Neutrality Isn’t Safety: Voice, Context, and Care
Hear Emily Mori and Tiffany Wicks discuss reproductive mental health, professional voice, trauma-informed staff support, grounding, context, and joy.
38:47 · Published 2026-07-27
Listening map
- 00:39 — Introducing Tiffany Wicks
- 03:34 — Building an equity-oriented practice
- 08:19 — Reproductive care and professional fear
- 10:32 — Why silence can carry consequences
- 15:23 — Urgency, uncertainty, and lived experience
- 20:04 — Mental-health crisis and reproductive context
- 30:09 — Trauma-informed support for staff
- 35:04 — Somatic grounding and chasing joy
Machine transcript
Machine transcript — may contain wording, punctuation, or speaker-label errors. This is the complete timestamped source record, published for reading alongside the episode. It is not quotation approval.
00:00 — Cold open
You didn't go into therapy to become the biller, marketer, tech department.
00:06 — Show intro
An emotional support human for your own business. But here we are. This is Private Practice Is a Bitch, a Ludara original. Real talk, zero filter, better systems, less burnout. Private Practice Is a Bitch. Private Practice Is a Bitch. Private Practice Is a Bitch. Private Practice Is a Bitch.
00:39 — Emily Mori
All right, everybody. Welcome back. The Private Practice Is a Bitch. This is Emily Mori. And I have Dr. Tiffany Wicks here with us today as a guest, which has me so excited. Tiffany works out with individuals in all types of communities. In reproductive health, with injustice, marginalized populations. So today I'm so excited to be sitting down with her and be able to have some open conversations about conversations that feel like we can't have, you know, that openly. You know, there's a lot of social rules. I think people feel pretty pressured, right, to follow. But anyways, you know, before we kind of get into the fun stuff, you know, Dr. Wicks, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself? What do you do now? How did you get into the field? Yeah.
01:32 — Dr. Tiffany Wicks
Thank you so much for having me. First of all, I'm so excited.
01:36 — Dr. Tiffany Wicks
And, yeah, so how I got into the field, I actually started my career as an elementary teacher. Wow. I had a student in class who I will never forget was going through a lot of family issues and custody and those kinds of things. And she would continually come to me and looking for that support and looking for just that space. And I didn't know anything to do other than, like, listen. But that in and of itself sparks this idea of, like, I want to do more. And as I even did social emotional health with my students, I was like, oh, I love this. Like, love teaching math and reading. But this was just my jam. And so I went back to school and kind of the rest is history there. So right now, so kind of my journey, I've done community mental health.
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02:34 — Dr. Tiffany Wicks
I've done higher level of care, all the things, but started a practice in Texas where I was born and raised in 2018 after I was dealing with postpartum depression and couldn't find accessible care. And so I made an equity-based practice. So that means that we take insurance, but we also do low-cost sliding scale. We have interns who do a no-questions-asked. If you can't afford anything, it's free. Counseling service for reproductive bodies. And so what started off as prenatal and postpartum has now evolved into, you know, toddler parenting, menopause, miscarriage, stillbirth, all the things. Gender-affirming care, which is now being criminalized in Texas. And so, but yeah, so we've been doing that for eight years. Moved out to the D.C. area in 2023.
03:34 — Dr. Tiffany Wicks
And after about a year here, I was like, I want to, I want to do something different here. And I had already started working with queer and trans bodies back in Texas. And I was like, I want to continue that. But I also want to add just like the trauma and CPTSC and mood disorders as well. And so that is what I do. I kind of pivoted a little bit in my approach and do more somatic work. And kind of that along the lines, the body keeps the score. And the idea that queer, trans, black and brown bodies need that specialized space and care for trauma work and for recovery.
04:17 — Dr. Tiffany Wicks
Wow.
04:18 — Emily Mori
I mean, that has just got my brain going all over the place with what we could be talking about. I have so many questions. But that is so exciting. Do you still run the practice in Texas being in D.C.?
04:29 — Dr. Tiffany Wicks
Or how does that work? That's so cool. I do. My team is phenomenal. I would say most of them are virtual. But they're incredible. And I'm so grateful. And so all that to say, they run it alongside with me most of the time. But yeah, I do.
