ABOUT ME

As a light-skinned, multiracial, Thicc, Queer, Neurodivergent CIS femme, Monique “Adeyemi” LeSarre, PsyD, brings a rich tapestry of African, European and Indigenous ancestry that has positively shaped her groundbreaking model to facilitating healing, wellness and social justice movements.

In journeying through her own intersecting identities, Adeyemi has gained a deeper understanding of how identity—when defined through the perceptions of others—can be inaccurately assigned and mistakenly embraced. 

Also, being phenotypically racially ambiguous, Adeyemi grasps fully the effects of carrying family secrets such as paternity and parental hidden sexual orientation, shame around multi-cultural/multi-ethnic heritage, non-traditional parentage (such as being raised by grandparents, or a foster or step-parent instead of a bio parent) in conjunction with generational trauma. 

Moving into a healed embodiment supports Adeyemi  in effectively using being “different,” (which she now embraces as a superpower) to create bridges for experiencing global diversity as a key factor in a healthy humanity.  

Having also overcome challenges from living in 19 places by the time she was 16, Adeyemi helps others learn to sustain groundedness

in transitional

spaces.

Being perceived as being too white, too brown, not Black enough, too queer, too fat, too smart, too dumb, too rich or poor, too odd, too sad or happy….after many years of trying to fit in, Adeyemi has ceased trying to fit  and instead has embraced who she is to herself and for herself...

Finding peace and contentment in working toward the freedom of all, Adeyemi remains open to deeper understandings of  Self through the lens of those impacted by similar oppression.  

And finally, Adeyemi arrives at a place of power acknowledging perceived privilege and simultaneous oppression as too important and complex to place in neat little

boxes.  

In recognizing the hybridity in all, Adeyemi’s work supports the creation of one’s own culture, identity and alignment with nature.  

In releasing shame,

Monique Adeyemi LeSarre embraces her and others' sacred hybridity and foregoes the need to assign herself and others to the boxes that make the outside world feel safe.

Adeyemi summarizes her experiences in a quote by Dr. Joy DeGruy who postulates, "I am not who I think I am, I am who you think I am.” 

What Dr. DeGruy means by that is, in this case, the internalized oppression of a person who is of African, European and Indigenous Ascent is often based on not knowing what the other person thinks. 

To continually look for signs of acceptance, rejection

or danger is confounding and disruptive at best and enraging and painful at worst. 

It is from this perspective, Monique founded Mixed Medicine, a consulting and coaching service that integrates healing practices from her global lineages.  Mixed Medicine offers a holistic and sacred approach to addressing an individual's context, experiences of power and privilege, and mental, physical, spiritual, and emotional well-being.

This approach holds intersectionalities as sacred while intertwining the wisdoms gained from work in health and mental health equity, community engagement, prison abolition and restorative justice. 

As a trainer and circle keeper, Adeyemi combines her roles as a multidisciplinary educator and researcher with her diverse training in Clinical Psychology, African Indigenous practices (including initiations in Ifa), certification in Reiki, EcoPsychology, Embodied Social Justice, Therapeutic Coaching, and Mind and Body Somatic Coaching.

These varied experiences and training allow Monique to pursue her passion: facilitating transformative liberatory spaces and driving systemic change at all levels.  This includes individual, family, group, community and social justice advocacy, education and training and policy change.