and it’s not only patients who feel the impact. “It’s such a unique space,” says Olivia Ratcli ff - Totty, a training clinician at Monima. “To be able to come in as a woman and feel safe and seen … and really connect with the patients on a deeper level is so beautiful.” The sense of community at Monima has made a profound di ff erence for patients like Karlee’s Mom (who asked to be identified this way in print). “I’m 35,” she tells me. “I lost my daughter, Karlee Jeanne, at 35 weeks in May of 2022.” Frozen at the axis of grief, shame, and disbelief, Karlee’s Mom knew she needed the kind of care her family and friends couldn’t provide. “I was drinking a lot, smoking weed, just using what I had to cope and to deal and to numb,” she says. “By August, I was like, ‘I need help. I need somebody.’” Monima was there. With a program that o ff ers nearly 20 di ff erent modules, including specific approaches like eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy (EMDR), cognitive processing therapy, and dialectical
behavior therapy alongside classes like Identity and Self-Esteem, Healthy Communication, and Sound Healing, the hope is that something will click with each individual. Ultimately, the sta ff at Monima aim to tailor their approach with each patient, exploring the women’s pasts to understand their needs for the future.
“What we like to do is really speak to the person in front of us and say, ‘Let’s gather an actual deep history. Tell us your story. Tell us what you’ve been through,’” Grassetti explains. “At the end of the day, when somebody deeply knows themself, they can move through their world in a more profound and impactful way.” Karlee’s Mom is evidence of this. “Leaving Monima ... [I’m] really taking this unique, impactful opportunity and experience and feeling so ready to continue the work I’ve started there in the real world,” Karlee’s Mom says. After three months at Monima, she’s choosing herself and honoring her daughter’s memory with her future.
Monima offers a wide range of modules to help patients find the therapeutic strategies that work best for them.
53 SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE
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