Sydney Spears
on Addressing Oppression
with Mindful Self-Compassion
Listen:
Show Notes:
Systems of oppression establish a hierarchy, giving one group power and privilege over others. And people who identify as BAME or BIPOC carry difficult feelings of anger, shame and grief as a result. So, how can marginalized communities use mindful self-compassion as a tool to fight oppression from the inside and respond to challenging situations, thoughts and emotions in a new way?
In this episode, Sydney Spears discusses how mindful self-compassion benefits BAME or BIPOC identified individuals and describes the power of practicing mindful self-compassion together in community. She shares from her personal and teaching experience, explaining how self-compassion can help people regain control of the narrative of their own lives. Listen in for Sydney’s insights about trauma, oppression, and how the human experience of suffering serves as a point of connection among us all.
About Sydney:
Sydney Spears, PhD, LCSW is a certified Mindful Self-Compassion teacher and a trained mindfulness teacher at Midwest Alliance for Mindfulness. She also provides social service advocacy through leadership roles within the Center of Mindful Self-Compassion Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and the Boston Center for Trauma and Embodiment. Sydney also facilitates an online Mindful Self-Compassion course through the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion for people who identify as people of color (BIPOC/BAME).
Through her psychotherapy and consulting business, BodyMind Therapeutics LLC, she specializes in providing a trauma-sensitive and anti-oppressive approaches within her private practice. Sydney provides psychotherapy for clients through MidLife at Ease Counseling, specifically for adults age 30s-70s and couples struggling with chronic stress, trauma, depression, anxiety, relationship struggles and cultural identity issues. She has been passionately working to advocate and cultivate a more compassionate, equitable and unified world. A world in which all people can be afforded the opportunities to thrive and reach the fullness of their “true nature” for the greater good.
Sydney has also provided mindful, trauma-sensitive yoga at the American Veterans Administration (VA) for veterans diagnosed with post-traumatic stress, those who have experienced spinal cord injuries, and for individual community survivors of complex trauma through private sessions. In the recent past she was employed for 18 years by the University of Kansas as a Professor of the Practice and within administrative positions in the School of Social Welfare.
Connect with Sydney:
Key Takeaways:
- How Sydney’s work is rooted in trauma sensitivity and diversity, equity and inclusion
- The power imbalance and privilege that characterize systems of oppression
- How mindful self-compassion benefits people who identify as BIPOC or BAME
- The power of practicing self-compassion in community with other marginalized individuals
- How Sydney leverages MSC to regain control of the narrative re: the truth of who she is
- What was missing from the general MSC training that demonstrates a lack of inclusivity
- Why organizations must assess their motivation for taking on diversity, equity and inclusion
- How the human experience of suffering serves as point of connection among us all
- Sydney’s work teaching trauma-sensitive yoga to combat veterans with PTSD
- The parallels between the experiences of trauma and oppression
- How Sydney thinks about the fierce and tender sides of mindful self-compassion
Resources Mentioned:
Recent Past Episodes:
Hosts:
Katherine King, PsyD
Katherine King, PsyD is a clinical psychologist and assistant professor of psychology at William James College. She was trained in evidence-based treatments within the Veterans’ Administration and has a private practice specializing in geropsychology. She is also a member of the Boston Shambhala Center Board of Directors, a vajrayana student of Buddhism, and has practiced meditation for over 20 years. Learn more about Kate at www.drkateking.com.
Alex Gokce, MSW
Alex Gokce, MSW has a master’s degree in social work from Salem State University and an undergraduate degree in Comparative Government from Harvard University. He has led psychotherapy groups on topics including mindfulness, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and mind-body approaches to pain management. He has co-led programs at the Boston Shambhala Center on the topics of trauma and self-compassion. His personal and professional interests center around the individual, societal and intergenerational impacts of trauma, as well as the sociocultural roots of interpersonal harm.
Disclaimer: Please note that the information shared in this podcast is strictly for educational purposes only, and is not intended as psychological treatment or consultation of any kind.
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The Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy is a non-profit organization dedicated to the education and training of mental health professionals in the integration of mindfulness meditation and psychotherapy.
