣
⁣
And it’s not apathy. It’s wisdom. The body has learned that constant vigilance is unsustainable. But this wisdom gets mislabeled as coldness, indifference, or “not having feelings,” when really, it’s your system protecting you from overwhelm.⁣
⁣
Shutdown can look like distance or silence on the outside, while inside it feels like being underwater — you can see the people you love, but you can’t quite reach them. Not because you don’t care, but because your body hit its limit.⁣
⁣
When providers or partners don’t understand this, they mislabel survival as pathology and reinforce shame and the internalizing of systemic bias.⁣
⁣
A small, compassionate reminder:⁣
⁣
When you notice yourself going numb or shutting down, try saying, “This is my body protecting me. This is not a character flaw.”⁣
⁣
It won’t make the shutdown disappear, but it can help you meet yourself with dignity instead of blame — and that is the beginning of repair⁣
⁣
⁣

03/23/2026

🌿 𝐃𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐌𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐓𝐢𝐩: 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐏𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 🌿⁣⁣
⁣⁣
The world tells you to move, perform, survive. Today, 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
Stop scrolling, stop reacting, stop measuring yourself against expectations.⁣⁣
Notice your breath. Notice your body. Notice that 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞, 𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧t.⁣⁣
Whisper to yourself: “𝐈 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞. 𝐈 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐬.”⁣⁣
⁣⁣
A pause is not weakness. It’s a 𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 against systems that try to exhaust you. It’s a way to reclaim your energy, your clarity, your power.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞: Today, take three intentional pauses — even one minute each — and notice how your body, mind, and spirit respond.⁣⁣
⁣⁣

03/20/2026

I had to ignore the headlines just to survive. And now that I’m looking at them, words feel inadequate — not because this is shocking, but because this is a pattern our comunidad has been forced to name again and again. The silence isn’t disbelief. It’s the weight of knowing exactly how predictable this harm is. And still, my resolve was made long before this news broke. My commitment to our people, to our mujer, to truth and accountability, does not waver.⁣

We begin with Dolores Huerta and with every mujer who carried harm in silence because speaking out meant risking everything — her safety, her credibility, her place in spaces that already question her worth. We begin with the mujeres who were told that protecting the movement meant protecting the men who harmed them. We begin with the truth tellers, the ones who whispered warnings, the ones who stayed quiet for survival, and the ones who are finally being heard.⁣
⁣
What is being discussed about César Chávez is painful, and it brings forward a reality many have lived with privately for years. Movements, communities, and institutions have a long history of elevating individual men as symbols while ignoring the harm they caused behind the scenes. Chávez was a figurehead — but he was never the movement. The movement has always been the people, the workers, the mujeres, the communities who kept showing up long after the cameras left.⁣
⁣
We refuse to let one man’s actions define us or distort the truth of our struggle. Our liberation work has never belonged to a single leader. It belongs to the collective — and the collective deserves safety, dignity, and truth.⁣
⁣
We stand with Dolores — not just in a statement, not just in sentiment, but in action. Our commitment is to uproot and disrupt injustice in every space we occupy, including our own. Harm happens in activist spaces too, and we will not allow that to continue. Accountability is not betrayal; it is the deepest form of love for our people.⁣
⁣
We move forward with clarity and commitment — building movements where no one’s liberation is built on someone else’s silence, and where no one is asked to carry harm for the sake of anyone’s legacy.—Alyssa Cedillo LPC-S, RPT-S Tree of life counseling center clinical director ⁣
⁣

03/20/2026

🌿 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝗪𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐲 🌿⁣⁣⁣
Culture, Lineage, and Community, Caregivers as Cultural Experts:⁣⁣⁣
Culture Is More Than Race⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣
Caregivers carry the living archive of a child’s culture — disability culture, LGBTQ+ culture, military culture, immigrant culture, racial and ethnic culture, and every community that shapes how a child understands safety and belonging. Children rely on these cultural lineages for survival, meaning making, and creating safety while navigating oppressive systems.⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣
Western Norms Are Not Universal⁣⁣⁣
Western play therapy often assumes one cultural norm for communication, pacing, and “appropriate” play. But families bring their own rhythms, sensory languages, humor, rituals, and survival strategies. When we center caregiver wisdom, we shift from interpreting behavior through pathology to understanding it through lineage and context.⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣
Adaptations Are Expertise⁣⁣⁣
Many families have already built brilliant systems for regulation, communication, and safety. These are not accommodations or workarounds. They are cultural technologies shaped by lived experience and community wisdom.⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣
Learn the Rhythms of the Home⁣⁣⁣
Ask questions that honor meaning, not just behavior:⁣⁣⁣
• What does comfort look like?⁣⁣⁣
• What does overwhelm look like?⁣⁣⁣
• What does connection look like?⁣⁣⁣
• What does “mother” mean in your family or culture?⁣⁣⁣
In many communities, mothering is not a single person — it can be land, lineage, or a collective role.⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣
Redefining Success⁣⁣⁣
Success is not limited to careers, productivity, or compliance. Many families define success in relational, sensory, spiritual, or communal ways. Success may look like a child who feels safe enough to rest, a child who stays connected during conflict, a child who expresses themselves in their own language, or a child who knows they belong.⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣
Honoring Lineage and Survival⁣⁣⁣
Families develop cultural practices to navigate racism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, displacement, military structure, or systemic surveillance. These practices are not deficits. They are wisdom passed down through generations.⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣
The Decolonial Shift⁣⁣⁣
When we treat caregivers as cultural experts, we stop trying to correct children into Western norms and instead create a playroom where their full identities are understood as sources of truth.⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘹𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