What Death Doula Work Teaches Me About Life

What Death Doula Work Teaches Me About Life

Death is a natural part of life… yet our death-phobic, grief-phobic society rarely acknowledges this fact.  We’ll eagerly plan for marriages, births, graduations, and other life milestones… but avoid discussing end of life. This is understandable, as confronting our mortality can feel scary & overwhelming. Yet conversations about end of life can also be meaningful & life-affirming, ensuring that our wishes, needs, and values are honored till the end - and beyond. When we acknowledge the one certainty in life - that our days on earth are finite - we free ourselves to live more presently & authentically in the now. In this episode, I share about my explorations of death work & end-of-life care - from one (mortal) human to another. 01:38 What is a death doula? 04:51 Exploring end-of-life care & post-death options that align with your values (ex: conventional burial, fire cremation, water cremation, green burial, natural organic reduction) 10:40 Why we need to have conversations about end of life (even if it's uncomfortable) 13:56 You’re a living legacy: how do you want to be remembered? 16:09 End-of-life care is community care; death work belongs to all of us May this episode remind you to live fully & to have important conversations with your people - sooner rather than later. 🌿 About the Host Liz Zhou is a neurodivergent therapist of color, coach, & speaker based in Colorado (MA, LPC, she/her). She helps highly sensitive, neurodivergent adults & couples heal their nervous systems and connect with their authentic selves. Her specialties include: Brainspotting, EMDR, IFS, Psychedelic Integration, & Nervous System Intensives (deep-dive, accelerated therapy). Liz’s services are available online in CO & worldwide. 🌿 RESOURCE >> Blog: How to Cope with End-of-Life & Death Anxiety [https://www.seasonsofgrowthcounseling.com/blog/how-to-cope-with-death-end-of-life-anxiety] 🌿 Connect with Liz >> Join my email newsletter, where I share insights on how to understand your brain & take care of your nervous system: Liz’s Neurodivergent Letters [http://www.seasonsofgrowthcounseling.com/newsletter] >> Follow on IG: www.instagram.com/liz.holistic.therapist [http://www.instagram.com/liz.holistic.therapist] >> To work 1:1 with Liz: learn about Nervous System Healing Intensives here [https://www.seasonsofgrowthcounseling.com/brainspotting-ifs-nervous-system-intensive] (focused sessions to help you heal deeply & connect with your authentic self) 🌻

Asian American Experiences: Unpacking the Model Minority Myth, w/ Sang Lintakoon

In this episode, we’re diving into the Asian American experience - going beyond stereotypes, and exploring deeper truths about belonging, identity, and authenticity. For Asian Americans: this episode is here to affirm you & help you make sense of your experiences. For non-Asian folks: this episode is here to educate & inform you, and invite curiosity & connection across communities. Join Asian-American therapists, Liz & Sang, in a mind- & heart-opening conversation on: * why many Asian Americans feel both “not Asian enough” & “not American enough” * the multifaceted nature of Asian American experiences (we are not a monolith - our communities include multiracial folks, transracial adoptees, & other intersections of identities) * the history of the “model minority myth” - which pits minorities against each other & reinforces systems of white supremacy * the dichotomy of being adjacent to whiteness (through the model minority myth), while also being treated as the “perpetual foreigner” * why every Asian American has likely heard the question: “where are you REALLY from?” - and why this is an example of a microaggression * how microaggressions & racism impact the nervous system  * what it means to reclaim identity & connect with self - even when oppressive systems ask us to diminish parts of ourselves in order to fit in * the importance of solidarity across communities QUOTE: “I think part of the healing work for Asian Americans is to reclaim some of those things that we might have erased for the sake of survival.” 🌿 About the Guest Sang Lintakoon (LPC, RPT, she/her) is the firstborn daughter of ethnically Chinese immigrants from Southeast Asia. She grew up in New Jersey and spent time living in Pennsylvania, Texas, & Zambia, Africa before moving to Colorado to pursue her MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. She works with children, teens, & adults at her private practice in Westminster, CO called The Perch Counseling Services, where she specializes in issues related to transracial adoption & Asian American racial identity. 🌿 Connect with Sang >> To explore therapy & support groups for Asian Americans, visit: www.theperchcounseling.com [http://www.theperchcounseling.com] 🌿 RESOURCES  >> To explore mental health resources for the Asian community, visit: www.asianmhc.org [http://www.asianmhc.org] >> To view recommended readings from this episode, click HERE [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1P8mvecAXAAHfvknpJni3Rk-pG4fFg_kiMHA_AT7Tebk/edit?usp=sharing] 🌿 About the Host Liz Zhou is a neurodivergent therapist of color, coach, & speaker based in Colorado (MA, LPC, she/her). She helps highly sensitive, neurodivergent adults & couples heal their nervous systems and connect with their authentic selves. Her specialties include: Brainspotting, EMDR, IFS, Psychedelic Integration, & Nervous System Intensives (deep-dive, accelerated therapy). Liz’s services are available online in CO & worldwide. 🌿 Connect with Liz >> Join my weekly newsletter: Liz’s Neurodivergent Letters [http://www.seasonsofgrowthcounseling.com/newsletter] >> Instagram: www.instagram.com/liz.holistic.therapist [http://www.instagram.com/liz.holistic.therapist]

