Lucia Sarmiento Verano
@sarmientoverano.bsky.social
Anti-oppressive Therapist.
PhD-ing at Birkbeck Uni on Coloniality & Mestizaje.
Eurocentrism is a cage.
Peruana. Culture navigator.
Frañol is my mother tongue.
Olympic Weightlifting.
Autistic.
She/Her
linktr.ee/sarmientoverano
PhD-ing at Birkbeck Uni on Coloniality & Mestizaje.
Eurocentrism is a cage.
Peruana. Culture navigator.
Frañol is my mother tongue.
Olympic Weightlifting.
Autistic.
She/Her
linktr.ee/sarmientoverano
Our first Reading Group will happen in the last week of November!
All tiers (even newsletter readers only tier 'Liberation Reader' will have an invitation!) are welcome. I have secured permission from Dr Proctor, the author of the book Burn Out, to share a section of the chapter on Bitterness.
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All tiers (even newsletter readers only tier 'Liberation Reader' will have an invitation!) are welcome. I have secured permission from Dr Proctor, the author of the book Burn Out, to share a section of the chapter on Bitterness.
1/
October 30, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Our first Reading Group will happen in the last week of November!
All tiers (even newsletter readers only tier 'Liberation Reader' will have an invitation!) are welcome. I have secured permission from Dr Proctor, the author of the book Burn Out, to share a section of the chapter on Bitterness.
1/
All tiers (even newsletter readers only tier 'Liberation Reader' will have an invitation!) are welcome. I have secured permission from Dr Proctor, the author of the book Burn Out, to share a section of the chapter on Bitterness.
1/
"We don’t just have a knowledge problem—we have a habit-of-being problem; the problem of whiteness is a problem of what we expect, our ways of being, bodily-ness, and how we understand ourselves as “placed” in time."
- Alexis Shotwell
- Alexis Shotwell
October 22, 2025 at 2:06 PM
"We don’t just have a knowledge problem—we have a habit-of-being problem; the problem of whiteness is a problem of what we expect, our ways of being, bodily-ness, and how we understand ourselves as “placed” in time."
- Alexis Shotwell
- Alexis Shotwell
The upcoming meetings schedule for our South of Therapy Community of Practice have been set for the 2025/2026 period. Complete with monthly newsletters that include reflections and resources for us to discuss.
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October 15, 2025 at 11:55 AM
The upcoming meetings schedule for our South of Therapy Community of Practice have been set for the 2025/2026 period. Complete with monthly newsletters that include reflections and resources for us to discuss.
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Dreaming of therapeutic spaces:
- grounded in social realities: Where family dynamics are considered as much as systemic dynamics, internalised messages we get from society, historical and intergenerational trauma, and the real impact of resource inaccessibility on our wellbeing.
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- grounded in social realities: Where family dynamics are considered as much as systemic dynamics, internalised messages we get from society, historical and intergenerational trauma, and the real impact of resource inaccessibility on our wellbeing.
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October 9, 2025 at 11:34 AM
Dreaming of therapeutic spaces:
- grounded in social realities: Where family dynamics are considered as much as systemic dynamics, internalised messages we get from society, historical and intergenerational trauma, and the real impact of resource inaccessibility on our wellbeing.
1/
- grounded in social realities: Where family dynamics are considered as much as systemic dynamics, internalised messages we get from society, historical and intergenerational trauma, and the real impact of resource inaccessibility on our wellbeing.
1/
Happy to have delivered this event on Class & Intersections in Therapy for a training institution earlier this week! What an open and engaged group it was, I am grateful once more for this opportunity.
October 9, 2025 at 11:33 AM
Happy to have delivered this event on Class & Intersections in Therapy for a training institution earlier this week! What an open and engaged group it was, I am grateful once more for this opportunity.
