Welcome to The WELLS Healing Center and our monthly newsletter. We're so happy to have you.
From Dr. Della's Desk:
Can you believe it’s the end of 2023? As I sit here reflecting on what this year has been, I am overflowing with gratitude and awe. While trauma and violence were and are pervasive, so was collective care and liberation work.
The Black graduate student group just had our end-of-year session. I wish I could express the magic that has happened semester after semester in this space, but I know my words can’t do it justice. One group member, though, shared that this is a space where I — and the rotation of WELLS collective members who have served as co-circlekeepers with me these last three semesters: Keonna Knight, Gabe Lockett, and Chandler Golden — have “revolutionized her and others, not through the trauma and violence that is revolutionizing many right now, but through love.” And when I tell you that felt like theeee bestttt compliment I’ve ever received, I am being very serious. I know Gabe Lockett and Marquel Norton are feeling similarly as they just wrapped the first semester serving as co-circlekeepers of our newest group for trans and non-binary grad students of color. They co-created a much-needed haven for folks on the margins of the margins in academia. Witnessing the bonds formed and healing shared in these circles has sustained me and deepened my sense of radical hope. We are how we get free. Know that.
I found myself traveling more than ever this year. So many counseling centers, scientific and professional organizations, and incredible Black and queer and trans-led organizations reached out for support this year from me and the WELLS Collective. It has been incredibly meaningful to both coach the trainees in WELLS to do this consulting work and to engage in it myself. Thank you to every single person who is working in their own way to create and maintain spaces where more of us can be well. Some of you are working so hard to create a world where we all have more breath, and I celebrate you. Keep advocating and shifting culture. I am so grateful for your action. You are how we get free. Know that.
On a more personal and forward-looking note, you all have heard me talk about how I have been desiring more space for the artist in me to create. And as I reflect back, I’m proud because I have gotten to do so much creating lately. As my residency with Radical Healing at North Star Church of the Arts came to a close this past Sunday, we uplifted the theme “endings as beginnings.” And as that residency — with the entanglement of healing arts practices, Black feminist texts, creative writing and speaking, and core counseling skills — ends, my love affair with that combination of healing arts work is just beginning. I’ll be going inward, doing more of my own healing work, making art for myself (and sometimes for you all too) as I journey along. Authentically and deliberately doing my healing work is how I get free. And I know that.
As we move toward 2024, I’m also quite giddy to share with you all my newest offering! My love for facilitating groups and desire to share the magic of Blafemme Healing with more folks has led me to develop a new space: the Blafemme Healing Sanctuary. It’s a sacred collective care space designed to celebrate and nurture the healing journeys of BIPOC folks, allowing me to expand my reach beyond those in the grad student groups or working with me organizationally. And I’m also fine-tuning how I work with organizations. Based on my work over the last two years, I have refined my most impactful training for groups and organizations, the Enhancing Cultural Mindfulness Workshop. My hope is that by training more teams in this practice, we can create more holistic wellness for marginalized team members everywhere. Personal and collective care is how we get free. Know that.
I hope you all will stay tuned, stay connected, and continue to stay the course on this journey towards more wellness, equity, love, liberation, and survival. Together, we can co-create a world where there is more wellness for more of us. In the meantime, rest and love each other, the bell hooks way.
With profound appreciation and warmth,
Della
GET CONNECTED WITH WELLS + FRIENDS:
COMING IN 2024: new WELLS offerings! Keep an eye on the offerings page of the WELLS site - this is updated with new signup links and even more newness is coming, like The WELLS Practice Space. Here's a sneak peek of our new transformative program curated by Dr. Della and the WELLS Collective.
New Publication! Healing through Grassroots Activism: Therapists for Protester Wellness by Millicent Cahoon, Therapists for Protester Wellness, Inc, and Amanda M. Mitchell. This paper underscores gaps between mental health services and Black and Brown communities in relation to accessibility and cultural responsivity. This conceptual article highlights connections among tenets of the Radical Healing framework, liberation psychology, and the mission and content of T4PW to demonstrate a culturally responsive way to support Black and Brown communities during social unrest through therapeutic and collectivistic support.
New Publication! Thank You Black Feminism: Ten Strategies to Foster Radical Healing (for Healers and Those in Need of Healing) by Pearis L. Jean, Della V. Mosley, Brittany Bridges, and Koree Badio. The authors pay homage to Black feminists and Black feminism as they reflect on the impact of Black feminism on their lives. The authors challenge readers to examine the ways that anti-Black racism (ABR) persists within the field of psychology and introduce ten strategies from their experiences and research on Black feminism-informed interventions that facilitate resistance and prevention through radical healing. In addition, readers are provided with next steps and recommendations for addressing ABR in psychology and facilitating radical healing through Black feminism.
Researchers at the University of Tennessee are seeking East and Southeast Asian American activists who fight against anti-Black racism to participate in a study about their process of becoming an activist. For more details on participation requirements and to fill out the eligibility survey, please visit this flyer (and feel free to forward it to anyone who may be interested in being a part of this study)! If you have questions, please contact the researchers, Winni Yang and Dr. Kirsten Gonzalez (wyang20@vols.utk.edu and kgonzal6@utk.edu).
Introducing: The Blafemme Healing Sanctuary ✨ Over at our sister brand, Blafemme, we've developed a bi-weekly healing space to lay down your burdens, embrace radical self-care, and journey toward personal and collective liberation. To learn more about this exclusive community space and sign up, check out this flyer.
WELLNESS TIP - emotional wellness
Take some time before the end of this month to practice and prioritize authenticity. Feel free to share your reflections with us on Instagram: @wellshealing
How can you practice being a little more authentic today?
Capitalism and toxic work culture have a way of forcing us to push down our fullness under the guise of urgency, efficiency, and professionalism.
When we spend too long in these spaces, we are robbed of our true selves. We come home and we may forget that we are wearing a mask at all.
Have you taken your mask off yet today?
Within a passing interaction, in a classroom, before or after a meeting… How can you take the mask off just for a little bit? How can you practice showing up - even just a little bit more - as your whole self?
What goals can you set for practicing more authenticity, especially as we approach the start of a new year?
When we save our most authentic selves for “if we have the time,” we limit our ability to show up fully as ourselves during critical moments. Real authenticity requires practice. Lean into the discomfort and challenge the fear of being known by others.
By prioritizing our authenticity, we feed our emotional wellness, we are affirmed in who we are, and we lessen the doubt we feel about the choices we make.
“Nothing I accept about myself can be used against me to diminish me.” - Audre Lorde
STAY CONNECTED - SOCIALS:
Follow us on Instagram and like our Facebook page to stay up-to-date on all our events and opportunities!
And if you liked the wellness tip above, be sure to check out our sister brand Blafemme for more gems like this.
Thank you for being a part of our community, The WELLS Healing Center Team
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