“I would create a little space for it so that: A) energetically and metaphorically, there is space for it in your life, and you don’t have to fucking inhabit it. You can put that shit on a shelf…”
On episode 39 of Off the Cuff with Danny LoPriore, Danny sat down with clinical psychologist, teacher, speaker, writer, and Founder of Decolonizing Therapy, Dr. Jennifer Mullan. In this episode, they discuss all things related to rage as well as how the intersectionalities of history, race, and oppression play a role in the mental well-being of people today.
“We gotta acknowledge that, “oh wait. This shit happened.” Or, “oh wait, part, or half, or all of my ancestors did some horrible shit. How did that pass down to me? How am I transmuting that?” Right? And so Decolonizing Therapy in its core is, I think, looking at the collective shadow…that underbelly that the world doesn’t want to look at and what has happened historically and how that in the current day is impacting the well-being, the relationships, the money in the pockets, the health - the mental and physical health, the spiritual health of people today. What we seek to do is help people honor big feelings like grief and rage, which are two sides of the same coin…(25:11)
They chat about all the shapes and forms rage takes, the social stigma surrounding how rage is displayed, the many reasons people display rage, and the over-pathologizing of rage as various mental health/behavioral disorders.
“We’re dealing with mass trauma from civil rights. Then you’re dealing with all the crazy shit that has happened in the last 40 years or so until what’s happening now. I call it the “trauma burger.” What’s happening currently is the patty. And then you have your childhood shit and hurt, trauma, bullying, whatever you’ve gone through is the bottom. And then the stuff that our parents, ancestors, and other people dealt with. And you’re eating that shit every single day.” (35:54)
Finally, Dr. Jennifer shares the origins of becoming “The Rage Doctor,” the beginning of Decolonizing Therapy, the historical and generational trauma and pain behind grief and rage, how to sit with ancestral shame, and the importance of having a healthy relationship with your trauma.
“I would create a little space for it so that: A) energetically and metaphorically, there is space for it in your life, and you don’t have to fucking inhabit it. You can put that shit on a shelf…” (43:40)
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