04:47 — Emily Mori
Yeah, it's so fascinating. I feel like you've brought up so many cool topics, including being an owner, right? And I'm sure, you know, I've only ever been an owner, you know, in Maryland and a little bit in Pennsylvania, but in a state where I could easily get to, right, if something's going on. So I think that's so cool. My background, too, is a little bit of education. I started off as more of a middle school, high school teacher. And yeah, and I love it. I love being a teacher. I always kind of joke that I also I love being a therapist, but I really miss and love being a teacher. How did you get in the field of education? There's a lot of overlap. Yeah.
05:27 — Dr. Tiffany Wicks
Oh, gosh, that is basically I was an international studies major. And once upon a time in high school thought I wanted to be like an ambassador is my dream job. Wild pivot. But I ended up hating the major my freshman year. Talked to my parents. I was like, I want to major in psychology. And they were like, we need you to get a job after graduation.
05:54 — Dr. Tiffany Wicks
So let's pick something else. And I picked elementary education. And I don't regret one minute of it. But kind of in the same vein, yeah, once a teacher, always a teacher. Like that is such a true passion. I adjunct at George Washington University and the Chicago School here in D.C. And so I it is literally one of my favorite things to ever do during the week. And just teaching students a new set of counselors kind of gets me hopeful about the field. Yeah.
06:26 — Emily Mori
And I love that, too. I mean, I've done a lot of higher education work. It's really cool to see people kind of see that first spark and to have, you know, all this is this is the why. Because I feel like as we get farther away from that school piece, you know, it's just a different mentality than working with people that have been in the field for a longer time. But but aside from all of the professional things are clearly the populations that you work with are interesting and, you know, require a specialized type of care. I want to share, you know, kind of an interesting story and what your thoughts on it. But, you know, I do some consulting work with different businesses all across the United States. I'm in Canada. And when I started this work and everybody kind of knows, I think that I'm from Maryland, haven't really traveled a whole lot, but try to stay abreast of what's going on in different parts of the world. But what I've learned in this work is that no matter what you read, you just don't know about what it's really like.
07:33 — Emily Mori
Like, sorry, my kid's screaming, she's up eating breakfast, but what it's like to work with fertility in Texas. Right. And what what that looks like in Texas versus what that might look like in Maryland is is probably very different. And I know that when I, you know, I worked with even a practice out west and they were talking about a lot of their clients are coming in for issues with with the droughts. Right. And I was like, oh, that's that's a thing. Right. So so I wonder, you know, in your experience, what does that look like with those really specialized populations that, you know, you work with having, you know, different levels of acceptance across state lines? Yeah.
08:19 — Dr. Tiffany Wicks
It's a beast and it makes me want to kind of fight the system. And also it makes me really sad and sometimes scared. So so in 2021, before Roe was abolished, basically, the governor or the worst governor, Governor Abbott in Texas said that. So if you give any sort of resources or referrals or you even have conversations about abortion with clients in health care and not included counseling, that anyone who picks that up and understands that knowledge can sue you and really have no basis to sue you or have any like solidified knowledge. Let's see you up to ten thousand dollars. That has now shifted to it can be criminalized and you can now be prosecuted.
09:23 — Dr. Tiffany Wicks
And so because the ten thousand dollars didn't quite fly and they did kind of say HIPAA be damned in terms of like, we'll subpoena your notes. We'll comb through all these things. But then health care professionals got smart and we were like, OK, well, we're not going to just say, OK, I gave them abortion resources in notes. Right. Like but because that didn't fly, then now he's saying, OK, well, if you do any of this, it's called aiding and abetting. And now we're going to prosecute you. We're going to look for more information. So so they kind of upped it and that. They were also trying to comb social media and surveil things and all of their stuff. And that was also really difficult because. At the time, I remember thinking, what can I say? Yeah. When Ro was overturned, like, what can we say to provide support to our clients on social media, but also be really careful? And I remember having a conversation with a supervisee and and kind of going back and forth with that.
