Advancing social justice in Texas mental health care.
200+ Anti-LGBTQIA+ bills are proposed for the 2025 Texas Congress session.
Mental health care is for all.
Anti-oppresive.Only inclusive.Always safe and affirming.
Join us today!
Reach out today to see how we promote greater equity in Texans mental health care.
About TTSJ
Why do we exist?
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), Cultural Competence, and any recognition of oppressive systems have become increasingly devalued and demonized across the U.S., especially in Southern areas, including Texas. This racist, classist, sexist, ableist, “anti-woke” movement is pernicious and only emboldened by the Trump administration’s hateful rhetoric and actions, including recent Executive Orders. We in the mental health field have witnessed this specifically with regard to discriminatory positions made by regulatory boards, legislators, and even some therapists in Texas.In response, over a dozen therapists across Texas joined to create a statewide, cross-discipline coalition of mental health providers and students who understand the necessity of DEI, social justice in our work and are committed to actively promoting these values while dismantling oppressive systems that disproportionately harm vulnerable groups, including people of color, queer and trans folks, disabled people, and other so-called minorities.Texas Therapists for Social Justice (TTSJ) is a coalition of mental health providers and students whose mission is to advance social justice within mental health care by demonstrating commitments to anti-oppressive care, advocacy for systemic change and the advancement of equity, promotion of inclusive practices, and increasing access to safe and affirming care in Texas.We are a community and movement for therapists who understand that our work is inherently political, cultural competence is not optional, the mental health industrial complex is harmful, and working to be anti-racist, decolonial, culturally responsible, and affirming are lifelong tasks. Our goals are to share information, challenges, training opportunities, and resources with each other.
Leadership
Melody Marin
she/her
Melody is a queer/lesbian, AuDHD Clinical Psychologist based out of Austin. She has worked primarily in hospitals and private practice settings, and currently runs her own private practice that focuses on neurodiversity-affirming and anti-oppressive autism assessments and therapy for adults. Melody is a volunteer Educational Facilitator for the Transgender Education Network of Texas (TENT) and is a member of the Association for Size Diversity and Health (ASDAH). She is excited to serve as an Administrative Co-Chair so that she can bring her nerdy love of organization and systems to a meaningful cause. She is currently focusing on expanding her political involvement and advocacy skills, and looks forward to doing so alongside other TTSJ members.
Candice Holloway
they/she
Candice is a queer, nonbinary LPC Supervisor and owner of Vada Counseling in Houston, Texas–the unceded land of the Atakapa-Ishak, Akokisa, and Karankawa peoples. Most of their clients identify as LGBTQ+ and/or survivors of sexual trauma. Candice’s specialties include complex trauma, gender and sexual identities, and anti-oppressive therapy. They are an active member of the Texas Counseling Association (TCA), the Texas Society for Sexual, Affectional, Intersex, and Gender Expansive Identities (Tx-SAIGE), GLMA, and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH).
Candice earned a Masters in Counseling Psychology from the University of Houston, as well as two Bachelor’s degrees—one in Religious Studies and one in Journalism—from the University of Texas at Austin. In their downtime, Candice watches bad movies with their wife and 3 adorable dog monsters.
De’Aires Cottonhe/him
De’Aires is a Licensed Professional Counselor Associate, supervised by Marissa Rivera, LPC-S, based in Texas. As a Black man, former Division I athlete, and mental health professional, he understands firsthand the unique challenges Black men face balancing strength with vulnerability, success with burnout, and silence with the deep need to be heard.De’Aires is a Somatic Oriented therapist passionate about supporting individuals in BIPOC communities who are striving for clarity and authenticity in high-stress work environments. His work centers on supporting Men, Entrepreneurs, Athletes, Coaches, and Creatives who operate in high-stress environments. He works with individuals navigating depression, anxiety, trauma, identity exploration, and life transitions. Whether you're balancing the pressures of career, relationships, fatherhood, or simply trying to stay grounded in a world that often misunderstands you, De’Aires offers a space where you don’t have to explain your existence before doing the work of healing and growth.
Meredith Garreaushe/her
Meredith specializes in parts work for childhood trauma and identity exploration. Becoming a therapist over five years ago has been transformative for her, not just professionally but personally. Meredith is especially grateful for the ways she has grown through her work with incarcerated, queer, and Black communities who have trusted her with their stories. That trust continues to deepen her understanding of healing, justice, and connection.
Advocacy is still a newer part of her path, and she is learning to show up with humility, curiosity, and a commitment to listening. Joining Texas Therapists for Social Justice has given Meredith an outlet to channel what has been poured into her over the years from mentors, clients, and community into collective action that aligns with her values.