The Link Between Creativity & Healing

What if we saw creativity as not just a nice-to-have extra thing, but as an essential part of the human experience & the healing process? We are all creative beings (yes, even if you think you’re “bad at art” or “not creative”).  In this episode, I’ll explore the link between creativity and healing. 01:48 Creativity can look so many different ways - from picking an outfit for the day to knitting a sweater to singing a song 04:33 Creativity is a part of healing - individual & collective 06:12 Creativity is a way to connect to Self 07:26 Creativity is a shared experience with community 08:34 Creativity is a means of pattern disruption, allowing the brain to build neuroplasticity 11:24 Creativity is an antidote to toxic perfectionism, challenging capitalistic standards of productivity 13:14 Creativity is a means of hope & world-building 15:48 How do you experience creativity? The intention of this episode is to encourage you, inform you, and inspire you to be your most creative self. Quote: “When we’re in touch with our creative power, we can say, yeah, there’s a problem in front of us. How do we strategize and organize together - using our creativity, putting our minds & hearts together - to imagine a way forward, envision a different future, and to build a new kind of world together. All of that takes creativity. Creativity is a stepping stone to world-building. It is the ability to look around us, to challenge the parts of the status quo that are not working, and to come up with something different and hopefully better.” 🌿 About the Host Liz Zhou is a neurodivergent therapist of color, coach, & speaker based in Colorado (MA, LPC, she/her). She helps highly sensitive, neurodivergent adults & couples heal their nervous systems and connect with their authentic selves. Her specialties include: Brainspotting, EMDR, IFS, Psychedelic Integration, & Nervous System Intensives (deep-dive, accelerated therapy). Liz’s services are available online in CO & worldwide. 🌿 RESOURCE >> Explore art as resistance: www.rebelyellcreative.com/library [http://www.rebelyellcreative.com/library] 🌿 Connect with Liz >> Join my weekly newsletter, where I share insights on how to understand your brain & take care of your nervous system: Liz’s Neurodivergent Letters [http://www.seasonsofgrowthcounseling.com/newsletter] >> Follow on IG: www.instagram.com/liz.holistic.therapist [http://www.instagram.com/liz.holistic.therapist] >> To work 1:1 with Liz: learn about Nervous System Healing Intensives here [https://www.seasonsofgrowthcounseling.com/brainspotting-ifs-nervous-system-intensive] (focused sessions to help you heal deeply & connect with your authentic self) 🌻

