Happy First Friday of September Everyone!

As we approach the Labor Day weekend, those of us in Worcester County begin to engage with the vibrant schedule of Pride events that occur. Each September, Pride Worcester creates a schedule highlighting a festival day the Saturday after Labor Day and includes wonderful opportunities to learn, connect, celebrate, and grow in our knowledge and appreciation of Worcester’s queer history and community.

Earlier this week there was a special program highlighting the temporary exhibit at the Worcester Public Library that reports the LGBTQIA+ community history in this city on Wednesday. The exhibit’s installation will remain until 9/15 and is in the middle of the library, taking up space with Pride! We acquired the library’s book to buy which features the history and encapsulates much of the exhibit, please feel free to review it whenever your visit our waiting room:

The upcoming two weeks have several activities, events, and programs to engage with and the complete schedule can be found at Pride Worcester’s website: https://www.prideworcester.org/events
Of highlighted note:

Worcester Community Action Council is holding a “Day of LGBTQ+ Advocacy” 9/9 at 12 PM

Pride Worcester March & Festival at the Worcester Commons 9/12 at 2 PM**********

The Best Little Drag Brunch in Worcester at the Cocktail Garden and Kitchen 9/13 at 1:30 PM

Queer AF in Denim at Mechanics Hall 9/18 at 8 PM

Show Your Pride Festival in Grafton’s Nelson Park 9/19 at 11 AM***********

******** Come see us as a Sponsor & Vendor at both Pride Worcester & Grafton’s Show Your Pride Festivals!!!!!

In addition to these events, we are celebrating queerness in our own way here at Darling Mental Health. We are proud to share that we are filling out our staff with a total of 14 dedicated therapists; all of whom have a shared value system of decolonization, sexual liberation, gender affirmation, and a belief in providing equitably access to ethical care for all peoples, especially those who have been marginalized by society.

We now have a robust team of supportive staff working to help you find your best placement with a therapist, and a pro-active system to help those who need access to reduced cost / pro-bono services receive them.

We hope to not only meet you in person at an upcoming festival, but to be the place you think of when a need arises for therapy, education, or support for queer individuals; regardless of which insurance you have or if you have a temporary lapse in coverage. We are here for the community first and foremost.

Happy Pride!

Today marks the 161th year for which Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, which provided freedom to all enslaved people on January 1, 1863 was fully enforced in Texas on June 19, 1865. Juneteenth is a celebration of survival, freedom, liberation, and acknowledgement that the horrific torture, trafficking, and abuse that Black folks endured in our country was not ended by any simple declaration or executive order of a President but by the enforcement of a military general aligned with the enforcement of the law to free oppressed peoples.

In recent years, Juneteenth is being perceived in multiple ways and through different political lenses, some of which dismiss Critical Race Theory and argue against valid storytelling of the history of Black oppression in the United States. Still, many grassroots organizations and de-colonized leaders in local communities have cultivated festivals and opportunities for learning and growth in regard to appreciating what Juneteenth celebrates and what we are encouraged to reflect on for community values and understanding of human rights when we center the languages and narrative views of the oppressed.

Darling Mental Health proudly stands with the Black Lives Matter movement, de-colonizing therapy and institutions of healing to respect indigenous wisdom and community focused healthcare, as well as advocating that none of us are truly free until all of us are free to live our lives authentically without fear of harm for being different. We hope everyone is able to take time and reflect on what Juneteenth means in a modern American culture and what work is still needed for us to properly center this holiday as the true moment in US history for which freedom for all began to be realized.

Worcester’s Juneteenth Festival Website

As we close out the month of May, Darling Mental Health would like to take some time to express gratitude for recent developments and provide some updates for June events!

In the month of May we have welcomed a new Receptionist to help with several operational logistics as well as a new Therapist, bringing our total clinical team to a solid dozen providers! All value-aligned to support important justice work in our community, creating safety for the marginalized, and advocacy to the overwhelmed. We take pride in this moment and continue to navigate management and growth of our team.

