1) I consciously chose NOT TO participate in the therapeutic industrial complex. I continue to choose (I could go back to school at any time to get a counseling degree) to not participate in a system that is based on pathology and mental health gatekeeping. I am not a therapist and it's a mindful choice - not a lack of skills, education, or training.

2) I consciously chose NOT TO participate in behaviorism or behavior modification. I continue to choose to not get certified in ABA. I am not a BCBA and it's a mindful choice - not a lack of credentials, expertise, or ability to support parents + families.

3) I believe in my authority and integrity and I do not need a third party to tell me what my capabilities and ethics are. I am willing and able to hold that responsibility myself.

4) I don't like most of the systems and structures that are upheld as aspirational, normative, correct, or "what we should be working to fit into and perpetuate." My work is radical in the sense that it is non-punitive, nervous-system-centered, de-colonizing, curious + questioning, indigeneity affirming, empathetic, de-centers the individual, operates with unconditional positive regard for humans and more-than-human kin, and is amoral (outside of binaries of good/bad and right/wrong).

5) I'm accountable for (and ravenous about) my own continuing education. I've read more neuroscience/neurodivergence books and taken more therapeutic trainings than a lot of therapists. Like it or not, thanks to the internet and capitalism, there's a lot of free education, and the education that's not for free is for sale. My knowledge is not driven by having to get a certain amount of CEs, but is driven by genuine passion and devotion to my medicine.

6) Yes, I HAVE "official" certifications. I'm a certified Integrative Change Coach, a certified Family + Human Design Coach, a certified Hypnotherapist, certified Trauma-Informed Practitioner, and certified in Somatic Embodiment & Regulation Strategies. I've also taken numerous professional trainings, and invested the same amount as a masters university education (if not more, close to 6 figures) into my own self-tailored education for my work.

7) At the end of the day, part of my vision is that we stop outsourcing authority and credibility to third party institutions, and reclaim it ourselves. My hope is that we all grow in self-trust, authentic expression, and community support, so the need for gatekeeping and regulating bodies ceases to exist. So much of the "policing" we now have in place is a result of the violence we are not willing to stop perpetuating against humans who just want to survive.