Kimberly Harkeyshe/her
Kimberly is a neurodivergent, queer, cis, white female therapist in Texas that specializes in working with neurodivergence,LGTBQIA+ folks, anxiety, trauma, and psychosis. She feels passionate that social justice is at the core of the work we do as therapists. Kimberly currently provides therapy, LPC-Associate supervision, training, and gender affirming care letters at her practice, Roseate Therapy. She graduated with her MEd in 2014 and has worked in various clinical settings since then, including inpatient substance use treatment, PHP programs, non profits dedicated to working with unhoused individuals, and first episode psychosis treatment. She is a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers.
Tae Moon
they/he
Tae is a white, queer, fat, disabled, AuDHD, genderfluid therapist based in Houston, Texas. They specialize in working with clients exploring their gender, sexual, or romantic identity, polyamory/relationship anarchy, late-diagnosed Autism or ADHD, adults seeking support around chronic pain and illness, and processing trauma. Tae is passionate about human rights, fat liberation, accessibility and equity, intersectional feminism, anti-racism, sex work allyship, and dismantling systems of oppression. They believe good therapy is political and should be rooted in social justice.
Brittany Hudson
she/her
Brit is a counselor educator and private practice owner in San Antonio. She specializes in chronic pain and illness, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and traumatic grief. Brit, as a counselor with chronic pain and illness, understands that the personal is political. She is adamant that counseling should be anti-oppressive and even liberatory. Her past advocacy has focused on chronic vulvovaginal and pelvic pain, culturally responsive continuing education for counselors, and human rights for marginalized clients. Brit looks forward to expanding and supporting these efforts as a member-at-large with TTSJ.
Tracy Deagan
she/her
Tracy’s involvement with TTSJ grew out of 35 years of study, research, and practice in her focus areas: the LGBTQIAS2+ community, individuals affected by disability, chronic illness, chronic pain, trauma, and relational harms and dysfunction. Finding colleagues committed to social justice who also emphasize proven competency in these specific target areas was refreshing. TTSJ's mission, and Tracy’s role within TTSJ as Advocacy Co-Chair, are founded on a shared belief in the values and ethics essential for the most competent and effective therapy, advocacy, and justice work.
Tracy’s life experiences as a member of these communities, along with the experiences of her loved ones, chosen family, and community, continue to clarify and reinforce her values, philosophy, and practice. Every life experience and each client she has the honor of working with motivates her to learn and grow.Every role Tracy has held over the past 35 years—clinical director, program director, trainer, and frontline community mental health social worker and counselor—has aligned with the same goals and mission as TTSJ. She believes that providing this type of care is crucial in helping all members of any community thrive and contribute to building a healthy world. This commitment is also central to her professional identity as an LCSW, CPTP, and LPCS, guided by the licensure and ethical framework she is charged with upholding.
Mission & Principles
Mission Statement
Texas Therapists for Social Justice (TTSJ) is a coalition of mental health providers and students who believe that culturally-responsible practice is central to the field of mental health care and thus hold ourselves to a high professional standard of training and internal work. In order to engage in responsible practice, we acknowledge the vast diversity of Texans and the inequities that those of marginalized and intersecting identities face in the pursuit of wellbeing and resources.Our mission is to advance social justice within mental health care by demonstrating commitments to anti-oppressive care, advocacy for systemic change and the advancement of equity, promotion of inclusive practices, and increasing access to safe and affirming care in Texas.
Principles
Please click on the principle to see our commitments and definitions.
Advocacy
We recognize that the personal is political; therefore, we actively engage in advocacy, policy work, and community organizing to address systemic injustices affecting mental health and well-being.Advocacy is at the heart of our mission as an organization. We are committed to making sure that we are using our voices, work, and skills to shed light on injustices that we see and experience. We will be committed to different forms of advocacy, understanding that any movement needs to be fought on many fronts. We are committed to being inclusive and widespread with our advocacy efforts to ensure we are not perpetuating injustices within our communities.
Justice
We will ensure equity in distributing opportunities, resources, and accountability. We will be justice-minded in how we advocate, educate, and organize.We are committed to holding each other and the systems that we exist in accountable for the ways that they perpetuate injustice. We recognize that the systems we are navigating are a part of the oppression experienced by ourselves and our clients. The thing that will be at the center of our work will be the understanding that every person deserves to live a life of value, flourishing, and liberation. We recognize that true justice starts with accountability within ourselves, then our community, and then more broadly in the world. We are deeply committed to the hard work of accountability, firstly for leadership and members, and then seeking accountability from the systems that we work within.
Liberation
We make it a priority to center the most impacted and marginalized.
We recognize that injustice for any is an injustice to all. Therefore, we will pursue liberation for every marginalized people.Liberation is centered on the freedom from systems of oppression for EVERY marginalized community. As well as developing agency and empowerment for each person to fight against systems of oppression. We recognize that any people in chains means we are all in chains. As an organization, we are committed to ensuring that systems of oppression are held accountable and dismantled.
