As another year of doing this intense and very fulfilling work draws to a close, I want to focus on why I'm still here! There have been moments in the room with various clients that have impacted me as much as I believe the moments have impacted them. The growth that I see in myself and the deep emotional work my clients choose to undertake so that they can be more present and compassionate members of society is why I do this work.

Therapy is not just for the individual. Places like The Relational Center cannot stress this enough. At this center, we hold social change as our highest goal. We can build a better world through the empowerment of individuals and recognition of each and everyone's humanity. Society is each and every one of us, and the way we show up matters. I believe that people become more compassionate human beings through the kind of therapy we do here. This becomes evident as we see clients coming together in a way they formally were not-- for example, a client shifting from isolation to joining a Civic Engagement Group, or the chain of events that unfolds when a client feels freer to challenge the social narratives that keep them disempowered and therefore not engaged with the world around them.

When someone sees you in your totality and does not judge you, or seeks to understand rather than separate you from them, your humanity and vulnerability becomes a powerful connector to all those who struggle. This is what The Relational Center is: a mutual, communal space for healing and support that places the power of human connection above anything else. 

The Relational Center community has continued to THRIVE, passing its 10 YEAR MARK because of your generous donations. These contributions are helping create more moments of deep support in a world that can often be unsupportive. Please donate! If not this year, then next year, because we counselors have an innate feeling that this place will go on, has to go on!

Thank you and with love,

Kiara

Every year we host a year-end appeal that offers our supporters one last opportunity to make a tax-deductible donation to The Relational Center before the end of the calendar year.  Please help us reach our 2019 goal of $35,000 before midnight on December 31st.  With your support, we can continue to provide counseling for social justice to embolden individuals to build stronger, more empathic communities that can change the world.