We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lilita Matison a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Lilita , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.

My immigrant parents came to the US as children in the late 1950’s, after escaping the Soviet Union’s occupation of their parents’ homeland, Latvia. This lived experience greatly impacted our family system. We were always encouraged to learn about other cultures, study foreign languages and travel. To this day, one of the things that I most appreciate about them is their motto of “Go”. Their encouragement to explore and discover the world outside of my neighborhood (and comfort zone) allowed me to become a global citizen, as well as an individual that is passionately curious about other cultures, languages and traditions internationally.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My calling to become a social worker – a clinician, educator and project director focusing on mental health, trauma and post-tragedy work – was mostly informed by my parents and grand-parents experience as refugees and immigrants. Fearing execution, both my maternal and paternal grand-parents fled Latvia, one of the Baltic states, in their twenties and thirties. Within my family system, from the time that I can remember, it was crystal clear the complex layers of trauma that not only touched the lives of my grand-parents, but spanned down to my generation. Themes of grief and loss included death, no longer being able to see immediate family, There were also infinite threads of invisible loss: learning a new language (and speaking with a heavy accent that stood out like a sore thumb), acclimating to a new home country with different social and cultural norms and traditions, starting over professionally, etc. Growing up with the felt sense of this loss, as well as the expectation to keep our culture alive and thriving outside of our occupied country, instilled in me a sense of activism and social justice. Become a social worker became a way to advocate, support and offer opportunities to those that had experienced horrific tragedies and traumas that changed the course of their lives. It is an absolute privilege to work with individuals, organizations and communities and to hold the possibility for hope and healing.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

As a clinician and educator that specializes in trauma and post-tragedy work, what has been most significant for me is succeeding has been learning about the mind-body connection and the impact that trauma has on the brain and the physiology. Understanding the science of trauma is imperative to help support others in their understanding and transformation. Additionally, developing a self-care toolbox with somatic and mindfulness-based practices has allowed me to work on a deep level, where healing can be accessed through breath work, imagery, creative and expressive art, writing and energy medicine.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

What has most helped me build my reputation as a clinician and trainer has been time. This year marks twenty-five years as a mental health advocate, trainer, supervisor and mentor. Those that have worked with me, either as colleagues or clients, know that I bring integrity, safety, encouragement, openness, flexibility and curiosity to the work. Everything is an invitation, a possibility of exploration. We work with what is alive in the moment, whether it’s an emotion that surfaces intensely, a stressful thought or a limiting belief. Time and patience have been among my most powerful allies.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @ancestral_healing_stones
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lilitamatison/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@byebyebutterflies7
• Other: https://padlet.com/lilitamatisonlcsw

Image Credits

Lilita Matison’s personal photo archives