Individualism may suit those who embody whiteness & capitalism. The entrepreneur mentality allows people to feel in control in their own lives, navigating society and wielding what little power they accumulate. 1/
September 29, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Individualism may suit those who embody whiteness & capitalism. The entrepreneur mentality allows people to feel in control in their own lives, navigating society and wielding what little power they accumulate. 1/
Just had our first community meeting. Small, gentle, deep conversations about purity. Forever grateful for the spaces that I have the honour to facilitate.
September 25, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Just had our first community meeting. Small, gentle, deep conversations about purity. Forever grateful for the spaces that I have the honour to facilitate.
Our first community meetings:
- Thursday 25th Sept - 2pm to 4pm
- Friday 3rd Oct - 10am to 12pm
All tiers (even newsletter readers only tier will have an invitation!) are welcome. We will have an important discussion about activism groups and how we want to BE together.
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- Thursday 25th Sept - 2pm to 4pm
- Friday 3rd Oct - 10am to 12pm
All tiers (even newsletter readers only tier will have an invitation!) are welcome. We will have an important discussion about activism groups and how we want to BE together.
1/
September 15, 2025 at 11:37 AM
Our first community meetings:
- Thursday 25th Sept - 2pm to 4pm
- Friday 3rd Oct - 10am to 12pm
All tiers (even newsletter readers only tier will have an invitation!) are welcome. We will have an important discussion about activism groups and how we want to BE together.
1/
- Thursday 25th Sept - 2pm to 4pm
- Friday 3rd Oct - 10am to 12pm
All tiers (even newsletter readers only tier will have an invitation!) are welcome. We will have an important discussion about activism groups and how we want to BE together.
1/
Therapeutic spaces can either reproduce this situation or help mitigate it. Power analysis, or the understanding of power dynamics is part of the liberatory process.
September 10, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Therapeutic spaces can either reproduce this situation or help mitigate it. Power analysis, or the understanding of power dynamics is part of the liberatory process.
Being marginalised can place groups in situations where they are vulnerable to harm, creating trauma and chronic stress. Many also lack access to opportunities to name their experiences and define their own image in a positive light. 3/
September 10, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Being marginalised can place groups in situations where they are vulnerable to harm, creating trauma and chronic stress. Many also lack access to opportunities to name their experiences and define their own image in a positive light. 3/
These factors impact on how we see and feel about ourselves, others & the world in the long term.
Power has everthing to do with this. It determines access to resources & protects people from harm or exploitation. Power also allows people access to support when they need it. 2/
Power has everthing to do with this. It determines access to resources & protects people from harm or exploitation. Power also allows people access to support when they need it. 2/
September 10, 2025 at 11:52 AM
These factors impact on how we see and feel about ourselves, others & the world in the long term.
Power has everthing to do with this. It determines access to resources & protects people from harm or exploitation. Power also allows people access to support when they need it. 2/
Power has everthing to do with this. It determines access to resources & protects people from harm or exploitation. Power also allows people access to support when they need it. 2/
Social Determinants of Mental Health:
We are social creatures made to live & grow in community and we can be deeply affected by factors that impact our experience in this society such as:
Poverty
Racism and Discrimination
Social/Political Violence
Gender Violence
Migration
1/
We are social creatures made to live & grow in community and we can be deeply affected by factors that impact our experience in this society such as:
Poverty
Racism and Discrimination
Social/Political Violence
Gender Violence
Migration
1/
September 10, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Social Determinants of Mental Health:
We are social creatures made to live & grow in community and we can be deeply affected by factors that impact our experience in this society such as:
Poverty
Racism and Discrimination
Social/Political Violence
Gender Violence
Migration
1/
We are social creatures made to live & grow in community and we can be deeply affected by factors that impact our experience in this society such as:
Poverty
Racism and Discrimination
Social/Political Violence
Gender Violence
Migration
1/
Next newsletter will be sent next week, with a new blog, and news about the community.
As always, it'll include extra resources on decolonial thinking and anti-oppression I've found online. Curated by moi.
Subscribe here: bit.ly/3dLmP7l
As always, it'll include extra resources on decolonial thinking and anti-oppression I've found online. Curated by moi.