Throughout the Summer, Darling Mental Health will be in a hiring mode and hopes that any value aligned therapist who is interested in working for a supportive team and sanctuary for feminist and queer-inclusive aligned systems of organization, focusing on community and commonwealth philosophies of development, engage with us and consider adding their unique perspective and skills to our diverse team. Check out our information page for more on our mission, values, and public language & policies.

Currently Hiring: Outpatient Therapist(s) – Virtual & Hybrid

June, global pride month, generates many events and several calendars for local organizations exist. Here are some highlights:

June 1 – Pride Flag Raising at YWCA – 5 PM Today!

June 6 – Boston’s Pride for the People

June 10 – Worcester Gay Professionals Meet Up at Woo Bar

June 11 – Make it Werk (drag competition)

June 14 – The Best Little Drag Brunch in Worcester

June 19 – Juneteenth Flag Raising at YWCA – 10 AM

June 20 – Juneteenth Festival – Institute Park

June 20 – Providence Pride

June 27 – MB Lounge’s Annual Pride Block Party

Local Flyers & Calendars of Interest:

Darling Mental Health wishes everyone a wonderful May!

Today is marked as Bealtaine on the wheel of the year for which we acknowledge it is the midpoint between the Spring Equinox and the Summer Solstice. As we march along to a Summer season and enjoy the energy and vitality that the sun has been granting us here in the Northern Hemisphere it is time for some updates, but first…

Did you know that May 1st, also known as May Day, is a day for which gardener’s superstition says planting on this day (or the first Saturday of May) is a very lucky time to plant, especially if done while nude? What a fun tradition for those with private backyards and gardens!

Now, May is also the month of “Mental Health Awareness” and this year it corresponds to the Director taking a trip for a very intentional retreat. While he is gone the Practice Manager will be the point of contact for all urgent matters, and we will be welcoming a new support staff person to help with scheduling and reception. As a result of these updates we are preparing to hire more clinical staff!

All licensed and pre-licensed mental health counselors, social workers, and marriage & family therapists are encouraged to apply for employment at this time! We offer competitive hourly wages for clinical and administrative work, full benefits for full-time employees, and clinical training, supervision, collaboration, and community for professionals passionate about providing ethical sex-positive therapy and gender-affirming care!

All job applications received between 5/1-5/10 will be processed on 5/11, interviews will be scheduled in the first two weeks of June!

Full Job Description: Job Posting – Outpatient Therapist

Apply through secure JotForm link: https://form.jotform.com/243437400914149

MERRY MAY EVERYONE!!!!

There is nothing like the weather in New England during a season shift. As we celebrated the Vernal Equinox on Friday, hallmarking the official start of Spring and the first day for which darkness and night are no longer dominate for the next 6 months, we find ourselves embracing a chilly weekend and a kiss of snow to start up the work week.

Here at Darling Mental Health, we would like to acknowledge that this Winter season has felt unusually exhausting. In New England we had more frequent snow than usual with longer periods of chill that eventually let go to a major melt; meanwhile the national and global news only served to escalate anxiety and perpetually distract from anything that felt holistic. Our hearts are weighed with grief as we watch wars waged with little insight to consequence or impact while distractions from investigations serve as reminders that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. This Winter has not been as kind as any of us would have hoped.

Still, it is important to find positive focus and reprieve whenever able. Our team has steadily grown so that we are now exceeding 10 providers of outpatient therapy with varying focuses, disciplines, and specialties. Though everyone here at Darling Mental Health is value aligned to provide inclusive care we are humbled and grateful to see a diverse pool of providers call our practice home for their profession. The majority of our staff were able to attend the Safe Homes Gala which raises money for the Safe Homes program providing safe and inclusive space for all members of the LGBTQIA community ages 13-24 with weekly drop-in support groups, a trans resource closet, free counseling to uninsured people, and other services and events throughout the year. We proudly stand with this program and its life-saving work to help our most vulnerable youth find reason to live, survive, and hope for a future of flourishing life and success.

