Today is a Hard Day

Today is a hard day. One of many to come. Like many of you, I am filled with fear, dread, anger, and deep sadness. With a sense of betrayal and with a heavy grief. I am scared for myself, for my family, for my community, for this country, and for my clients.

When I restarted the blog for our practice, I made a commitment to write about hard things and not shy away from the political. Our work as therapists working in reproductive mental health is political. Our work as mothers is political. Our bodies, and our existence as women is political.

We met as a team the day after the election to grieve in community and begin to process what this election result means for us as people, and what it means for our practice. As the practice owner, I entered our meeting prepared to offer whatever support, space, and time my team needed. The resounding emotion in the room was anger and steadfast resolve to stay in this fight. Every single one of us was galvanized to do more, to show up for our patients, and to continue to be a practice that is outspoken about our support for abortion rights and reproductive freedom. We as a team are not shying away from the hard.

We see our work, our commitment to our patients, as a sacred act of caregiving.  Showing up and continuing to meet with our patients this week to support their healing, their grief, and their anger, is what we were called to do. As a team, we are grateful to do it. Personally, being able to do the work I love that is consistent with my values has been an anchor.

In the ensuing weeks and months to come, we want our community to know we will continue to do our work, live our values, and be a place of safety and healing for our patients. We will continue to provide evidence-based, ethical care, we will continue to stay abreast of legal concerns that impact our community, and we will continue to ensure the safety and privacy of our patients.  In addition to clinical care, we will continue to offer strategies, tips, and ideas to support your mental health on our blog and our social media. We hope these additional offerings can serve as much needed, additional support during a tumultuous time.

        With gratitude and solidarity,

Dr. Emma and the team at Dr. Emma Basch & Associates