10:32 — Dr. Tiffany Wicks
But I really was scared. And once I moved out of Texas, honestly, like. I'm kind of like. There's not a lot of recourse that they have. They invoke that fear in order to keep us silent. And now I'm just like, I won't stay silent. So I think people do need that care. And they are. The fact is that they are going out of state. The fact is that women are dying and birthing people are dying.
11:06 — Dr. Tiffany Wicks
And Texas more so sometimes than any other place. And the maternal mortality rate in Texas is astronomical already. We can't stay silent. We've got to do something.
11:22 — Emily Mori
I mean, yeah, that's it's so sad. So, so sad. And so many people are just unaware of it. Right. Like I said, you know, I've been born and raised in Maryland. So very much in that bubble, no matter how much you try to educate yourself, it's just it's not the same as living it. And I think you're right. It's kind of like as a professional, you're like, is this fear mongering? Is this something that is going to cause right? Like, like actual harm if I do this. So do you find that when when you're educating new professionals, how did this change the path in which you educate them and work with them?
12:02 — Dr. Tiffany Wicks
Well, I will say I'm I'm a lot less scared to say abortion now than I was in Texas. I'll be honest with you, like Texas is just kind of a scary place to say a lot of things out loud. But my dissertation research is about black maternal mortality and so like health self-advocacy to reduce maternal mortality rates. And so, like, I tend to talk about reproductive justice in most of my conversations because we're not just dealing with legislation, but we're dealing with lives. Right. And so we also know that the lack of access to abortion and health care is prominently affecting black and brown women the most. And so we can't ignore what's happening right in front of our faces just because like you yourself are maybe past your reproductive years or not having children or don't need an abortion or whatever. But someone, you know, and someone you care for is in one of those buckets and one of those spaces.
13:06 — Dr. Tiffany Wicks
And so I try to do my very best to talk to my students and and even really just community members, friends. They hear too much about it from me. And I'm sure at some point they would like they have too much knowledge now. And so then they would like me to shut up. But that's not going to happen. And but that idea of like, OK, this is happening all around us. More rights are going to continue to be taken away. They just tried to take away, you know, access to Miffin-Prince-Stone, like, you know, home abortion, all those things. And so when we look at that, right, what does that mean for us as mental health professionals? Well. There is a fear of death now. There is a fear of giving birth now. There is a piece of things of like a what if and an unknown and a lack of control that contributes to anxiety. It contributes to depression. It contributes to. And on top of that, like if you do, you know, maybe have lack of access to abortion or something like that.
14:15 — Dr. Tiffany Wicks
And you carry or say you have a miscarriage or anything that you have to basically have sepsis for in order to evacuate the fetus. Like then all that to say there is a deep and great fear now of health care, of doctors. We're doing this recovery work. If you carry the child, okay, fine. And we're still seeing high rates of postpartum depression. We're seeing high rates of postpartum anxiety. Because again, you're pregnant and you're thinking to yourself, what if? I had a child in September of 2022. So three months after Roe was overturned. And all I could think about in Texas was I really hope I make it. Because at that time, doctors were on the phone with lawyers for three to four hours at a time. And birthing folks were getting sepsis. They were getting infections. And they were bleeding out.
15:23 — Dr. Tiffany Wicks
And so I say it with exactly that urgency with my students. Because when we talk about reproductive justice, we are talking about mental health care. We are talking about constant fears and obsessions. And we're talking about severe anxiety. We're talking about debilitating mental health lasting effects.
15:46 — Dr. Tiffany Wicks
Yeah.
15:47 — Emily Mori
I mean, it's so crazy to me. Because I think some of these things go unspoken. Right? And the more we don't talk about it, the more shame lingers. Right? I think so much time people might think neutrality is a good thing. But it's really, to me, it can almost be abandonment. Right? It's kind of like, oh, no, not speaking about it. But it's kind of like abandoning shit when all of everything's going down. A little self-disclosure. So with my kids, both pregnancies were a cluster. Both deliveries were a cluster. But fortunately, really good health care, you know, in Maryland. Prior to my second, because my first one was so challenging. You know, we were looking at different ways we wanted to grow, you know, our family. And one of the things that we were looking at was adoption. Now, my second was a blessing surprise. But, you know, so we didn't end up going that route. And, you know, everybody's story and reason is different. Right?
