Statement on Legal Matters

Some of you have known that there were legal matters open across this past year, and that while those cases were open we were not able to speak about them.

These matters have now concluded, and we wanted you to hear it from us rather than sideways. The board has copies of all related legal documents.

Last spring, a court granted a protective order, with me (EmmaS) and my family as the protected party, as well as System Speak projects (including community and symposiums) also being protected as part of my work.

The judge found that the conduct against me was cyberstalking and harassment. The court record is public and extensive. In the course of it, we provided documentation about the podcast, the nonprofit and its financials, the symposiums, and our own history. All of our documentation, financials, and paperwork is in order, and the online attack was clearly harassment and cyberstalking, which is why we were awarded the protective order.

Separately, complaints were filed against my counseling license with state licensing board. The Board reviewed my clinical work, my documentation, my billing, and session recordings. They also looked at our work on the podcast, the books, community, and the symposiums.

This week we received notice that the licensing board had also ruled in my favor, dismissing the complaints as invalid and the allegations as false and their decision to close the case entirely.

We are grateful to all of you who stayed steady while we were quiet, who were patient when we could not answer direct questions, and who kept doing your own work in the meantime. That steadiness held something for us that we could not hold ourselves.

You all, as a community, held this community together.

Thank you for believing in us. And yourselves. And what we are trying to build together.

We also think the community grew in maturity and in health during this year, and that is something we can be proud of, all of us.

There will be more on the podcast this fall. Mostly we wish to move forward with our attention on ourselves, our family, and our work - including our liberated presence here.

This is what safety looks like for us: staying connected and congruent with our own values, each of us doing that work individually, parallel to one another and together.

This year has been very, very hard, but I wouldn’t trade the friendships that grew (or outgrew), or what I have learned through it all, not for anything.

Thank you for being you(s).

The podcast continues. The community continues. Thank you(s) for being here.