Reflections from the Rooted in Resilience Mental Health Symposium

Building on my perspective of therapy as public service, I recently had the opportunity to present at the Rooted in Resilience Symposium, the first annual event hosted at Pikes Peak State College last month.

This experience marked an expansion of my work into public scholarship, education, and community dialogue focused on mental health, identity, and resilience.

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Presenting on LGBTQIA+ Mental Health and Social Media

I presented two separate workshops focused on mental health, identity, and digital spaces: Language as Liberation: Centering LGBTQIA+ Voices and Compare Without Despair: Social Media & Mental Health.

The first focused specifically on LGBTQIA+ mental health, with an emphasis on how identity, language, and community intersect. The second offered a broader exploration of social media and mental health, examining how digital environments shape comparison, self-perception, and emotional well-being.

Across both presentations, I explored:

Language as Liberation: Centering LGBTQIA+ Voices

• How language influences mental health and well-being

• The role of identity-affirming language within LGBTQIA+ communities

• The impact of internalized “shoulds” and societal expectations on individuals and systems

• Affirming communication strategies in professional and personal contexts

Compare Without Despair: Social Media & Mental Health

• Comparison as a natural cognitive and social process shaping self-perception

• Social media through a biopsychosocial framework

• “Compare and despair” patterns in social media use

• Strategies for more intentional and healthy engagement with social media

These presentations were designed for an interdisciplinary audience, including students, educators, providers, and community members, not solely clinicians.

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The Importance of Cross-Community Dialogue

One of the most meaningful aspects of the symposium was the diversity of attendees. The space included:

• Students beginning their academic and professional journeys

• Mental health providers and clinicians

• Educators and academic professionals

• Members of the general public

This range of perspectives reinforced an essential truth: conversations about mental health, identity, and resilience must be shared across disciplines and communities.

Public discourse in these spaces is not optional; it is necessary. Shared dialogue reduces stigma, expands understanding, and creates the conditions for systems to shift.

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The Power of Metaphor and Inherent Worth

One of the most impactful moments of the symposium came during a lunchtime talk by Colorado Springs Poet Laureate and Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), Ashley Cornelius. Her use of metaphor, particularly her framing of an eclipse, offered a powerful reminder that our worth is inherent, even when it is not fully visible.

The eclipse became a metaphor for both internal and external barriers:

• Internal beliefs that obscure self-worth and possibility

• External systems that limit access, visibility, and opportunity

From this perspective, the work is not to create worth or power, but to remove what blocks access to it.

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Shifting from Ally to Accomplice

NO Justice. NO Peace.

Another key reflection from the symposium, drawing on a different framing offered by Ashley Cornelius, challenged my thinking around advocacy.

Rather than remaining within the language of being an ally, she invited me to consider what it means to become an accomplice. This reframing pushes the work further, asking us to think about:

• How we actively disrupt harmful systems

• How we leverage our roles, resources, and privilege in service of others

• How we show up in sustained, accountable, and tangible ways for marginalized communities

  
  

This approach requires more than symbolic support. It calls for embodied, ongoing responsibility and a willingness to act even when it is uncomfortable or costly. This includes a commitment to supporting:

• Trans and non-binary communities

• Immigrant communities

• People of color

• Disabled individuals

• Other historically marginalized groups

Ultimately, it is a call toward deeper, more accountable forms of solidarity rooted in action rather than intention alone.

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Why Public Discourse Matters

Experiences like the Rooted in Resilience Symposium highlight the importance of public discourse in mental health and social justice spaces.These conversations:

• Reduce stigma

• Expand access to knowledge

• Strengthen community connection

• Bridge gaps between disciplines and lived experience

They also remind us that healing is not only clinical. It is communal.

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Continuing the Work in Community

Presenting at this symposium reinforced my belief that therapy, education, and advocacy are deeply interconnected.

Whether in the therapy room, the classroom, or a public forum, the goal remains the same: to support conditions where people can better see, understand, and access their inherent worth.

This work is ongoing, and it is always rooted in community.