16:49 — Emily Mori
But in looking at that process, you know, we were told, you know, it won't be easy for you to adopt in Maryland. That's going to be very, very hard. Look at Texas. Look at Utah. Utah is really far away. Look at Texas. My little ignorant self. I was like, okay. Well, the more I was like, oh, my God. The reason why it's so easy to adopt in Texas is because their laws are fucked up. Right? And because people can't, you know, make decisions for themselves about what they want to do. And, you know, I think that that just speaks, you know, so much about how therapists have this responsibility for social justice. Right? And for making sure that we're speaking about these things. Now, do you feel in both maybe, and I know now you're in NDC, so it might be different. But do you feel like there is some element of having to, you know, develop, you know, a special type of relationship with these types of clients to talk about these things, knowing the fear behind it? Or what has that looked like for you?
18:01 — Emily Mori
No. No.
18:01 — Dr. Tiffany Wicks
So here's the thing. I think that when people come to me, and I've had people in Texas especially come to me and they'll whisper and be like, you know, I'm not really sure how you're going to respond to this. And I'm taking a risk. And I'll be like, listen, like, if that's what they're going to take my license away for, like, in Texas, then, like, so be it. Right? Because, and I know that sounds so risky. Right? And saying that out loud, especially in a podcast, probably not the best idea. But if that means that I fought for something and I helped one more person, like, then, yeah, I'm willing to take that risk. But people will whisper and then be like, okay, I'm thinking about, like, having an abortion. Right? And it's like, yes, because that happens sometimes. Right?
18:55 — Dr. Tiffany Wicks
That choice or you've decided, yeah, that happens sometimes. And so it's a reality. And so for me, I actually kind of just approach that with some immediacy of, like, I'm with you. I'm in this with you. Yeah. And for black and brown women, they already know. They already know their risk. They already know the rates. They already know the horrible disparities because of systemic racism. And so, yeah, we talk about that. And that's, there is no shyness in that to have to, like, build up to that or develop a rapport. Because to me, that is the rapport sometimes. Yeah. And that is what folks need in order to say, okay, now I feel comfortable talking about my mental health, talking about my fears or the deepest parts of me. Because you know what's going on. And I think that's, you know, again, going back to my students, that's part of cultural competency. Because we do need to know historical experiences of folks.
20:04 — Dr. Tiffany Wicks
And, like, this is a population we need to know historical experiences for. So, that is why I approach those things with mediacy. Because I'll be honest with you, there is no time to just kick the can down the road in this. I see this just as much as, like, this is people's lives. These are the things that then contribute to crisis and contribute sometimes to suicidality and sometimes those things. I'm not playing around with that just as much as I'm not playing around with any other crisis. Well, yeah.
20:40 — Emily Mori
And, I mean, I think a lot of people, too, they don't quite understand how quickly those things can come on. Right? And that it's not the person that is kind of pacing the streets, you know, with a larger maybe mental illness, you know, that's going to be suicidal.
20:55 — Dr. Tiffany Wicks
It's your everyday people that are struggling with this.
20:57 — Emily Mori
And it's with, you know, I think especially in pregnancy, there's so much like, oh, yay, we're going to do this. There's going to be all these things. And that's not pregnancy. That's not childbirth. Right? There's so much more to it. And I think, you know, I personally do not work with clients, you know, in this facet. I work with the autistic population. But, you know, I think of my work with my own therapist and this idea of, like, you know, I think first-time moms kind of go into it with this, you know, romantic look of, like, oh, the golden hour. Oh, this. And that's fantastic if that happens, if everything goes, you know, as planned, perfect, great. But if it doesn't, it's really scary. And the more you know, the more scary it is.
21:47 — Dr. Tiffany Wicks
Yeah, absolutely. It can be very scary. And I think, you know, for better or for worse, when someone's pregnant, a lot of times people will offer their birth stories unsolicited.
