Grief, Rage and the Liminality of Menopause

Black Girl's Guide to Surviving Menopause

"Often, when people talk about going through “the change”, it brings up all the images of a tearful, rageful, sweaty and emotional woman. This journey is not seen or held up as a positive transformation with a spectrum of stages and manifestations, but an ending to be cloaked in fear. Another, more potent way to frame the menopausal experience is to see it as actually another powerful representation of a rite of passage that is present to the liminality of the experience. In anthropology, liminality is “the quality of ambiguity or disorientation that occurs in the middle stage of rituals, when participants no longer hold their pre-ritual status but have not yet begun the transition to the status they will hold when the ritual is complete.” It is believed that during these liminal periods of transformation, social hierarchies may be reversed or even temporarily dissolved. The constancy of cultural traditions can become uncertain, and future outcomes once taken for granted may be thrown into doubt. The dissolution of order during liminality creates a fluid, malleable situation that enables new institutions and customs to become established. It is a transformation to a new iteration of you."

Becoming (Again), Omisade Burney-Scott, WUNC's Souther Witness

Well here we are! Our last episode of Season 3! We cannot think of a better way to round this dynamic season than to have a frank conversation with Dr. Jennifer Mullan of Decolonizing Therapy ™. Dr. Mullan and I explore her psychoanalyst practice grounded in understanding systems of oppression, generational and cultural trauma as well as her deep commitment to helping people develop tools and rituals to not address grief and rage, but rather to foster right relationships with these two potent emotions. Affectionately nicknamed “the Rage Doctor” by peers and clients, Dr. Jennifer Mullan (she/her) is trained as a Clinical Psychologist, is a published author and is the founder of Decolonizing Therapy, LLC. She currently serves communities as a Consultant, Therapeutic Coach, Ancestral wound worker who seeks to unpack the oppressive legacy of modern mental health practices, particularly for Queer Indigenous Black Brown People of Color (QIBPOC).

Through her Collective Group Healing work and Decolonizing Therapy practice, she creates safe spaces for people and organizations to heal, and guides people from all walks of life to unpack the oppression that has been unconsciously passed down—intrapsychically and socially—and continues to live on in our bodies today. Dr. Mullan helps people return Home to themselves. To learn more about Dr. Mullan mental health and healing practices, check out her website, https://www.drjennifermullan.com/ or follower her on social media at https://www.instagram.com/decolonizingtherapy/

This episode was produced by Mariah M.

Episode Sponsor WUNC North Carolina Public Radio

Link to Great Grief Podcast: https://www.wunc.org/podcast/great-grief

Episode Notes

Links to previous episodes mentioned in this episode:

"Nonlinear" (when menopause happens early), https://open.spotify.com/episode/4ZO1G6U72HuhO1fNsN5iqu?si=Ci4hUAw-QJ-DV9aIL3Fxcg

Lovecraft Country interview with Aunjanue Ellis and Shannon Houston, https://open.spotify.com/episode/6jOVfqpictV14oiX6myh9R?si=q02vwJcxTb2Q4I3LflyRrQ

Check out our website to learn more and/or to become a patron via our Patreon, https://blackgirlsguidetosurvivingmenopause.com/

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