Being Yourself is an Act of Liberation, w/ Dr. Nicole Xenos

Mainstream approaches to mental health tend to focus on the individual: “you need to fix yourself.” Meanwhile, a liberation-focused approach acknowledges the systems of oppression that shape each individual’s life. In liberation counseling, we see mental health as a social, political, & economic issue, not just an individual issue. After all, we can’t talk about healing & nervous system regulation, without also acknowledging the conditions that create so much dysregulation in the first place. Join me & Dr. Nicole Xenos in an insightful conversation on what liberation can look like - in the nervous system, in the counseling room, & beyond. We discuss: 02:38 What is liberation counseling & how Nicole came into liberation work, through experiences like unpacking religious conditioning & participating in trauma-informed yoga teacher training through the Prison Yoga Project 04:08 How to develop critical consciousness - the ability to see how oppressive systems impact us & to take action against them 06:04 Liberation is a way of being that is available within us - even while we are waiting for systems of oppression to change (& while we work toward that change) 08:02 What internalized oppression can look like (hint: sometimes it shows up as an inner critic that says, “I’m bad/wrong/unworthy”) 13:39 Present-moment awareness is a liberation practice 24:27 Liberation is a process of returning to Self & deconstructing layers of what we believe about ourselves 30:08 Liberation is collective work 31:41 It is painful & dysregulating to look at oppression. That’s why we need a base level of nervous system regulation in order to engage with this work, and why it’s important to take it slow Remember: tending to yourself & community is an act of liberation. Rest, joy, & care are acts of liberation. Returning to self is liberation, and freedom from conditioning is worthwhile. 🌿 About the Guest Nicole Xenos LPC, PhD (she/they) is a Gestalt trained Liberation therapist & supervisor working in Colorado. Nicole uses decolonial & anti-racist frameworks to provide education, counseling, & supervision in her communities. Nicole is a solo Mom to four teenagers and identifies as an intersectional being. 🌿 Connect with Nicole >> To explore therapy & supervision, visit: www.paintedonehealing.com [http://www.paintedonehealing.com]  >> Instagram: www.instagram.com/painted_one_healing [http://www.instagram.com/painted_one_healing]  For resources on mutual aid & community liberation, visit: https://www.inclusivetherapists.com/ [https://www.inclusivetherapists.com/] 🌿 About the Host Liz Zhou is a neurodivergent therapist of color, coach, & speaker based in Colorado (MA, LPC, she/her). She helps highly sensitive, neurodivergent adults & couples heal their nervous systems and connect with their authentic selves. 🌿 Connect with Liz >> Join my weekly newsletter: Liz’s Neurodivergent Letters [http://www.seasonsofgrowthcounseling.com/newsletter] >> Instagram: www.instagram.com/liz.holistic.therapist [http://www.instagram.com/liz.holistic.therapist]

3 Questions to Ponder if You Discovered Your Neurodivergence Later in Life

If you discovered your neurodivergence (like autism or ADHD) later in life, it may feel like you’re getting to know yourself for the first time. The process can be exciting & expansive - and also overwhelming & disorienting. This episode is here to affirm you, support you, and awaken a sense of curiosity & self-compassion… wherever you are in your journey of unmasking & embracing your authentic self. We’ll explore: * why some people discover their neurodivergence later in life (and how lack of diversity in mental health research impacts the information available for folks) * why self-identification & formal diagnosis are both valid options - there is no one “right” path * how different seasons of life might unmask/unearth your neurodivergent traits, as your relationship w/ self changes across time Then, I’ll present 3 questions for you to reflect on: 08:16 Now that you know (or suspect) that you’re neurodivergent, what makes sense - about yourself & your life - that didn’t make sense before? 12:13 What is 1 thing that you appreciate about the way your brain works? 15:15 How might this change the way you take care of yourself? The intention of this episode is to empower you & guide you into a deeper relationship with yourself. Quote: “In the most pathologizing version of the mental health system, neurodivergent folks are discussed in terms of their symptoms rather than in terms of their traits. We get so used to this question, What's wrong with me? How do I fix myself? And we so rarely get to celebrate & acknowledge what we like about ourselves - the gifts & skills that can come with our unique brains & nervous systems.” 🌿 About the Host Liz Zhou is a neurodivergent therapist of color, coach, & speaker based in Colorado (MA, LPC, she/her). She helps highly sensitive, neurodivergent adults & couples heal their nervous systems and connect with their authentic selves. Her specialties include: Brainspotting, EMDR, IFS, Psychedelic Integration, & Nervous System Intensives (deep-dive, accelerated therapy). Liz’s services are available online in CO & worldwide. RESOURCES >> Why Autism is Underdiagnosed in BIPOC Communities (and Why Self-Diagnosis is Valid) [https://www.seasonsofgrowthcounseling.com/blog/autism-self-diagnosis-bipoc-adults] 🌿 Connect with Liz >> Join my weekly newsletter, where I share insights on how to understand your brain & take care of your nervous system: Liz’s Neurodivergent Letters [http://www.seasonsofgrowthcounseling.com/newsletter] >> Follow on IG: www.instagram.com/liz.holistic.therapist [http://www.instagram.com/liz.holistic.therapist] >> To work 1:1 with Liz: learn about Nervous System Healing Intensives here [https://www.seasonsofgrowthcounseling.com/brainspotting-ifs-nervous-system-intensive] (focused sessions to help you heal deeply & connect with your authentic self) 🌻