21:59 — Dr. Tiffany Wicks
And a lot of times those birth stories have not necessarily gone well. Yeah. I mean, I know you said yours was a cluster. And, like, you know, my first one was not ideal. My second and third one were quite wild because my second child I had during COVID. Yeah. Literally a month after the world shut down. And so all that to say, like, people do offer their birth stories unsolicited and either creates really high expectations for birth or it freaks them out. Right. And so then you've got this, like, you know, dichotomy of, like, you've got this, okay, well, am I constantly in fear or are my expectations unrealistic? And then the birth trauma does happen, unfortunately. And, you know, even if it's not birth trauma, the, like, birth story is maybe not fitting the expectation or the ideal or the plan. Right.
22:59 — Dr. Tiffany Wicks
And so all that to say, it's like, yeah, that's not just it, like you said, but it isn't always roses and butterflies. Yeah. And when we talk about reproductive health, that's kind of what we're talking about, too, in reproductive mental health is that, like, nobody tells you, you know, there's a really cool book that says, like, good moms have scary thoughts. Like, nobody tells you that you may have scary thoughts, for this part. Yeah. Nobody tells you that it may be really, really lonely or breastfeeding could be hard or maybe you don't breastfeed. Right. Like, nobody really tells you, okay, well, that the golden hour may be interrupted by your in-laws and you feel so vulnerable in that moment that boundaries are really hard to set. Right. Nobody tells you any of those things because they also can't predict that for you either. But at the same time, those happen.
23:58 — Dr. Tiffany Wicks
And that's also, like, then why people end up in our offices is that, like, they're processing, like, what did I not get or what was shifted for me or what was really hard for me that I did not know and I could not control. But we've glorified parenthood and birth and all this other stuff in kind of a very toxic way of it's beautiful. You should love it. This is wonderful.
24:27 — Dr. Tiffany Wicks
And at the same time, we do need to get real without scaring folks and just saying, like, these are some things that happen. There are high rates of these things, especially if you have previous mental health issues. Let's talk about that. There are resources out here. And there is support.
24:52 — Dr. Tiffany Wicks
But, yeah, you're right. Like, it's just not the package, the package with the bow on top. Yeah.
24:59 — Emily Mori
And this kind of takes me almost like a whole other wavelength, just thinking, like, generationally speaking. And in my podcast, I kind of bounce back and forth a little bit because you never know what someone's going to bring up. But, you know, you mentioned this idea of, like, you know, the in-laws or this or that. And I almost think back to, like, gosh, like, almost, like, 15 years ago in the, like, teen mom era where right now we're dealing with a generation of new moms that for a decade were told pregnancy would be the same that would ruin your life. So now there's, I think, almost like a relationship, just like a mucky relationship with what it can look like to be a mom, what does it look like to be a pregnant person, you know, all of those types of things. And I don't know if that's ever something that you see, you know, in that type of way.
25:55 — Emily Mori
Yeah.
25:57 — Dr. Tiffany Wicks
That was kind of how I started out, to be honest with you, at the private practice. It wasn't so much just the pregnancy piece of it. I'm a new mom and I didn't know I was going to constantly be afraid of pulling my baby and dropping it, right? Or having, like, these ruminations. And so, yeah, that kind of spurred, like, some community education there. It spurred conversations with other providers and just, like, engaging more of the community of, like, yeah, we have to be. Real with our clients and our patients. And we also have to, like, have some strategies and some resources for that. But, yeah, it's interesting because it wasn't the pregnant folks that were coming into my office initially. It was the new postpartum moms that were saying, I'm scared or I don't know why I'm sad all the time. Yeah. Or I've retreated and I used to be social.
27:02 — Dr. Tiffany Wicks
Or even more importantly, like, I don't know who I am anymore.
27:08 — Emily Mori
Yes, that's a big thing, a big statement that I feel like a lot of new moms say. And that also, you know, can change the relationship that they have with their partner, too. I mean, it does. It does. And so many people are unprepared for that.
27:24 — Dr. Tiffany Wicks
Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. And I think that, like, that identity also changes with having more kids. I think that, like, that identity changes with whether that's going back to work or choosing not to work anymore, like, in a formal setting. And, again, it's another thing we don't talk about, right? Is that, oh, well, your mother, your identity won't change when you become a mother or you become a parent. It just adds to it. Right. Not all the time. I mean, even if you are a very established individual, you know exactly who you are. Like, at the end of the day, like, you have added in other elements. And that is a shift in identity. Right.
