Storytelling as Medicine: Decolonizing Therapy with José Rosario (282)

Therapist Uncensored Podcast

Sue Marriott LCSW, CGP & Ann Kelley PhD

Social Sciences, Society & Culture, Science, Relationships, Education, Self-improvement

4.7 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 7 October 2025

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

José Rosario shares the transformative role of storytelling in healing and liberation. He invites therapists to move beyond traditional coping frameworks and embrace radical healing - an approach that centers cultural wisdom, intersectional identity, and community empowerment. Together, Sue and José discuss how clinicians can respond to hate-based violence, recognize collective trauma, and actively dismantle systems of harm. José also shares his personal journey toward self-acceptance and the playful practices that sustain his work, offering inspiration for those seeking to uplift marginalized voices through creativity and connection. Listen to the full episode now at TherapistUncensored.com/TU282

Transcript

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0:00.0	You know how there's episodes that you love more than others? Well, if I'm honest, there are
0:04.3	interviews that really stand out for me as well. I absolutely loved my conversation with today's
0:09.9	guest, and I honestly believe you will too. Jose Rosario is a mental health professional
0:15.7	who identifies with multiple diverse identities and is generous in sharing his story and his inspiration.
0:23.6	He developed cerebral palsy as a premature infant, and as you'll hear, he was shaped by the
0:28.7	steadfast fight for equity that is a very young Puerto Rican parents persistently engaged with.
0:35.4	He's an interdisciplinary minority fellow for the American Psychological Association
0:39.4	and has been honored with multiple awards for excellence in psychology, where his research
0:44.0	focuses on cultural trauma and intersectional communities. He's also the founder of the Phoenix
0:49.7	Empowered, which facilitates an inclusive mental health conversation in order to empower
0:55.5	systematic change.
0:57.0	More than that, he's just a lovely human, and we could really use these kinds of kind
1:01.2	and smart conversations right now.
1:03.1	It's my pleasure to bring you, Jose Rosario.
1:08.1	Even 10 years ago, I'll tell you that when I first told my story, I was terrified talking about being different.
1:15.6	Because there weren't openly queer, disabled people of color doing this, right?
1:19.6	Like, I felt completely alone. I was on an island.
1:23.6	And I thought, I'm never going to have a job.
1:25.6	Like, this is going to impact me forever.
1:28.6	And now, 10 years later, things have really shifted.
1:32.9	People are talking about issues of identity.
1:35.5	And I hear this dialogue around representation.
	...

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