Seleni Spotlight: Dr. Marissa Long

October 2022 - We are excited to partner with Dr. Marissa Long on our new Black Perinatal Mental Health training. Dr. Long is a licensed clinical psychologist and organizational consultant and trainer with her own practice, ARC Counseling and Wellness in Southern California. Learn more about Dr. Long’s perspectives on Black maternal mental health, self-care and more.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Professionally, I am a licensed clinical health psychologist specializing in reproductive health, starting from efforts towards conception through the entire postpartum period and beyond. I built a private practice around the primary goal of providing advanced, reliable and comprehensive support of our clients and the community with a diverse set of providers, approaches and services. Perinatal health and fertility have intrigued me since I witnessed the birth of my baby brother, and in one way or another I have worked in medical systems primarily focused on birthing people since then. Personally, I’m one of the lucky ones who loves what I do for my job, so I’d say I work quite a lot and enjoy that but I also love to travel, cook for people, design spaces, play games and dance. I like to be busy, learning, laughing or connecting with others and try to live my life with intentional balance.

What excites you the most about working in reproductive psychology and Black reproductive mental health in particular?

I remember when I first found out that not everyone can conceive, that was a tough day for me. I was so saddened to think that someone might desperately want to have a baby and face difficulty or simply not be able to. Being able to support people who are trying to build their families is a unique honor with outcomes that can last for generations. I see birth as a deeply special and even miraculous experience, one that for my ancestors was very meaningful, highly celebrated and supported by the rich community that surrounded the birthing person and new baby. Due to the personal experiences I've had, along with the education and training I've been able to gain, I know that reproductive psychology for the Black community needs and deserves extra special care and I'm here for it!

You talk about intentional self-care, what do you mean by this?

Self-care is a term that has been thrown around for years now, and that’s great, but I see a lot of people engaging with behaviors that are supposed to be relaxing or rejuvenating but are doing it in ways that might not provide as much benefit as they’d like. So think about a 4-year-old brushing their teeth, they have the toothbrush and the toothpaste and they’re in there moving it around in their mouth, but how many of us feel confident that those baby teeth are actually clean? Not I! Self-care can be like that, where we’re just going through the motions. Intentional self-care involves a mindful engagement with the process or activity so that we can get the most out of it. So if we’re taking a shower for self-care, doing so intentionally might look like turning on some music, placing a shower bomb of our favorite scent by the drain, sitting on the floor of the shower for a few minutes to really feel the water rain over us. It’s about really taking it all in, not just getting in the shower and getting out and slapping a self-care sticker on it to say it was done.

What is your favorite podcast, movie, book, or magazine, related to the field of mental health?

My favorite podcast is Mom and Mind hosted by the great Dr. Kat Kaeni, who also happens to be the board chair of Postpartum Support International. She really brings in amazing topics and provides thoughtful insights and real-life stories to help providers connect with the perinatal mental health experience and help birthing people and families better understand their experience and feel not only validated but also have some idea about what they can do to heal.

What’s a quote that you carry with you to uplift yourself?

You know, I’m a music lover so this question immediately makes me think of my ‘Daily Affirmations’ playlist. So rather than a quote, I’ll share my top two songs on it right now. The first is Good As Hell by Lizzo, which is just perfection, and the second is The King’s Affirmation by Iniko, which really speaks to my soul these days. There’s something about their voice and it’s a great song to kick off my vibe for the day.

What is your favorite thing to do to wind down the day or – in your free time?

I’ve been dancing since I was two, so whenever I can, I’m in the studio making shapes and expressing myself through movement to music so loud that I can feel it in my bone marrow.

Learn more about Dr. Long here.