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Inspiring Conversations with Julia Alexander

Today we’d like to introduce you to Julia Alexander.

Hi Julia, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
When I was young, the kids at school called me “horse girl” and “save the whales girl.” Horses, dogs and the more-than-human world were my sanctuary – and still are.

As I got older, I started to become interested in learning more about race and racism. My high school in Michigan was big, about 2500 kids. Although the narrative I grew up with was colorblindness, I saw the way race played out in school and elsewhere – it meant something and it was impactful. My mom gave me Dr. Beverly Tatum’s book Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? as a high school graduation gift. I was 17 years old when I first read the words “white privilege.”

My journey of understanding more about the social construction of race and my own whiteness led me down a path of studying colorblind racial ideology, intergroup dialogue and white identity development. But I didn’t stop riding horses. After college, I rode with some top dressage trainers in the US and abroad while I was getting my master’s degree in social justice education at the University of Massachusetts. For a long time, it seemed that horses were taking me in the opposite direction of social justice. For years, these worlds seemed at odds with each other.

After completing a second master’s (in social work), I moved to Austin, TX, in 2017 to pursue a dream job in equine-assisted psychotherapy. Once I began incorporating horses into human trauma treatment, it started to dawn on me that social justice and horses were never opposing each other. It just took me a long time to realize that systemic oppression impacts all relationships – relationships between people and relationships between people and more-than-human animals.

As a therapist, social justice educator and consultant, a component of my work is helping clients connect to the more-than-human world, which I believe is a catalyst for healing.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
This journey of combining therapy, social justice and more-than-human animals has been a long and winding road. It’s one that I’m sure I’ll be on for the rest of my life. My biggest struggles have been learning how to tend to my own mental health because this work is hard. I’ve also struggled with developing shame resilience and understanding and getting support around my fear of alienation from my community because of the work I’m doing. Ironically, these are the very things I love supporting my clients with.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I provide compassionate therapy, education and consulting services rooted in anti-racist, social justice and liberatory frameworks. I offer a safe and accepting space to alleviate shame, heal trauma and discover inner resilience. My approach is founded on an unwavering belief in the healing power of safe connection and a deep knowing that sustained relationship to nature plays a major role in human healing.

I specialize in providing eco and equine-assisted psychotherapy in the areas of childhood relationship trauma, coming out, systemic oppression, and shame held by white-bodied people. As a social justice educator, I offer customized consulting, curriculum design and group facilitation to individuals, teams, and organizations who want to understand their experiences and beliefs in the context of systemic oppression. I combine my expertise as a therapist and social justice educator to offer a unique form of equine-assisted psychotherapy rooted in the ethical inclusion of horses in human treatment. Through this work, I love supporting people in exploring connection, dialogue, choice and consent.

I think what sets me apart is twofold: It’s my preference to do this work in nature and among more-than-human animals. It’s also the idea that we can expand our concept of racism, sexism, homophobia and other “isms” to include the more-than-human world and explore how oppressive dynamics show up in these spaces.

My greatest joy lies in promoting our sense of interconnectedness through love, hope and healing. I’m most proud of finding creative ways to combine the things I love in my work; I think my younger self would be really excited about this.

Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I don’t think we can truly show up authentically without taking risks. Ironically, I’m an introvert and consider myself pretty risk averse in many areas. I’ve learned over the past 15 years though, that there’s always risk in challenging the status quo. Challenging systemic oppression, challenging white supremacy culture, learning from and holding space for people with multiple marginalized identities AND getting curious about how all these pieces impact our relationships with more-than-human animals is of course risky. I risk making people angry and triggering their shame and fear. I risk making mistakes and causing harm.

I often come back to two of my guiding values when it comes to my work – courage and wellbeing. I want to make courageous decisions in my life and choose courage over comfort whenever I can. Most of the time this means I keep showing up, keep trying to learn and keep trying to heal, no matter what. However, I also honor my well-being in that process, which means being conscious of risks that are detrimental to my well-being. This is a continuous process of self-reflection and developing internal resilience with the support of my community. I believe that coming back to my guiding values keeps me in the work and prevents burnout. I know that when we address shame and oppression head-on – with compassion and accountability – we free ourselves to move toward braver, more vulnerable, more connected living. So for me, the risks are necessary and worth it.

Pricing:

  • 50 min Eco-Therapy – $200
  • 60 min Equine Assisted Therapy Walk and Observe – $270
  • 90 min Equine Assisted Therapy Connect Lesson + Walk and Observe – $350
  • 50 min Social Justice Consultation – $200
  • Custom Curriculum Design / Group Facilitation-$3000+

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Jessica Rockowitz –https://jessicarockowitz.com/

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