As Spring begins its March days, we hope to see many flowers bloom and the people we serve to find hope and internal strength to grow towards their goals. Upcoming events of interest in Worcester include Trans Day Of Visibility on Tuesday March 31st and also the Third Annual LGBTQ Icebreaker on Wednesday April 15th – register at lgbtwoo.org

Spring is a wonderful time to begin cleaning our spaces, organizing our intentions, and connecting with community members to find resources, support, and motivation to start making progress on our goals for growth, discovery, creativity, and hope. May these upcoming weeks and months serve to bring you joy and connection with those whom you find helpful, empowering, and motivating to help create a safer space for us all!

Aloha Winter!

As February begins in New England we find ourselves cold, dry, and grateful (in most parts) for not having another Sunday interrupted with snow and travel concerns.

Wonderful

This time of year, is a celebrated mid-point between the Winter Solstice and the Vernal Equinox. As we appreciate the increase in sunlight and motivation to create, challenge, grow, and heal we hope you are finding opportunities to make healthy connections, play, and support each other through exhaustive times.

Darling Mental Health has been processing job applications and is happy to announce the onboarding of two new therapists to the team in January, structuring contract supervision to further support our clinical staff, and continuing to update the resource directory WooSex.org with our AASECT Certified Sex Educator beginning a regular blog this month.

The Director will be traveling this week, attending the FLMHCA conference in Orlando. Any Florida based providers who may be in attendance are encouraged to reach out for networking opportunities as we focus on the provision of ethical support to the most vulnerable populations in one of the more dangerous and legally ambiguous states of the US to be queer or a queer-safe provider.

Always: Black Lives Matter, Trans Lives Matter, Immigrant & Asylum Seekers Lives Matter, Free Palestine, Free Tibet, Fight Racism, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women & Relatives deserve more, Question Authoritarianism!

Blessings,

As a small business who provides healing services, we are unable to participate in the “no work” aspect of this strike. We cannot let our clients down who rely on us for care, especially during such precarious times. Instead, we take this day to do our part in other ways, and to reflect on what it means to stand in solidarity with those who have historically and continue to experience oppression.

Beyond allyship- which describes a loud or visual act to show others that we are informed about oppression and against it- solidarity requires a more intentional action. It not only says, “this is a problem and we are against it,” but also, “this is what we are doing about it.”

Action is both individual and communal, and can look like many things. It can mean organizing a neighborhood watch program, protesting, delivering groceries to folks who are not safe to leave their homes, or contacting your representatives.

 It always means learning the weight of your words.

When white people post on social media: “I feel unsafe doing x, y, z” thinking they are calling to end ICE occupation, they are really feeding into the very system that allowed ICE occupation to happen in the first place. It happens because these very people say “I feel unsafe” when their safety is not actually under threat. This is often used to justify systemic violence. While feelings of unsafely are valid given the circumstances, it is important to keep in mind the historical implications of these statements when made public, and who these statements are giving attention to. Because it perpetuates the systems of oppression we all would like to dismantle.

It always means listening to immigrant and BIPOC people around you, but not relying on them to educate you. So many BIPOC and immigrant folks have made their lived experiences and knowledge easily accessible through books, videos, blog posts, and more.

It can mean showing up to that protest, that meal share, that informational webinar, and for those around you, but it always means doing what you can. Not everyone can be on the front lines, but we all have a part to play in the revolution.

Here are some examples of easy ways to play your part, and resources we love:

LUCE Immigrant Justice Network of MA: https://www.lucemass.org

Write to your reps in 1-step: https://action.aclu.org/send-message/congress-shrink-cruel-immigration-detention-system

Create “whistle kits”: https://migrawhistle.carrd.co

Find protests near you: https://www.findaprotest.info/?radius=15

Hand out Tarjetas Rojas (Red Cards): https://www.ilrc.org/redcards

“Revolution is not a one-time event. It is becoming always vigilant for the smallest opportunity to make genuine change in established, outgrown responses.”

– Audre Lorde, Sister Outsider

Happy January Everyone!

Darling Mental Health hopes that the year-end holiday season was kind to you and that you were able to find moments of rest and restoration as well as begin appreciating the increased sunlight while weathering a very cold Winter season!