28:10 — Emily Mori
It's a thing. And it's something that you really can't practice until you're in it, you know. And I think that that's a really big thing for so many people, too. Now, how big is your practice? How big is it?
28:26 — Dr. Tiffany Wicks
So the practice in Texas, we have about five practitioners that I manage. And I do more community education and supervision at this point in terms of that practice instead of taking clients there. And then in my D.C. practice, it's just myself and an intern. So, yeah.
28:45 — Emily Mori
Fun, fun, fun. Fun. So do you feel, like, as far as, like, practice growth and especially kind of doing it in a unique way, are there different things that you have learned along the way with this stuff?
28:58 — Dr. Tiffany Wicks
Oh, my gosh. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. I think that there's a lot that I've learned. I think growing people and managing people over managing, like, logistics has its pros and cons. But I do think that, like, if you keep people and staff at the forefront as humans, they will stay. And I'm so, again, I'm so grateful for a team where there are several of them who have been with me since 2020 and COVID and all the things that, you know, we've got a group meet chat and we've got a text chat. And then we do our staff meetings and all that other stuff. But, like, and I talk to them individually. But, like, the people aspects of it is so important. And I think there's, I get that there is a personal and professional boundary. I totally get that. I also totally get that, like, yes, there has to be logistics. There has to be business practices and policies and all of their stuff. And I have those things.
30:09 — Dr. Tiffany Wicks
But at the end of the day, like, life is always life-ing. That people are, have different ways of communicating. They have different ways of processing information. Got to keep people at the forefront just as much as we keep our clients, you know, in a trauma-informed way, like the way that we approach them. We also need to approach our staff that way, too. And understand that, like, this is a job for them. But they also are engaging in, like, life outside of this. And so we check in on them or we, like, you know, allow them that space of breaks or, you know, asking what they need or accommodating, modifying, all those things. Because that's what gets the staff to stay. It's also what gets the staff to be a lot stronger, too. Well, yeah.
31:02 — Emily Mori
And I think the other thing is, like, to do this job, it's a lot, right?
31:06 — Dr. Tiffany Wicks
I know sometimes I'll come home.
31:08 — Emily Mori
I don't really go anywhere. I get off of the computer and leave my office. And, you know, it's kind of like I don't have that same bandwidth at social time. Like, maybe my husband, who isn't social at work, so he comes out and he wants to have that social time. So I think we have to understand, you know, to be a therapist, you have to have that support. And if you're going to be a group practice owner, the one thing that I tell a lot of owners is you're in the business of supporting therapists. That's something that happens. You know, I'm wondering in terms of what you've seen over the years, like, do you feel like you've seen any change in therapist resistance? Any change in maybe therapists kind of, you know, considering that it's a little bit overwhelming sometimes?
31:56 — Dr. Tiffany Wicks
Yeah, I mean, I think that the burnout is or even just like that hitting that wall is a lot more prominent after COVID. And I think, you know, obviously, like, the world changed. And I think we're also going to start seeing some, like, tangible research evidence of, like, the impact of all of that. But, yeah, I think that there is a lot lower capacity from therapists. I also think that those priorities potentially are changing as well in just terms of, like, you know, centering personal life and being able to have, at least from what I'm seeing, right? Like, yes, we live in a society where, yes, we have to work to eat kind of thing. But at the same time, like, how much is it truly worth if we're not okay? And I do think that there are increasing conversations about that. But I'm also seeing that on just a personal level of, like, whether it's my colleagues or my staff and just, like, understanding that, like, it's not worth it to just work and go home.
