Robin Mele's guest appearances

Robin Mele

Yellow Glitter

Beyond the Couch with Bridges

Margaret Cho

Mike Curato

Rain Valdez

Jenny Wang

Alice Zhang

Lynn Min

Randy Kim

Kim Thai

Marti G Cummings

Derek Tran

Rajiv Khanna

Johnathan Gibbs

Ning Zhou

Kalaya’an Mendoza

Vivien Ngô

OwlTail

This week, Christie chats with Robin Mele, LCAT, about dance/movement therapy and the nonverbal language of being in our bodies. As a queer, biracial therapist, Robin discusses how they intentionally work to be a safe enough person for teens within a hospital setting. Robin offers insights on how they navigate systems of power, protect themselves through the difficult work, and cultivate curiosity and humility both professionally and personally.Robin (they/them/theirs) is a queer, biracial, dance/movement therapist and licensed creative arts therapist. They are curious and passionate about the integration of abolition and transformative justice with their work on an inpatient psychiatric unit with adolescents at a city hospital. Connect with Robin on Instagram @robinks or via email at romele724@gmail.com.APISA Spotlight: NYCAAMHBridges Mental Health is a stigma-free hub for Asians, Pacific Islanders, and South Asian Americans (APISA) to discuss, navigate, and seek mental health care in NYC.Write to us with comments &amp; questions, we'd love to hear from you.@bridgesmentalhealthbridgesmentalhealthnyc@gmail.comwww.bridgesmentalhealth.comCover photo by Janice ChungTheme music by Will Marshall

This week, Christie chats with Robin Mele, LCAT, about dance/movement therapy and the nonverbal language of being in our bodies. As a queer, biracial therapist, Robin discusses how they intentionally work to be a safe enough person for teens within a hospital setting. Robin offers insights on how they navigate systems of power, protect themselves through the difficult work, and cultivate curiosity and humility both professionally and personally.Robin (they/them/theirs) is a queer, biracial, dance/movement therapist and licensed creative arts therapist. They are curious and passionate about the integration of abolition and transformative justice with their work on an inpatient psychiatric unit with adolescents at a city hospital. Connect with Robin on Instagram <a href="http://instagram.com/robinks" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@robinks</a> or via email at <a href="mailto:romele724@gmail.com">romele724@gmail.com</a>.<ul><li>APISA Spotlight: <a href="http://www.asianmentalhealth.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">NYCAAMH</a></li></ul>Bridges Mental Health is a stigma-free hub for Asians, Pacific Islanders, and South Asian Americans (APISA) to discuss, navigate, and seek mental health care in NYC.Write to us with comments &amp; questions, we'd love to hear from you. <a href="http://instagram.com/bridgesmentalhealth" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@bridgesmentalhealth</a> <a href="mailto:bridgesmentalhealthnyc@gmail.com">bridgesmentalhealthnyc@gmail.com</a> <a href="https://bridgesmentalhealth.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.bridgesmentalhealth.com</a>Cover photo by Janice Chung Theme music by Will Marshall

Holding Safe Enough Space as a Dance/Movement Therapist with Robin Mele

For the month of February, we sit down with queer Asian Americans to learn more about how they navigate finding love here in America.   This episode, we sit down with Robin Mele, a queer second-generation Taiwanese-American therapist in NYC and learn more about them navigating through their asexual, panromantic, and polyamorous identity. We talk about identities, stereotypes, dating apps, and so much more!   Robin Mele (they/them/theirs) is a queer second-generation Taiwanese-American who currently works as a therapist on an inpatient psychiatric unit for adolescents at a public hospital in New York City. They have a master's degree in dance/movement therapy, and they have their yoga teaching certification. They currently identify as asexual, panromantic, and polyamorous.   This episode, we cover:   How Robin got started in their career working as a therapist.   What is dance movement therapy?   Growing up biracial white and Asian.   How they discovered their asexual, panromantic, and polyamorous identity.   Facing stereotypes with these identities.   Why it’s not about adding more labels and more understanding ourselves.   Navigating being asexual, panromantic, and polyamorous within the Asian community.   Thoughts on dating apps, inclusivity in the space, and superficiality   How to navigate racial fetishism.   Why timing is everything in love and relationships.   References from this Episode:   Asexual Visibility and Education Network (AVN)    Opening Up: A Guide to Creating and Sustaining Open Relationships by Tristan Taormino   Lex Dating App   The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman   To get in contact with Robin, you can reach out to them Instagram @Robinks   You can follow me at: Instagram (instagram.com/stevenwakabayashi) YouTube (youtube.com/stevenwakabayashi) Weekly Newsletter (mindfulmoments.substack.com)

For the month of February, we sit down with queer Asian Americans to learn more about how they navigate finding love here in America.   This episode, we sit down with Robin Mele, a queer second-generation Taiwanese-American therapist in NYC and learn more about them navigating through their asexual, panromantic, and polyamorous identity. We talk about identities, stereotypes, dating apps, and so much more!   Robin Mele (they/them/theirs) is a queer second-generation Taiwanese-American who currently works as a therapist on an inpatient psychiatric unit for adolescents at a public hospital in New York City. They have a master's degree in dance/movement therapy, and they have their yoga teaching certification. They currently identify as asexual, panromantic, and polyamorous.   This episode, we cover: <ul> <li> How Robin got started in their career working as a therapist. </li> <li> What is dance movement therapy? </li> <li> Growing up biracial white and Asian. </li> <li> How they discovered their asexual, panromantic, and polyamorous identity. </li> <li> Facing stereotypes with these identities. </li> <li> Why it’s not about adding more labels and more understanding ourselves. </li> <li> Navigating being asexual, panromantic, and polyamorous within the Asian community. </li> <li> Thoughts on dating apps, inclusivity in the space, and superficiality </li> <li> How to navigate racial fetishism. </li> <li> Why timing is everything in love and relationships. </li> </ul> References from this Episode: <ul> <li> <a href="https://www.asexuality.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Asexual Visibility and Education Network (AVN)</a> </li> <li> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Opening-Up-Creating-Sustaining-Relationships-ebook/dp/B0097DDYR2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Opening Up: A Guide to Creating and Sustaining Open Relationships by Tristan Taormino</a> </li> <li> <a href="https://thisislex.app/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Lex Dating App</a> </li> <li> <a href="https://www.5lovelanguages.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman</a> </li> </ul> To get in contact with Robin, you can reach out to them <a href="https://www.instagram.com/robinks/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Instagram @Robinks</a>   You can follow me at: Instagram (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/stevenwakabayashi/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">instagram.com/stevenwakabayashi</a>) YouTube (<a href="https://youtube.com/stevenwakabayashi" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">youtube.com/stevenwakabayashi</a>) Weekly Newsletter (<a href="https://mindfulmoments.substack.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">mindfulmoments.substack.com</a>)

#14 Navigating asexual, panromantic, and polyamorous identities with Robin Mele