Wellness Wave Wisdom

by Lali Mendoza, mental health counseling intern  Lali Mendoza is a bilingual (Spanish/English) graduate student in SDSU's Community Based Block (CBB) Multicultural Community Counseling and Social Justice Education Program. They are 29 years old, queer, trans masculine, and a proud Mexican immigrant from Tijuana. He earned their BA from Harvard in Psychology with a minor in Latine Studies and has dedicated their career to supporting marginalized communities, especially trans and queer BIPOC individuals. Why I Turned to Weed in College I started smoking weed in college, right around the time I came out as queer and left home. It felt like survival—like the only thing that made the loneliness bearable. Academically, I was struggling, not because I wasn’t capable, but because I felt so unsupported. My school wasn’t built for someone like me, a first-gen, working-class, trans person of color navigating a system that wasn’t designed with my success in mind. Weed became my escape, ...

By Van Ethan Levy, LMFT 118131, LPCC 8269  Van is a queer, non-binary, trans, AFAB (Assigned Female at Birth), POC (Person of Color), dually licensed as a Marriage and Family Therapist and a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor. Van is passionate about holding space for all intersections of one’s identity(ies). Van is dedicated to social justice & believes it is vital to cultivate an awareness of our own internal strengths, specifically our resilience as we continue to grow and discover ourselves. Van also provides trainings on trans and non-binary identities and is author of the interactive book Exploring My Identity(ies) (2020). As we approach National Coming Out Day on October 11th and celebrate LGBTQPIA2S+ History Month, it’s crucial to shed light on a pervasive issue that often goes unnoticed: Interpersonal Violence (IPV). Many individuals may not recognize the signs of healthy versus unhealthy dynamics in relationships. IPV can take many forms, including physic...

Peer Educator Seana Rae wants to let all MiraCosta College students know that it is okay to ask for help. She has interviewed several students who have shared their stories. They want you to know that it is okay to ask for help. Please review this presentation she made about Mental Health. If you would like to schedule an appointment with one of our counselors, please call 760-795-6675. If you are interested in becoming a Peer Educator for the spring 2022 semester, please email Abby at aburd@miracosta.edu . This is an embedded Microsoft Office presentation, powered by Office .

Photo by Arnold Dogelis on Unsplash By Van Ethan Levy, LMFT & LPCC (they, them, theirs) For free tickets to Van's documentary   Do Something: Trans & Non Binary Identities that will be screening on Trans Day of Remembrance ,  Saturday, November 20th,  please email them at DoSomethingDocumentary@gmail.com .  Do Something: Trans & Non Binary Identities is a documentary created only by trans and/or non binary people. The film is also a call to action to create safer, more affirming spaces for ourselves and each other. GENDER & PRONOUN ASSUMPTIONS AND WHAT TO DO The way someone shows up in the world is often how people perceive their gender. They look at what we are wearing, the clothing of our material, the colours, our cell phone covers, our water bottle colours, the types of shoes, the colour of our glasses, do we have long hair, short hair, a beard, body hair, how we stand, the way we talk, the jewellery we are wearing if we are wearing make-up and m...