Cultural Humility & Awareness
We will uplift and center voices of marginalized communities and will be aware of the biases that exist both personally and as an organization. We recognize and acknowledge white supremacy and the colonial origins of our field and aim to dismantle and decolonize the work.White supremacy is about the systemic and intentional belief that white bodied people are superior to every other race and, as a result of that belief, should be able to dominate society in culture, representation, and rights. We stand against white supremacy, recognizing that it is at the core of historic and present violence against BIPOC communities both nationally and internationally. We are committed to dismantling systems of white supremacy both internally as an organization and externally. We are committed to making sure that white bodied people are not centered in the work that we do.We are committed to recognizing our individual and organizational blindspots regarding cultural understanding. While we are committed to recognizing our blindspots, we are equally committed to uplifting the voices of those in the communities we seek understanding of. We are committed as an organization to recognizing the value of all of those in our community and the importance of including a variety of voices in advocacy, education, and leadership. We pledge to remain open, responsive, and accountable in our efforts.
Intersectionality
We recognize that intersectionality plays a major part in the experience of social injustices.
We honor and acknowledge how race, gender, sexuality, class, disability, and other factors impact experiences.Intersectionality was coined and started by civil rights activist and scholar Kimberle Crenshaw. This term was a response to the investigation of intersecting disadvantageous factors. Intersectionality is being committed to seeing each person as holistic and complex. Recognizing that each person has different experiences, as the compounding forms of inequality influence their identity.We are committed to understanding the lived experiences of members resulting from the unique combinations of discriminated identities. We will value the lived experience of our community over theories. We recognize that intersectionality allows us to be inclusive of the fight for justice, recognizing that seeing anything in strictly binary terms leaves people in the margins.As an organization we recognize that there are differing levels of ability and resourcing that people need to thrive in community. We are committed to making every effort to create accessibility in our advocacy efforts, education, and community gatherings. We affirm the value of all of those in our community with disabilities that are both visible and invisible. We see the beauty of our community and the importance of diversity in ability.
Transparency
We recognize the power inherent in the profession and seek to dismantle that through transparency with the ways that we are advocating and organizing.
Sustainability
We understand that justice work needs to be rooted in sustainable practices, and as a result, we seek to support members in care as we continue the fight against injustice.
Anti-Oppression & Accountability
We will continually educate ourselves on how our biases and systemic structures cause harm. We prioritize dismantling any forms of oppression and injustice, and we will make efforts towards repair when harm occurs.We recognize that the Mental Health Industrial Complex has been built on the backs of indigenous and minority communities and has historically upheld white supremacy. We recognize that there is deep-rooted colonialism, sexism, classism, ableism, fatphobia, white supremacy, heteronormativity and much more. These things can cause harm, violence, further marginalization, inequality, and psychological damage, to name a few impacts.In response to these understandings, we are committed to creating an organization both internally and externally that is committed to action that dismantles these systemic injustices. We are committed to actions that uplift the voices of those in our community who are most marginalized.
Interdisciplinary
We will work with licensed mental health professionals, students, and community workers to work towards justice.We are committed to making sure that there is a diverse set of voices that are both represented in the leadership as well as within the membership. We recognize that healers come in many different forms, both in vocation and culturally. We strive to be inclusive in the disciplines that we represent and seek to learn from each other.
Continual Learning
We recognize justice work is an ongoing process that requires continual learning and unlearning.We are committed to continual learning. Recognizing that there is no point at which we are above learning and reproach. We are willing and committed to learning new information and allowing that to inform the ways that we proceed forward. We prioritize learning often and with humility.As a result of this belief, we are committed to providing robust learning opportunities for members and leadership to grow advocates and professionals.
Membership
Eligibility
This application is open to individuals licensed as an LPC, LMFT, Social Worker, or Psychologist in Texas, Associates under any of those licenses, and students enrolled in a related graduate program. If you would like to join but do not fit into these categories, please reach out to us at [email protected] to inquire about joining.
Benefits
Free trainings on diversity, cultural competence, intersectionality, and other important (“woke”) topics related to mental health.
Events
Resources
A statewide group that represents you, your work, and your values as a therapist, instead of the interests of corporate, capitalist, “respectability politics.”
Process
Apply
Wait up to two weeks for a response email
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Join us today!
Reach out today to see how we promote equity in Texans' mental health.
Land Acknowledgement
We would like to acknowledge that we are meeting on the Indigenous lands of Turtle Island, the ancestral name for what now is called North America. Moreover, in recognition of the systemic cruelty and violence enacted on them, we would like to acknowledge the Alabama-Coushatta, Caddo, Carrizo/Comecrudo, Coahuiltecan, Comanche, Kickapoo, Lipan Apache, Tonkawa and Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo, and all the American Indian and Indigenous Peoples and communities who have been or have become a part of these lands and territories in Texas.
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