Conversations with Leslie Yick

Today we’d like to introduce you to Leslie Yick.

Hi Leslie, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My north star in this life journey has always been to help make the world better than it was when I entered it. I see myself as a soul in a human body that engages in the world through a curious experiential mindset and the grace to be authentically imperfect. I started my early career in the technology industry, thinking that that path was the best way to enact meaningful change, and to a degree, I did see that happen, but the realities of contributing in corporatized and capitalistic organizations meant that the heart-centered missions and values were always second fiddle to profits. This caused me to channel my efforts toward bettering the world through non-profit and creative work, where I created community among like-minded people and in a liberatory, social justice, and Asian-diasporic setting. From there, I learned that my gifts emerged while working intimately with others in brave spaces where we could be both held and challenged. I was called into my current role as a mental health therapist through my own healing with my family, friendships, and relationships in the community. Through continued practice, I apply the learnings of teachers before me and around me on how to relate and connect healthily and lovingly. Drawing from a range of teaching from ancestral wisdom to evidence-based practices, my approach to therapy is humanistic and eclectic, co-created with the people in the room with me. Today, I am helping to make the world better for one person at a time, and I find that this pace is the most rewarding.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I come from a multicultural Asian lineage, with roots in Chinese, Vietnamese, and other unknown Asian backgrounds. I am a descendant of migrants, refugees, healers, and harmers. I’ve felt the impact of patriarchal, colonial/imperial, and heteronormative binary forces and the genealogical effects on my nervous system, body, and relationships, just as we all have experienced in varying degrees. I navigate these realities with grace for myself and all of us who have endured.

I am also queer, gender non-conforming, and sex, kink, and ethical nonmonogamy-positive. I was raised in a colonial religion, and I understand the tension of being simultaneously held and harmed by spiritual communities. I’ve experienced the dis- and re-connection to ancestral gifts and wisdom, and I continue to work through deconstructing religious conditioning and finding the aspects of spirituality that align with my value system now.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I see myself as a healing healer. I always aim to walk beside the people I am working with. I aim for a non-hierarchical relationship and to create a collaborative experience where healing is felt in the relational and interconnected space. I intend to hold a space that is safe and brave, where all emotions and selves are welcome to be expressed and embodied. I emphasize the impact of greater systems and society on mental health and act with the understanding that the mental health industrial complex is inherently colonial and violent. I commit to practicing accountability and repair with humility and an open heart, ready to understand and grow.

Amidst the chaos in our government and the impact of international policies on lives worldwide, I know that there are people in our local community struggling to make sense of their place in it all. As one of those individuals with the skills to hold space and commune with others, as well as the heart to recognize the interconnectedness of our struggles, I want to offer myself to those who need support.

Who else deserves credit in your story?
There are countless lives that deserve credit for who and where I am today. I thank the cosmos for the miracle of life that we all experience and for Earth and all the living beings that create the ecosystems that keep us going. I thank my ancestors whose lives live on in my genealogy. I thank all those who have walked into my life and left me with a piece of them. I thank the teachers whose writings and creations have touched my heart. And I thank all those who are yet to come to teach me more.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://nokdutherapy.com/leslieyick
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/healerleslie/

Image Credits
julius gabele