“I really thought, like, if people have the choice to choose what they pay, they're going to undervalue me, and I was so sure that everybody would pick the lower fees. I'm making more money than I've ever made!” ~ Celeste Meyer

Celeste Meyer has created something folks on this planet need to see more examples of - a pretty yummy, juicy life for herself and those with whom she’s in alliance. From friends to clients to partners, this fat-bodied, South Asian queer woman has molded her professional and personal spaces into shapes that defy confinement. She rejects the rigidity of white supremacy’s boxes - and she’s doing damn well outside of them, thankyouverymuch.

Predominately centered on BIPOC, queer, trans, and fat clients, Celeste’s practice is where intersectionality - and the wounds so often heaped on top of those instances of confluence - is given its proper due. You’ll recognize the phrase liberation-focused therapy from previous episodes. At a macro level, it’s a framework that offers empowerment and healing in aid of communities most neglected by mainstream mental health services. Celeste’s work is rooted in that spirit and its promise of whole-community well-being. She schooled me on one aspect of this truly transformational ideal, challenging me to lean into and address my discomfort during our discussion.

Sliding-scale rates. Yup, we go there! It’s no secret that white supremacy values money and materials more than it does human lives. Nor is there any mystery to how capitalism maintains that status quo: it prospers on scorched earth policy, planting seeds of scarcity where once cooperation reigned. Disentangling from that structure is a challenge - and I’m a work in progress. Thank goodness for episodes like this one, where a guest as wise and understanding as Celeste holds space for honest talk around human valuation and the fears that accompany the stretching of bounds.

Whew! We even had time to unpack the healer and wounded healer questions - diving into issues of appropriation, the divine feminine, the seasonality of life, the Farmers Almanac (true story!). Ultimately, though, what I love best about this discussion is how right it feels to acknowledge that we aren’t meant to have all our shit together all the time. It’s an honorable thing to challenge each other and hold space for the complexities that ensue. Celeste said it best: “I get to have cycles within me of blooming and conserving energy, being, you know, blossoming and ready to connect with all the plants around me - or being the one with one little leaf. I get to be all of them!”

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Celeste Meyer is a self-identified Brown Fat Femme who lives, loves, and works on unceded Muskoke/Creek territory known as Atlanta, Georgia. In her private practice, she predominantly sees BIPOC, queer, trans, and fat clients as they heal from trauma and focus on liberation through connection and somatic-based therapy.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

CWH151: Shawna Murray-Browne

Decolonizing Therapy and other courses from Shawna Murray-Browne

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