Processing Collective Grief, a check-in with Sara Stanizai, LMFT

By Alex San Diego

July 24, 2025

Uncategorized

his Fall has been filled with many strong emotions, as we grapple with the mass violence and genocide taking place in Gaza currently. Whether you are feeling hurt, angry, confused, or numb – know that your feelings are valid.

On Monday October 23 we hosted a processing and healing space led by psychologist and meditation practitioner Sriya Battacharyya, PhD. We also held a follow-up collective grief processing space led by Sara Stanizai and Manpreet Kaur on November 6.

Sara, Afghan-American therapist, also shared her thoughts on processing major traumatic events below.
Please introduce yourself.
My name is Sara Stanizai, I’m a licensed marriage and family therapist and the owner of Prospect Therapy, a queer and trans affirming practice in southern California with a focus on immigrant and diaspora mental health. I’m Afghan-American, I was raised Muslim, and am openly bisexual. There are a LOT of people like me, and I keep talking about it so that we can find each other. Myself and the therapists at my practice bring clinical training and lived experience to our work, meaning we share identities and experiences with many of the communities we serve.

Sources

American Psychiatric Association. (2020). Mental Health Facts For Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders. https://www.psychiatry.org/File%20Library/Psychiatrists/Cultural-Competency/Mental-Health-Disparities/Mental-Health-Facts-for-Asian-Americans-Pacific-Islanders.pdf

Bently, T. G. K., D’Andrea-Penna, G., Rakic, M., Arce, N., LaFaille, M., Berman, R., Cooley, K., & Sprimont, P. (2023). Breathing Practices for Stress and Anxiety Reduction: Conceptual Framework of Implementation Guidelines Based on a Systematic Review of the Published Literature. Brain Sciences, 13, 1612. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci13121612

Brailovskaia, J., Swanlike, V. J., Grethe, G. A., Schillack, H., & Margraf, J. (2022). Experimental longitudinal evidence for causal role of social media use and physical activity in COVID‑19 burden and mental health. Journal of Public Health, 21, 1885-1898. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-022-01751-x

Cadloff, E. B. (2018, December 3). How first-aid kits for mental health symptoms are helping Canadian university students. Maclean’s. https://macleans.ca/economy/business/first-aid-kit-mental-health/

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). Leading Causes of Death. WISQARS Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System. https://wisqars.cdc.gov/lcd/?o=LCD&y1=2022&y2=2022&ct=10&cc=ALL&g=00&s=0&r=4&ry=2&e=0&ar=lcd1age&at=groups&ag=lcd1age&a1=0&a2=199. Accessed November 20, 2024.

Chen, B., Sun, X., Zhang, Q., & Yao, L. (2024). Are Fatigued Users Fleeing Social Media? A Three-Level Meta-Analysis on the Association Between Social Media Fatigue and Social Media Use. Psychology of Popular Media, 13(3), 457-471. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000495

Choi, K. W., Lee, Y. H., Fatori, D., Bauermeister, J. R., Luh, R. A., Clark, C. R., Brunoni, A. R., Bauermeister, S., & Smoller, J. W. (2023). Social support and depression during a global crisis. Nature Mental Health, 1, 428-435. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44220-023-00078-0

Clément, J., Gallant, F., Hudon, C., Montiel, C., Riglea, T., Barbiche, D., Doré, I., Sylvestre, M., O’Loughlin, J., & Bélanger, M. (2024). Use of physical activity as a coping strategy mediates the association between adolescent team sports participation and emerging adult mental health. Mental Health and Physical Activity, 27, 100612. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mhpa.2024.100612

Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Home. ReproductiveRights.Gov. https://reproductiverights.gov/. Accessed November 18, 2024.

Hussenoeder, F. S., Conrad, I., Pabst, A., Engel, C., Zachariae, S., Zeynalova, S., Glaesmer, H., Hinz, A., Witte, V., Schomerus, G., Löffler, M., Villringer, A., Sander, C., & Reidel-Heller, S. G. (2023). Physical activity and mental health: the connection between step count and depression, anxiety and quality of sleep. Psychology, Health & Medicine, 28(9), 2419-2429. https://doi.org/10.1080/13548506.2022.2159453

Li, Y., Sun, W., Sun, X., Sun, J., Yang, D., Jia, B., & Yuan, B. (2021). Effects of mindfulness meditation on anxiety, depression, stress, and mindfulness in nursing students: a meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis of randomized controlled trials. Frontiers of Nursing, 7(1), 59-69. https://doi.org/10.2478/FON-2020-0001

Lopez, G. (2017, August 17). The battle over identity politics, explained. Vox. https://www.vox.com/identities/2016/12/2/13718770/identity-politics

Montoya-Galvez, C., Watson, E., & Sganga, N. (2024, November 20). How could the U.S. military be used for Trump’s mass deportation plan? CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/u-s-military-trump-mass-deportation-plan/

National Institutes of Health. (2023, November 2). All of Us Data Shows the Power of Social Support to Prevent Depression. All of Us Research Program. https://allofus.nih.gov/news-events/research-highlights/all-of-us-data-shows-power-of-social-support-to-prevent-depression

Nugraha, H., Hernawan, Ali, M., Rahmat, A, Septante, I., Aryati, & Suryadi, D. (2024). Outdoor activities and outdoor environments for fitness and mental health: a systematic review. Retos: Nuevas Perspectivas de Educación Física, Deporte y Recreación, 59, 642-648.

Othering & Belonging Institute at UC Berkley. (n.d.). Islamophobia Legislative Database. https://belonging.berkeley.edu/islamophobia/islamophobia-legislative-database. Accessed November 18, 2024

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (n.d.). Results from the 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Mental Health Detailed Tables. https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/reports/rpt47100/NSDUHDetailedTabs2023/NSDUHDetailedTabs2023/2023-nsduh-detailed-tables-sect6pe.htm#tab6.21b. Accessed November 20, 2024.

Trans Legislation Tracker. (n.d.). 2024 anti-trans bills tracker. https://translegislation.com/. Accessed November 18, 2024.