Falling Backwards

My uncle always used to say “we fall backwards into our lives” and I have found that to be true for me–my path to this moment has not been linear and certainly has not been as I envisioned when I was graduating from high school, college, or even my masters program. I come to this work partly due to my own experiences of power-based harm (both experiencing and causing), my longing for and commitment to co-creating a world where all beings are respected and thrive, and a deep curiosity and wonder about the human experience.

All my work is informed by trauma-informed principles, transformative justice, liberation theology and health practices, somatics, and the thought and activist leadership provided by queer and BIPOC communities, specifically women of color for generations. I believe that it is impossible to do this work meaningfully without incorporating system analysis, and I strive to center the questions of "how did this come to be," "who benefits" and "what are the impacts" throughout my work.

I approach this rooted in the following lineages:

• Liberation Theology, Education, and Health

• Transformative Justice

• Feminist Therapy

• Somatic Practices

• Trauma-Informed Practice

• Racial Justice Activism

• System Analysis

• Disability Rights Activism

• EMDR

It is my hope and belief that this work is in service to co-creating a world that is just and fosters wellbeing for all its inhabitants. In other words, it is my deep hope that this work is one of many antidotes to “imperialist, white-supremacist, capitalist patriarchy” (bell hooks, The Will to Change).

Part of my approach is informed by my own experiences processing intergenerational trauma and reincorporating shapes and protective strategies that those who came before me needed in order to survive. I've found that, in this work, the strategies that our forbears used can become unconscious patterns that we replicate without awareness and sometimes at great cost.

I firmly believe that all our shapes and behaviors come from an adaptive origin, even if their current manifestations are no longer helpful. Part of my accompaniment work it to join people as they explore those adaptive origins and then play with strategies for meeting those needs in more constructive and context-appropriate ways.

Part of what I love about my work is that each session is different, just like each person is different. Because of that, I can speak in generalities about what my work looks like and is informed by, but my people and I cocreate our containers and sessions.

Please email if you want to explore working together! ramsey@heartlandwellnesscollaborative.com