Garrison Cox

I am a graduate student intern pursuing my degree in Marriage and Family Therapy at Lewis & Clark College. I am White, gay, queer, currently able-bodied, cis, and use he/him pronouns. Throughout my training so far, I have resonated with frameworks that understand the mediating and intersecting processes of privilege and marginalization as harming us all: with acknowledgement that we live among societal and institutional structures that privilege people who share many of the same intersecting experiences I have, the structures of inequity rob all of us of connection, reciprocity, emotional depth, and gratitude/joy for the wonders our world has to offer to us. It is amidst these narratives that we begin to encounter problems and obstacles in our families and selves: anxiety, estrangement, reactivity, trauma, to name just a few.

My own experience of surviving and mitigating queer marginalization by arming myself with the tools of supremacy has taught me that when we pursue perfectionism, blind meritocracy, and urgency, we separate ourselves from our own emotional experience. I believe it is not enough to gain insight and feel guilty about our privilege. By approaching accountability with compassion, persistent nonviolence, pleasure, and reciprocity, we can begin to imagine ourselves into a world that is more equitable and joyful.

Our experiences of how we survive within the stories of our society are mediated to us through our families. I believe that it is through re-weaving ourselves into the storied context of our families and communities that we can begin to open up opportunities for change and direct ourselves toward living lives filled with rich value and meaning. As a therapist, I am curious to hear and explore your story, how it lives in your brain and in your body, how it moves when it is told by different people in your life.

In my free time, I enjoy gardening, cooking, spending time with family and friends, reading fantasy, playing video games, putting my feet in water, and walking around the city or the forest.