33:06 — Dr. Tiffany Wicks
It's, like, I need to have family. I need to have people. We were isolated and, like, shut down and shut off from the world. People were dying around us, like, all of a sudden there's stuff. I do think there's a huge shift in the last few years in a good way. And at the same time, like, yeah, I mean, lower capacity, like, in terms of, like, money or business or whatever means that maybe, yeah, you have an extra couple of staff or maybe they're not taking in as many clients or whatever it is. But, you know, whether you have contractors or not. But, like, but I also think with that there needs to be a longevity of, like, okay, then what are we doing? Are we socializing as therapists? Are we providing more accessible therapy for therapists? Because we're not all making six figures, right? And some therapists can't afford the, you know, hard $75 an hour for their therapist. And so what are we doing for these folks, too? Whether it's as employers, private practice owners, or it's as colleagues and friends. Like, we're just concerned for each other.
34:12 — Emily Mori
I mean, it is so hard, especially for people that take insurance. I mean, I take insurance. And it is hard, especially if you see couples, you know, see families. It can be, you know, tough to make money and be able to survive on that. And I think, like you mentioned, some therapists, depending on their own plan, because a lot of people aren't necessarily able to offer insurance, right? When they're working in these types of settings, it can be expensive.
34:41 — Dr. Tiffany Wicks
And it can be really hard for them to support themselves.
34:45 — Emily Mori
Do you feel like when you're working, you know, there are some things that you kind of keep in mind that you're like, yep, that grounds me with the type of work that you do? Because I feel like that's something that I always want people to take away, you know, from the podcast. What could they be doing, you know, maybe to help themselves just a little bit more? Yeah.
35:04 — Dr. Tiffany Wicks
I do a couple of things. So somatic work has actually kind of put me in a space where I am to do my own somatic work. Like that grounds me. And so I find myself really paying attention to my body and the dysregulation or the regulation there.
35:22 — Dr. Tiffany Wicks
And so sometimes I will, like, I'll lay on the floor. I will feel the ground. I'll play a song or I have, there's some affirmations that they're like singing affirmations. And I'll play that and just ground, breathe. Yeah. But that's kind of individual. I play like, you know, whether that's playing with my kids outside or that's, you know, going to listen to live music with my friends or I go to the therapist happy hours or whatever it is. Like, I make sure that there is something in my week every single week where I am engaging in play in some way. And it's, I call it chasing joy. And I just want to go chase joy. Like, even on my, like, worst days, like, okay, what am I chasing that feels like joy to me? And it can be different things in the week. But, like, I make sure that I intentionally do that once a week. Because, yeah, some weeks are really heavy.
36:32 — Dr. Tiffany Wicks
And especially doing trauma work, I'm like, I'm, I'm gratefully developed that I can turn off work when I'm not at work. But at the same time, like, they're still heavy. It still sits in our bodies and our minds and all those things. And so, like, yeah, I just play. I go chase joy.
36:51 — Emily Mori
No, I love that you describe kind of all the things that you do is kind of, like, play. I like the mentality of, like, work hard, play hard, right? And I think that that's something that really speaks to me. For me, I like to watch TV. That's a really good thing. I enjoy a good crazy show or even, like, a good oldie. But, you know, anything to kind of relax after a crazy week. And I also try to not necessarily make my week super crazy kind of under the idea, like, well, you know, like, I don't need to, like, work myself to death, right? And I've done that at some point in my life, and I don't need to do that anymore. Yeah. Yeah. It's been awesome having you on the podcast. This has been such a fun, fun conversation. I've really enjoyed it. Is there anything else you want to share with our listeners kind of before we head out for today and start our crazy days? Because it's really early where we're at.
37:50 — Dr. Tiffany Wicks
I mean, I'm saying thank you so much for having me. Like, I am just so grateful. But, yeah, I would just say, like, to any therapist out there, we don't stop learning at grad school. And, you know, continue to educate yourself on what's happening for marginalized folks. Because, unfortunately, something is always happening these days. And I think that we need to understand what marginalized folks are up against so that we can serve them better. Yeah.
38:22 — Emily Mori
No, I agree. And I feel like we could have a whole other podcast on that topic. Yes.
38:29 — Dr. Tiffany Wicks
Yes. Thank you so much.
38:30 — Emily Mori
I'm so grateful to be here. Thank you so much, everybody, for listening to Private Practice is a Bitch. Follow, like, subscribe, do all the things, and keep listening. Every week we'll either have me talking about something interesting or a new guest. Thanks.