care work, or lived experience counseling,

is a form of peer support. it is a growing movement of non-hierarchical, non-pathologizing emotional support that often operates outside of traditional institutions of education and licensure. 

financial concerns are one of the most common topics of discussion in my sessions, and I never want the support I provide to add to that stress. applying the CSA framework to my care practice means that the 1:1 financial exchange between care worker and client is interrupted, which allows my clients to speak freely about their struggles while knowing it will not impact the security of our relationship. 

my clients are often queer, neurodivergent, or otherwise radical individuals who value the wisdom of lived experience. this work is great for folks who feel alienated by traditional mental health services for any reason. It can be for people who haven’t felt a personal connection with traditional therapists or folks who want to practice mutual care and dislike the power structures inherent in doctor-patient relationships. It can be for folks who don’t have insurance and can’t afford high out-of-pocket costs. my practice can be for anyone who has been traumatized by psychiatric practices of mandatory reporting, carceral punishment, and over-, under-, or mis-diagnoses. I’m also here to fill in between more expensive sessions with your therapist, or when you just need to talk to someone who has experience.

my patreon supporters are folks who want to become part of this web of emergent, experimental world-building. they might believe that creating alternate systems of care is essential for ushering in new ways of living as a society, and see supplanting harmful structures to the point of obsolescence as an integral arm of non-violent resistance. perhaps they dream of being involved in forms of resistance that center creativity and construction, that move toward desire and consent, that aren’t dependent on the destruction of the old before the new can be explored. or maybe they think this is just kinda cool and wanna support it :)