Notes from the Collective: How I Practice and Embody Decolonized Therapy

When I talk about “decolonized therapy,” I’m not talking about a trendy rebrand of traditional mental health work. I’m talking about a way of being with people that remembers who we are beyond systems, diagnoses, and survival modes. It’s a practice that honors the body, the land, the ancestors, and the fullness of our humanity , especially for those of us who come from communities whose wisdom and worth have long been dismissed or pathologized.

Decolonized therapy, for me, is not a technique. It’s a posture.
A way of seeing.
A return.

Centering Lived Experience Over Textbook Norms

I don’t approach clients as problems to be fixed or as case studies in motion. I meet people as carriers of memory — their own, their lineage’s, and their environment’s. Decolonized therapy means I take your lived experience seriously: the ways racism has shaped your nervous system, the survival strategies your family passed down, the cultural strengths that Western psychology often overlooks, and the deep intelligence inside your body that’s been there long before a diagnostic manual existed.

Honoring the Wisdom of the Body

The nervous system is one of our earliest storytellers.

In sessions, I lean heavily on somatic practices because our bodies don’t lie: they speak in sensation, tension, breath, impulse, and instinct. Decolonized therapy honors that the body carries histories of oppression, resistance, joy, and creativity. So instead of forcing people to “talk their way” into healing, I invite them to feel their way into it. We slow down, notice what’s happening internally, and build capacity to be present with ourselves.

Making Space for Ancestors & Lineage

My work is grounded in an understanding that healing doesn’t begin with us but rather it’s inherited. When appropriate and welcome, I weave in practices that honor lineage: ancestral acknowledgment, cultural rituals, spiritual grounding, or exploring the stories passed through generations. Not everyone uses the word “ancestor,” and that’s okay… I hold space for whatever term, relationship, or framework feels right for you.

This isn’t about romanticizing the past. It’s about recognizing the people who made our survival possible and the wisdom we can reclaim from them.

Dismantling Power Dynamics

Traditional therapy often unconsciously mirrors colonial dynamics with the therapist, the “expert” interpreting the “other.” My approach disrupts that. I don’t position myself above my clients. I’m a witness, facilitator, and co-journeyer. I bring my training, yes, but I also bring my humanity, my intuition, and the humility to know that you are the expert of your own experience. Decolonized therapy is collaborative. We build the process together.

Affirming Cultural Identities Without Pathologizing Them

Many of us grew up being told that the way our families express love, discipline, grief, or spirituality was “too much,” “not enough,” or “dysfunctional.” In decolonized therapy, I recognize that cultural context matters. I don’t pathologize behaviors rooted in community care, collective survival, spiritual expression, or cultural nuance. Instead, we explore what is protective, what is burdensome, what is inherited, and what is truly yours.

Healing Beyond the Individual

Decolonized work acknowledges that personal pain often comes from systemic harm. It’s a large reason why being an MFT chose me. I said that right too, but we can get into that in another blog one day. I validate the impact of racism, sexism, misogynoir, incarceration, displacement, and generational trauma. We don’t pretend that individual coping skills alone can fix systemic issues. If we need to collaborate with the doctor, the preacher, the teacher, we will. Instead, I help people navigate their world with self-compassion, spaciousness, and connection — while naming the structures that shape their experience.

Softness as Rebellion

One of my core values is creating spaces where softness is allowed, especially for those who have been forced to be hard. Soft living: rest, breath, ease, emotional honesty all becomes a form of resistance. It becomes intergenerational care. It becomes a way of reclaiming humanity in a world that often denies it.

An Ongoing Practice

I don’t claim perfection. Decolonizing is an ongoing, lifelong process, not a checked box. It requires self-reflection, accountability, community, and learning. It asks me to be present. Curious. Uncomfortable. Open.

Decolonized therapy is not about discarding everything from Western psychology. It’s about bringing balance back into the room…that must be my Libra rising coming out. It’s remembering that our healing traditions are expansive, embodied, spiritual, relational, and wise.

And most importantly:
It’s about helping people come home to themselves in a world that has worked hard to make them forget who they are.