We Are Part of the Ecosystem. Therapeutic work within communities of practice

As practitioners, we often share community memberships with those who consult us. We practice from a place of familiarity with how Western psychotherapy has failed, oppressed, and blamed racialised, neurodiverse, 2SLGBTQIA+, disabled, and otherwise marginalized people. Some is lived experience, the...

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Main Authors: Emily Salja, Evren Salja
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Everything is Connected Press 2025-07-01
Series:Murmurations
Subjects:
Online Access:https://murmurations.cloud/index.php/pub/article/view/305
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author Emily Salja
Evren Salja
author_facet Emily Salja
Evren Salja
author_sort Emily Salja
collection DOAJ
description As practitioners, we often share community memberships with those who consult us. We practice from a place of familiarity with how Western psychotherapy has failed, oppressed, and blamed racialised, neurodiverse, 2SLGBTQIA+, disabled, and otherwise marginalized people. Some is lived experience, the rest we draw from community knowledges. We hope to contribute a response to the question, “What can it mean to intentionally build a therapeutic practice outside the expectations of clinical professionalism as a person, practitioner, and community member?” Or, from another angle: "What does it mean to be a part of the ecosystem we support?" Our experiences and observations are framed by privileges (whiteness, stable housing, access to academic spaces, healthcare, and transport) and marginalisations that inform and contextualize this work. In perpetuity, we acknowledge and honour the brilliance and labour of Kimberly Crenshaw, Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, Robin Wall Kimmerer, and countless other BIPOC scholars, activists, writers and beyond who have defined and created intersectional (Crenshaw, 1989) systems of resistance and survival. Any errors in the interpretation of these bodies of work are our own.
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spelling doaj-art-1e1dfcad2e8b4b14a17f89d91d489bd72025-07-16T10:18:08ZengEverything is Connected PressMurmurations2516-00522025-07-018210.28963/8.2.6We Are Part of the Ecosystem. Therapeutic work within communities of practice Emily Salja0Evren SaljaMNTCW As practitioners, we often share community memberships with those who consult us. We practice from a place of familiarity with how Western psychotherapy has failed, oppressed, and blamed racialised, neurodiverse, 2SLGBTQIA+, disabled, and otherwise marginalized people. Some is lived experience, the rest we draw from community knowledges. We hope to contribute a response to the question, “What can it mean to intentionally build a therapeutic practice outside the expectations of clinical professionalism as a person, practitioner, and community member?” Or, from another angle: "What does it mean to be a part of the ecosystem we support?" Our experiences and observations are framed by privileges (whiteness, stable housing, access to academic spaces, healthcare, and transport) and marginalisations that inform and contextualize this work. In perpetuity, we acknowledge and honour the brilliance and labour of Kimberly Crenshaw, Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, Robin Wall Kimmerer, and countless other BIPOC scholars, activists, writers and beyond who have defined and created intersectional (Crenshaw, 1989) systems of resistance and survival. Any errors in the interpretation of these bodies of work are our own. https://murmurations.cloud/index.php/pub/article/view/3052SGLBTQIA+community actionqueerneurodiversitytranscollective care
spellingShingle Emily Salja
Evren Salja
We Are Part of the Ecosystem. Therapeutic work within communities of practice
Murmurations
2SGLBTQIA+
community action
queer
neurodiversity
trans
collective care
title We Are Part of the Ecosystem. Therapeutic work within communities of practice
title_full We Are Part of the Ecosystem. Therapeutic work within communities of practice
title_fullStr We Are Part of the Ecosystem. Therapeutic work within communities of practice
title_full_unstemmed We Are Part of the Ecosystem. Therapeutic work within communities of practice
title_short We Are Part of the Ecosystem. Therapeutic work within communities of practice
title_sort we are part of the ecosystem therapeutic work within communities of practice
topic 2SGLBTQIA+
community action
queer
neurodiversity
trans
collective care
url https://murmurations.cloud/index.php/pub/article/view/305
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