January has been the longest year of my life. There's a lot going on, so we're going to talk about some of it in the next 30 minutes or so, and just kind of talking about how we're managing and contending with all of the forces out there, stuff going on in politics, climate change. If you live in Los Angeles, the wildfires, queerphobia and transphobia everywhere. War for and conflict, racism, misogyny, just to name a few, but if you can name it, there are all kinds of big systemic stressors stressing us all out right now. So how are we dealing with all of this? It's coming up a lot for both of us as therapists, but also as human beings.

“A win is a win. That's a major win. And in the family group chat, I saw that you sent a picture of him, which was so cute. He did. He took a selfie. Yeah, because last time we were talking about how your dad is afraid to vote or he was really uncomfortable at the polls.”
“Yeah. He feels like he doesn't know enough and he would always say his vote never made a difference. So he told my older sister, even if it doesn't make a difference, I have to try. And we all just crying. Oh yeah, it was a big day for the family and I mean, yeah, he did it. So out of everything we got something”.

In the past several weeks since the 2024 presidential election, I’ve felt myself as well as held space for feelings of frustration, division, anger, and worries about safety, rights, and personal freedoms. These issues can create a perfect storm of anxiety, grief, and fear. I’ve noticed myself moving from hopeful, to numb, to powerless especially when it seems like the problems are so big and out of our control. And then there’s confidence in our ability to make a better future peeking through as I engage with my community. It’s an interesting time to be a therapist.

The Kindman & Co. team recently gathered for lunch to share our thoughts on this year’s ballot propositions and measures. Together, we explored the potential impacts of each initiative on our communities, weighing their benefits and drawbacks from an equity and justice standpoint. It was a meaningful discussion as we aligned our values with our votes.