Ivy Hall, Ph.D

27/03/2022

TW/CW: birth trauma
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Today is Amniotic Fluid Embolism (AFE) Awareness Day.
AFEs occur when amniotic fluid enters the bloodstream and causes an allergic-like reaction. There are 2 serious and life-threatening complications that can happen: heart and lung failure, and severe hemorrhaging (disseminated intravascular coagulopathy or DIC).
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I am an AFE survivor.
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Nearly 6 months ago, I went in for an induction and had an emergency C-Section. I don't recall much from the day of the induction and was told when I woke up several days later about what happened. My chart notes tell me I was intubated and sedated, had right heart failure and DIC. I needed nearly 40 units of blood products (PS- confirm your choice for blood products, that’s a story for another time). I was unconscious for 3-4 days and didn’t get to meet baby boy until day 3; I don’t even have any recollection of meeting him the first time. I also had acute kidney failure needed hemodialysis for several weeks after discharge.
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I survived because I had a skilled medical team, was in a hospital that had enough blood products for me, and because I got incredibly lucky. My hubby- while it was incredibly hard for him- he was a rockstar. Never left my side while getting time in with baby, helping me learn how to walk and gain strength, pumping me every 3 hours, helping me in the bathroom & even learning how to change pads. I am so grateful to him & other family who took care of my 6yo and baby when he couldn't stay at the hospital anymore. So thankful for friends who showed up in so many different ways-I feel so loved.
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is working to not only expand research on AFEs, but to provide info and support to survivors, families, and medical professionals who have been impacted by AFEs. Learn more about AFE at the work they do at www.AFEsupport.org
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18/11/2020

Join for Social Justice as we explore and honor the close of a historic year. As we consciously close 2020, we will connect with seasonal changes, honor boundaries and exam our values while navigating social engagement and societal traditions. We will engage in somatic awareness, resourcing and creative processes as means for cultivating equilibrium in transformative times. * Please note this will be our last workshop of 2020 with more to come in January 2021!

Facilitated by .presence and myself.

10/09/2020

Thanks to for letting me share my experience. I’ve been on a journey of decolonizing mental health and healing practices. This has led me to learning about a psychological framework of radical healing, as proposed by Dr. Bryana French and colleagues.
In this framework, increasing critical consciousness is a necessary prerequisite for liberation and healing. This means critically reflecting, questioning, and discerning how and why power relations are structured and maintained.

However, reflecting and questioning is not enough -- we must also take action. Use the knowledge we gain to dismantle colonized ways of seeing ourselves and the world and fight for systemic change that truly would free us all. Taking back and honoring the ancestral wisdom and traditional healing practices. Embodying our authentic selves, outside of the definitions given to us by White Supremacy.

Finally, connecting to your community is an important component of radical healing. Whether that’s a group of friends, the neighborhood you live in, or a community like the Cosmos, get involved and connect with others who can acknowledge and empathize with your experience. Being seen, as our authentic selves, and supported by others, is incredibly healing.

12/08/2020

5th Healing in Solidarity Sunday: Taking Care of Us
Brainspotting - Honing Your Innate Ancestral-Neurobiological Abilities

This FREE online workshop is for everyone reading this, everywhere, able to join on 8/23, 1:30-3pm.
Brainspotting is a YOU-centered approach to healing, clarity, and re-lating to yourself. This biology-based approach draws on the resiliency of your ancestors, and your own innately evolved abilities to respond to life with resourcefulness.

About your presenter:
Christhmus Presence (pronoun at your pleasure) is are a 3.5-generation Ohlone (San Francisco) land-settler and Chinese-American Q***r by Ancestors’ way of Guangzhou, China. Pillars that guide them are liberation psychology, narrative psychology, somatic psychology, spirituality, and expressive arts. Tools held are meditation, Tapping, and EMDR-inspired Brainspotting. They enjoy plants, creative expression, the power of community, and being in water. MFT Trainee through Liberation Institute, supervised by Adina Morguelan Ascher, MSW, PhD LCSW 28900

For more, click here: https://linktr.ee/christhmuspresence
I am also a Brainspotting practitioner and am excited for .presence ‘s offering!

20/07/2020

‘s next FREE Healing in Solidarity Sunday event is coming up on 7/26/2020
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Quandra Chaffers, LCSW presents Affirmations as Armor: Letting Go of Racism. We invite our Black Indigenous and POC Community to join us in washing off some of the beliefs that stick to us every day that we wade through a racist world. Affirmations are not lies we tell ourselves to feel better. They are truths we speak into existence about our strengths, our worth, and our ability to endure.
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Liz Tong, MFT will be leading the group in a visualization coupled with gentle self tapping (bi-laterial movements) to help participants recognize and utilize their inner calm & sense of safety. This resource is especially essential for BIPOC during this time of overwhelm, loss, and uncertainty. Based on the principles of EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing), we will strengthen the neural pathways that support inner resilience and healing.
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Link to register in their bio or go to tinyurl.com/tocforsj726

20/07/2020

‘s next FREE Healing in Solidarity Sunday event is coming up on 7/26/2020
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Quandra Chaffers, LCSW presents Affirmations as Armor: Letting Go of Racism. We invite our Black Indigenous and POC Community to join us in washing off some of the beliefs that stick to us every day that we wade through a racist world. Affirmations are not lies we tell ourselves to feel better. They are truths we speak into existence about our strengths, our worth, and our ability to endure.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Liz Tong, MFT will be leading the group in a visualization coupled with gentle self tapping (bi-laterial movements) to help participants recognize and utilize their inner calm & sense of safety. This resource is especially essential for BIPOC during this time of overwhelm, loss, and uncertainty. Based on the principles of EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing), we will strengthen the neural pathways that support inner resilience and healing.
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Link to register in their bio or go to tinyurl.com/tocforsj726

30/10/2019

"This idea of purity and you're never compromised and you're always politically 'woke' and all that stuff. You should get over that quickly. The world is messy, there are ambiguities. People who do really good stuff have flaws. People who you are fighting may love their kids. And share certain things with you." Barack Obama

27/09/2019

Free event in Santa Clara:

Su***de is the 5th most common reason for death in the Asian community. Depression, anxiety, and other mental health challenges are prevalent in this community, but because of cultural traditions, there is little dialogue about these issues. It’s time to air our dirty laundry.

20/08/2019

What did this experience teach you about the legal system?Antron McCray: For me, the experience going through the legal system, it failed us tremendously. I'm out here with my brothers trying to spread the word to the youth, adults, boys, girls, men, women. But the legal system, it failed us. And I....

31/05/2019

Quoted here in this great piece about Asian Americans and mental health:

The Voice of Global Asians

29/05/2019

Last two parts to Sue & Sue's racial and cultural identity development model, which looks at attitudes towards other minority groups, and attitude towards dominant group.
In reflecting on my own identity development, it's really interesting how I've shifted from conformity (when I was a kid) towards the last three stages. I'm still learning a lot now and vacillate between resistance&immersion, introspection, and integrative awareness.
How has your racial/cultural identity development shifted over time?