Our schedule for free (donation supported) support groups is out for the next 6 months with updated pages for each individual group for easy referring and registration. If you or someone you know may benefit from a support group geared towards any of our 4 topics please forward our information or register for yourself!

1. Parents of trans folks (VIRTUAL) meets 1st Wednesday of the month, next support group is on 1/7 at 6:30 PM. For more information please go to: P.A.R.E.N.T.S. – Darling Mental Health
2. ENM/Poly support (In-Person) typically meets the 2nd Thursday of the month, next support group is on 1/15 at 6:30 PM. For more information please go to: Ethical Non-Monogamy – Darling Mental Health
3. Spaces for Aces (VIRTUAL) meets the 3rd Tuesday of the month, next support group is on 1/20 at 6:30 PM. For more information please go to: Spaces for Aces – Darling Mental Health
4. Men’s Mental Health (VIRTUAL) typically meets the 3rd Thursday of the month, next support group is on 1/22 at 6:30 PM. For more information please go to: Men’s Mental Health – Darling Mental Health

All groups can be found on our general support group page: Support Groups – Darling Mental Health
and all groups can be directly registered for by using our portal scheduling service, selecting the group services tab, at: darlingmentalhealth.janeapp.com

Happy New Year to all and to all a safe and cozy Winter season!

Darling Mental Health is looking forward to starting 2026 by growing the practice and would like to announce that it is scheduling interviews for value-aligned mental health providers!

We are currently looking for an LICSW supervisor as well as therapists of any independent licensure to join the team. Positions available for pre-licensed individuals is based on supervisor availability with limited spots currently available. We are processing a short waitlist and are able to provide full-time schedules for new therapists in as little as one month. Choose the pace to which you would like to build up your caseload, select your profile of ideal clients to work with, and let us take care of the coordination, scheduling, billing, and insurance factors so that you can feel good about seeing clients regardless of their ability to pay out-of-pocket.

Want to learn more about providing sex therapy? We have an AASECT Certified Sex Therapist and a Certified Sex Educator on staff to help provide you whatever educational resources you need or clinical guidance to providing ethical sex therapy that is inclusive of all peoples.

We are a decolonized practice that expects alignment and support in our mission to challenge assumptions made from a colonial mindset that judges marginalized communities, disadvantaged communities, queer communities, & communities of color.

If interested in working for a private practice that is modeled to transparently share profits please review our current job postings:

To apply please fill out the encrypted application form at: https://form.jotform.com/243437400914149 or email your Resume and cover letter to: info@darlingmentalhealth.com

As the 2025 year begins to draw to a close, we advocate that everyone take time and reflect this solstice on what Winter can bring to you and what you can do to cope with the exhaustion many are feeling. Expectations are running high for 2026 but in the interim that the holiday season provides, what can we do to center ourselves, ground our senses, and pay attention to what is healthiest for us to put our energy into?

Wintering, a recently re-popularized term from the 12th century, emphasizes that Winter is a time for rest and restoration. After the excitement and productivity of the harvest time months we have found ourselves marching steadily along in a culture of perpetual work and productivity that many find exhausting and nearly everyone struggles to have enough resources to comfortably rest. But rest does not need to be a grand period of time off, travel, or expense. Rest can be achieved in the smallest and most regular ways for which any person cultivates gratitude for being, for what they have, and what they hope to cultivate moving forward may find satisfaction, hope, & peace.

Restorative self-care activities that are worth considering at this time can include: napping, taking extra time off for self, attending a yoga or slower paced exercise class, using a sauna, reading a book for pleasure, organizing a room, engaging in a hobby, creating art, or even taking a food break from sugar, booze, or caffeine for a day or more.

Today’s celestial solstice marks the shift for which the sun returns and begins to lengthen out the daylight we have moving forward in the Northern Hemisphere. We find hope in knowing that the world continues to prove to us how to balance the coldest months of winter with the hope and evidence of returning sunlight. Focusing on the sunlight, we can see and appreciate things differently if we only take time to care for self and reflect on what we want to see manifest in the world.

2025 Winter Solstice Office Photo-Shoot:

Blessings!