Subscribe here: bit.ly/3dLmP7l
August 25, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Next newsletter will be sent next week, with a new blog, and news about the community.
As always, it'll include extra resources on decolonial thinking and anti-oppression I've found online. Curated by moi.
Subscribe here: bit.ly/3dLmP7l
As always, it'll include extra resources on decolonial thinking and anti-oppression I've found online. Curated by moi.
Subscribe here: bit.ly/3dLmP7l
On neurodivergence:
Depending on people’s ways to function, grief can be experienced or expressed in a variety of ways.
Our ways of experiencing grief don't need to be pathologised or deemed “complicated”. They just are.
Appropriate support will provide a space to understand our own process. 4/
Depending on people’s ways to function, grief can be experienced or expressed in a variety of ways.
Our ways of experiencing grief don't need to be pathologised or deemed “complicated”. They just are.
Appropriate support will provide a space to understand our own process. 4/
August 13, 2025 at 2:14 PM
On neurodivergence:
Depending on people’s ways to function, grief can be experienced or expressed in a variety of ways.
Our ways of experiencing grief don't need to be pathologised or deemed “complicated”. They just are.
Appropriate support will provide a space to understand our own process. 4/
Depending on people’s ways to function, grief can be experienced or expressed in a variety of ways.
Our ways of experiencing grief don't need to be pathologised or deemed “complicated”. They just are.
Appropriate support will provide a space to understand our own process. 4/
Injustice or colonial violence is not a past event. Those losses are occurring right now. Appropriate support acknowledges the need to develop connections with communities & practices that foster hope & joy. Connecting with life-giving moments is resistance.
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August 13, 2025 at 2:14 PM
Injustice or colonial violence is not a past event. Those losses are occurring right now. Appropriate support acknowledges the need to develop connections with communities & practices that foster hope & joy. Connecting with life-giving moments is resistance.
3/
3/
Another source of grief that is often overlooked &at times, pathologized by mh services, is the injustice and violence we witness globally. This includes:
Ongoing exploitation and genocide
Climate change and the destruction of our planet
Social violence and loss of humanity
2/
Ongoing exploitation and genocide
Climate change and the destruction of our planet
Social violence and loss of humanity
2/
August 13, 2025 at 2:14 PM
Another source of grief that is often overlooked &at times, pathologized by mh services, is the injustice and violence we witness globally. This includes:
Ongoing exploitation and genocide
Climate change and the destruction of our planet
Social violence and loss of humanity
2/
Ongoing exploitation and genocide
Climate change and the destruction of our planet
Social violence and loss of humanity
2/
An anti-oppressive perspective:
Grief is sometimes denied or dismissed by society which makes it difficult to recognise. For example:
Losses due to migration
Loss of opportunities or an imagined life due to injustice
Intergenerational losses due to colonial violence
1/
Grief is sometimes denied or dismissed by society which makes it difficult to recognise. For example:
Losses due to migration
Loss of opportunities or an imagined life due to injustice
Intergenerational losses due to colonial violence
1/
August 13, 2025 at 2:14 PM
An anti-oppressive perspective:
Grief is sometimes denied or dismissed by society which makes it difficult to recognise. For example:
Losses due to migration
Loss of opportunities or an imagined life due to injustice
Intergenerational losses due to colonial violence
1/
Grief is sometimes denied or dismissed by society which makes it difficult to recognise. For example:
Losses due to migration
Loss of opportunities or an imagined life due to injustice
Intergenerational losses due to colonial violence
1/
Nothing is ‘wrong with us’ when we can’t pinpoint what our identity or “authentic self” is. It is natural to feel differently when navigating different cultures that are familiar to us. 5/
August 5, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Nothing is ‘wrong with us’ when we can’t pinpoint what our identity or “authentic self” is. It is natural to feel differently when navigating different cultures that are familiar to us. 5/
Belonging and identity are not necessarily one fixed reality. What parts of the different cultures you navigate feel comfortable or are more aligned with you? How can you let this be nurturing to you? There is nothing wrong with having more than one home... 4/
