Women’s History Month through a Gender-Nonconforming and Indigenous Lens - March 2023 Newsletter
Hello to the Collective!
As we approach the first day of spring, OSTC continues to grow with your help. The podcast, My Therapist is Out!, is up and running. We’re making plans for a new weekly mindfulness drop-in sessions, as well as a trans and gender therapy group in April and May. Stay tuned for details!
Announcements!
Clinical Group Supervision for Therapists Starts April 3rd!
Email us to sign-up! Only 8 spots available.
This one is for the therapists out there! Clinical Group Supervision for California Associate Therapists, Dance/Movement Therapists and/or Licensed Therapists will start in less than 1 month! A big part of the OSTC mission is to support therapists in their career growth, and we want to help you obtain supervision hours and build your supportive professional community. See the details below and email us to sign up!
Therapist Group Supervision
Starts Monday April 3rd, 2023
1st & 3rd Mondays each month
6:30 pm - 8:30 pm - Virtual Meetings
$95 per group - 3 month minimum commitment required
Email us to sign-up: info@openspacetherapycollective.com
While exciting and full of possibility, working as a psychotherapist can be an isolating experience. In agency jobs, we are working on getting the necessary hours for the BBS, but often our supervisor’s perspectives don’t meld with ours. We don’t feel seen, heard, or validated in our experiences. Or, with all the chaos, supervision doesn’t happen at all, and we’re left struggling to meet that licensure need. There are other associate therapists who are struggling to find a supervisor with the correct credentials to meet their needs too.
In private practice we are often juggling the ideas that enliven us - finding our niche clients, setting our own schedule, and working in the ways we want to - with the extra stress of doing this all without support. As licensed therapists we may have moved away from needing regular meetings with an individual supervisor, but would still like to feel connected to other therapists in the field.
Group supervision is a place where you can meet with individuals who can offer you unique perspectives, get you out of your own head, and share resources. Talk with colleagues and get grounded in your field, tease apart countertransference issues, get support on difficult cases, and make it affordable because you’re sharing the cost of the supervision hours. It is so great to receive support and feedback from a group of clinicians who are also LGBTQ+ affirming, anti-oppressive, and anti-racist. All while building a professional network.
This group supervision option will be open to associates and licensed therapists includling:
APCCs/LPCC
ACSWs/LCSW
AMFTs/MFT
R-DMTs/BC-DMT
Member Details:
Hours can be counted toward licensure with the BBS of California and/or the American Dance Therapy Association for board certification. Each two-hour supervision will be $95 per person with a three-month commitment. Joining this group also offers phone check-ins with the clinical supervisor as-needed, and a group chat forum to get support and share resources throughout the week. Space is limited to 8 participants to be able to provide sufficient space for each person to process and share.
Interested? We would love to hear from you. Please contact us at info@openspacetherapycollective.com to learn more and apply.
More about Clinical Supervisor Kristen Crowe LPCC, BC-DMT (she/her)
Kristen Crowe is a Clinical Supervisor and Lead Therapist at Open Space Therapy Collective.
Kristen specializes in Sex Therapy, Couples & Relationship Counseling, Body Awareness & Identity, Personality disorders, Psychosis and Creative Performer Development. She works with Adults, Couples, and Partners in Non-Monogamous Relationships. Kristen uses a LGBTQ+ Affirming, Somatic, Body Celebratory, Sex-positive, Anti-racist, and Person-Centered approach.
Monthly Insights:
Women’s History Month through a Gender-Nonconforming and Indigenous Lens
Article by Martiza Ruelas (they/she)
Women’s History in both the past and present features many unique identities and contributions. My focus in this month’s newsletter is to feature a few womxn that I don’t typically see acknowledged during this holiday.
As I tried to get creative and dig deep through this topic, different reflections and perspectives came to mind. I realized this is a topic I thought I didn’t like much. A big reason is I didn’t feel safe in my experiences as a feminine-presenting individual. Being perceived as feminine/female brought tons of cat calling and comments about my body, to the point of my personal space being invaded, and this was something so normalized by so many people around me. Being seen as a woman, I constantly felt disrespected and a vulnerable target. It wasn’t until I pushed myself to acknowledge these feelings that I discovered a different outlook.
I came across an article explaining how our lineage can be celebrated as women’s history. The post suggested seeing your mother(s), grandmother(s), tías, sisters, and extended female relatives from a different point of view, to acknowledge these matriarchs and their teachings as part of a past generation we each carry inside of us. I loved the idea of including people close to me as part of this celebration, and not limiting to historical or monumental figures. This comes back to us creating history, being a part of it, and giving credit for present efforts toward women’s history.
I know not all of us are on speaking terms with our family, so I encourage viewing chosen family members through this lens as well. :)
Below I added in a few more womxn to celebrate this month~
Raveena Aurora
South Asian artist, openly Queer
Favorite Songs:
Sylvia Rivera
Activist for Trans Rights
Serena Williams
Professional Athlete
& Activist for All-Body Celebration