Therapeutic Justice Project: Reel Grrls, Real Justice

Friday, May 20, 2011

Reel Grrls, Real Justice

- by Stacey Prince

OK, so perhaps by now you've heard the story: small non-profit Reel Grrls in Seattle provides media production workshops to young women from diverse communities. Not only do the young women learn skills in areas such as cinematography, animation, and script writing, but they also gain invaluable support and friendship from female mentors at a time of life that can be vulnerable and difficult to say the least. Plus, they make amazing films!!! Here are two examples that are particularly relevant to TJP readership. "Disorder" enters the the imaginative inner world of a young student struggling with a learning disability, and the mockumentary "Coming Out..." takes a humorous look at homophobia.

Reel Grrls is supported by grants and recently media giant Comcast pledged $18,000 to support their summer 2011 programming. A couple of days ago Reel Grrls tweeted about Comcast's recent hiring of FCC Commisssioner Meredith Attwell Baker. Immediately a Comcast executive shot off an email stating that they were going to yank the funding because Reel Grrls was creating a "negative digital footprint" about Comcast (here's the Washington Post story). After a whole bunch of media attention, Comcast retracted its retraction of funding and apologized, but the latest news this afternoon is that Reel Grrls has decided not to accept the money - a very classy and principled decision, in my opinion. Here is a quote from the organization's Executive Director, Malory Graham: Given the serious questions Comcast’s initial decision to take punitive measures on our organization raised about the ability of corporations to stifle public discussion, we have decided to redesign our summer camp to focus on developing films about free press issues.

Wow. Seriously, Comcast? Isn't Reel Grrls doing and modeling exactly what we want young women (and young men, and adults for that matter) to do? Think for themselves, think critically, be able to evaluate the news and cultural context around them and be empowered to do something about injustice (including criticizing it)? If you want to show your support, stand up against censorship and help Reel Grrls keep their programming going, please visit their website.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Here's an update: Reel Grrls raised $22,000 from over 600 individuals' donations, as well as national recognition for their principled decision to, at least for now, politely decline Comcast's funding. They will be able to move forward with their summer programming, with a focus on free speech issues. Unbelievable - what a great example of community response to show support and help this small non-profit stand up to censorship!

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About Us

Therapeutic Justice Project is a multidisciplinary collective of healers, advocates and activists dedicated to social justice. Our vision is to integrate social justice with health and mental health services at all levels including psychotherapy, service delivery, professional development, community/organizational support, and systemic change. In psychotherapy, our mission is to develop and implement a model that moves clients from unconscious to conscious, from an individual to a societal perspective, from depression and helplessness to activism and empowerment. We also aim to integrate therapeutic healing within social movement work. Socially, our intention is to make systematic change through community organizing, policy change, transformative dialogue, education, and special initiatives.

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sprince38@hotmail.com

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Beyond Inclusion, Beyond Empowerment - now available!!!

The long-awaited book Beyond Inclusion, Beyond Empowerment, from Olympia’s Dr. Leticia Nieto, provides a breakthrough in the fields of liberation and cultural studies. It presents a powerful analysis of the psychological dynamics of oppression and privilege, and shows readers how to develop skills to promote social justice. It includes personal stories, exercises, visualizations and poetry. The book has roots in developmental psychology, theater, and liberation pedagogy. It was developed through collaboration among Leticia Nieto, Garth R. Johnson, Liz Goodwin, Margot Boyer, and Laurel Collier Smith. Beyond Inclusion, Beyond Empowerment is now available on Amazon.com, and Elliott Bay Books. More information is online at http://www.beyondinclusionbeyondempowerment.com/.

Fremont Community Therapy Project

The Fremont Community Therapy Project, a feminist, multicultural, queer-friendly, trauma-oriented clinic offering high-quality, low-cost psychological services is in need of assistance. While we are open for new assessment requests, we are currently experiencing a huge influx of requests for psychotherapy, to the point where we now have a 12-week wait list for psychotherapy.

We would like to be able to refer folks on this list, if possible, so that people are not stuck waiting for care for three months. Most of the people who seek our services have a complex trauma history. Thus, we are looking for therapists who share our values, and who would be willing to accept the referral of a person who you would see at our fees, which range from 20-45/session. Most of them require a longer-term commitment from a therapist (typically people remain at FCTP for up to four years). If you're willing to accept a referral from us, please contact Laura Brown, FCTP Director, at 206-633-2405 ext 1, or email Laura at lsbrownphd@cs.com.