August 5, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Belonging and identity are not necessarily one fixed reality. What parts of the different cultures you navigate feel comfortable or are more aligned with you? How can you let this be nurturing to you? There is nothing wrong with having more than one home... 4/
being "culturally rootless": feeling like we don't have a home within any specific culture. This feeling can arise from frequent cross-cultural moves, tensions in mixed-culture families, or feeling like an outsider within one's own culture. It can be a deeply unsettling 3/
August 5, 2025 at 11:21 AM
being "culturally rootless": feeling like we don't have a home within any specific culture. This feeling can arise from frequent cross-cultural moves, tensions in mixed-culture families, or feeling like an outsider within one's own culture. It can be a deeply unsettling 3/
Sometimes, to navigate a new society we are pulled into adapting ourselves. Important questions arise: Which parts of yourself are being changed or hidden? Is there any shame or discomfort attached to this? What would feel comfortable? What messages do we need to unlearn? 2/
August 5, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Sometimes, to navigate a new society we are pulled into adapting ourselves. Important questions arise: Which parts of yourself are being changed or hidden? Is there any shame or discomfort attached to this? What would feel comfortable? What messages do we need to unlearn? 2/
leaving a home: migration may be a source of excitement & opportunity. It can also be a source of disenfranchised grief & loss.
Loss of a sense of home, relationships, cultural markers, paired with the imperative for adaptation and assimilation: the loss of a part of oneself.
1/
Loss of a sense of home, relationships, cultural markers, paired with the imperative for adaptation and assimilation: the loss of a part of oneself.
1/
August 5, 2025 at 11:21 AM
leaving a home: migration may be a source of excitement & opportunity. It can also be a source of disenfranchised grief & loss.
Loss of a sense of home, relationships, cultural markers, paired with the imperative for adaptation and assimilation: the loss of a part of oneself.
1/
Loss of a sense of home, relationships, cultural markers, paired with the imperative for adaptation and assimilation: the loss of a part of oneself.
1/
"the colonial order pathologises the emotional lives of people who are racialised non-white... And relegates the work of emotional expression and regulation to the most private of spaces and in disconnection with community or the collective."
Read the full blog:
southoftherapy.com/racism-and-t...
Read the full blog:
southoftherapy.com/racism-and-t...
July 22, 2025 at 4:59 PM
"the colonial order pathologises the emotional lives of people who are racialised non-white... And relegates the work of emotional expression and regulation to the most private of spaces and in disconnection with community or the collective."
Read the full blog:
southoftherapy.com/racism-and-t...
Read the full blog:
southoftherapy.com/racism-and-t...
Have you ever heard a therapist say: “I treat all my clients equally” ?
This may sound fair, but only if you haven’t considered...
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This may sound fair, but only if you haven’t considered...
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June 25, 2025 at 11:55 AM
Have you ever heard a therapist say: “I treat all my clients equally” ?
This may sound fair, but only if you haven’t considered...
1/
This may sound fair, but only if you haven’t considered...
1/
The next newsletter will be sent out next Tuesday!
A less-than-monthly email with new writings, announcements on upcoming events/goodies, and extra resources on decolonial thinking and anti-oppression. Curated by yours truly.
Subscribe here: bit.ly/3dLmP7l
A less-than-monthly email with new writings, announcements on upcoming events/goodies, and extra resources on decolonial thinking and anti-oppression. Curated by yours truly.
Subscribe here: bit.ly/3dLmP7l
June 24, 2025 at 12:22 PM
The next newsletter will be sent out next Tuesday!
A less-than-monthly email with new writings, announcements on upcoming events/goodies, and extra resources on decolonial thinking and anti-oppression. Curated by yours truly.
Subscribe here: bit.ly/3dLmP7l
A less-than-monthly email with new writings, announcements on upcoming events/goodies, and extra resources on decolonial thinking and anti-oppression. Curated by yours truly.
Subscribe here: bit.ly/3dLmP7l