“Rarely, if ever, are any of us healed in isolation. Healing is an act of communion.” 

— bell hooks

Here are some major events that impacted my perspective: 

Liv’s Recovery Kitchen

I started this blog over 11 years ago to explore recovery from a holistic perspective. But it took me years to understand that recovery is social justice. It’s all very well to talk about healthy recipes to boost our health and wellness, but what about how our environment, identities, and the systems in which we live in impact who we are, our wellbeing, and even our ability to recover.

My work centers on the belief that individuals deserve to feel empowered in their recovery by choosing a pathway and goal that makes sense to them — whether that is harm reduction, moderation, or abstinence — and directing their own recovery instead of being given a list of recovery tactics that work for only for some.

Additionally, I am deeply familiar with navigating this world as a Queer, neurodivergent person who has overcome huge challenges and has experienced the breadth of human emotion.

This allows me to empathize and collaborate with others who are navigating similar challenges. There is great power in someone being able to say, “Me too.” 

Life After 12-Step Recovery

It is my firm belief that recovery should lead to expansion, not pathologization. After realizing that the recovery community fails to support different modalities of recovery, I created this community to support individuals who choose to leave a 12-step group, regain their agency and autonomy, choose their own recovery goals, and thrive. (P.S. I also support you if 12-step recovery is your pathway.) 

Having the right therapeutic support can empower us to look within, summon our inner resources, and find ways to nurture and heal ourselves. 

This brings me to why I named this website Tera Collaborations. Tera is the Latin (and Italian) name for earth or ground. It reflects my Italian-American heritage, and my belief that coming back to ourselves, feeling grounded and surrounded by nature, is a coping strategy that can support neurodivergent folks in ways that traditional interventions may not. I use the word collaborations because working collaboratively is central to all of my working relationships.

Master’s in Social Work

Before graduating in June 2023, I lost a parent unexpectedly, got married and quickly divorced, and received diagnoses for neurodivergent conditions that gave me a new perspective with which to understand my entire existence. I also gained work experience with a peer-run recovery community organization and a mental health crisis response team in inner-city Portland. These life events fundamentally changed who I am and how I relate to the world. 

Collaboration emphasizes non-hierarchical power structures and the importance of self-determination, cultural relevance, and self-expertise.

I don’t provide the magic key for healing, but I do something more powerful: I support you in healing yourself.