Totem Org

Totem Org Totem is a nonprofit organization offering free, digital, peer-led support groups called Spaces. No diagnosing. No prescribing. No judgement.

Just story-telling with people who get it.

We're launching a new Space - Finding the Line: A Space to Talk About Drinking and Drug UseThis is a Space to process ou...
10/09/2026

We're launching a new Space - Finding the Line: A Space to Talk About Drinking and Drug Use

This is a Space to process out loud, hear how other people are navigating their relationship with drinking and drugs, and think about where our own lines might be.

No labels. No lectures. No one telling anyone what they should do.

Learn more and register for the first Session ➡️ https://www.totem.org/spaces/dyx061lbf/?utm_source=link

❕ This is peer support, not AA, treatment, therapy, or a crisis service. Talk, listen, or pass.

🪐 Free | Virtual | Peer-led | Cameras Optional 🪐

October has a lot going on at Totem. ✨We send out a newsletter every month, but we thought we’d share a little of what’s...
10/08/2026

October has a lot going on at Totem. ✨

We send out a newsletter every month, but we thought we’d share a little of what’s happening here too.

We have two new Keepers and two new weekly Spaces!

We’re also trying something completely new: our first audio-only Space. Reading Ourselves Through Tarot with Vanessa Rae starts October 15. Cameras stay off, and absolutely no tarot knowledge is required.

And if you’ll be at L.A. Comic Con, come find us. We’ll be sharing an early look at something we’ve been keeping under wraps for a while: our new game, The Shape of Us.

Plus, a Totem Story from one of our community members and a new piece from Vanessa, A Conditional Home.

Our Spaces are always free. Find one that feels like yours at totem.org.

Want the newsletter in your inbox each month? Opt in to communications when you join Totem - www.totem.org 🌚

Earlier this week, we introduced you to Allison. Now, please welcome Anthony, Totem’s second-newest Keeper! 💜Anthony is ...
10/07/2026

Earlier this week, we introduced you to Allison. Now, please welcome Anthony, Totem’s second-newest Keeper! 💜

Anthony is curious, adventurous, and has collected more than a few good stories along the way. He’s visited 30 countries, gone cage diving with great white sharks in South Africa, and discovered he was claustrophobic during a submarine excursion in Mexico.

He also won his 8th grade spelling bee, used to speak Pig Latin in middle school, and has somehow had every bike he’s ever owned stolen (yes they were locked).

Anthony is leading one of our newest Spaces, The Roots of Who We Are, which meets weekly on Sundays at 5 PM ET. It’s a Space for reflecting on the experiences, people, and seasons that have shaped us, and who we’re still becoming.

We’re so excited to have him here. Give Anthony a warm welcome in the comments, and come join him for The Roots of Who We Are.

Next Session: https://www.totem.org/spaces/ntb821zsd/?utm_source=link

🪐 New Space Alert 🪐For the first time, we are launching an AUDIO ONLY Space! We're excited to offer this peer support Sp...
10/06/2026

🪐 New Space Alert 🪐

For the first time, we are launching an AUDIO ONLY Space! We're excited to offer this peer support Space that leaves the pressure and worries... behind the camera. Take a look at the new Space and sign up using the link below.

🔮 Reading Ourselves Through Tarot w/ Vanessa Rae
Starting Oct 15 @ 9:00 PM EST | Free | Virtual | Peer-led
Register: https://www.totem.org/spaces/bwo635kqs/?utm_source=link

Tell me more...

In this personal growth Space, we’ll use the Major Arcana as mirrors for our own lives. Each Session begins with one card and opens into the questions underneath it:

🔸 When do I continue to do things that are hurting me?
🔸 What’s keeping me from starting something I value?
🔸 Where does my need for control help me, and where does it get in my way?
🔸 What am I being asked to stop forcing?
🔸 What can I hear about myself when I step away from everyone else’s expectations?
🔸 What patterns keep showing up, and what might they be asking me to learn?

Who is this Space for?

Anyone who wants to understand themselves more deeply, notice the patterns shaping their choices, and bring what they discover in our Sessions into everyday life.

This is not a tarot reading or a class on how to read cards.

New week, same Spaces you know and love, with all new sessions.Whether you're a mother trying to figure out what kind of...
10/05/2026

New week, same Spaces you know and love, with all new sessions.

Whether you're a mother trying to figure out what kind of home you want to create, someone living with chronic illness trying to balance your physical health with your financial reality, or simply in a season where you could use somewhere to talk things through, there's something here for you.

💙 A reminder: our Spaces are free, but our Keepers are not. They prepare for these conversations, hold the room, and show up expecting the people who reserved a seat to be there. Because our groups are intentionally small, one empty chair really does make a difference.

If you sign up for a session, please either come or give up your spot so someone else can take it.

And if the reason you're thinking about not showing up is because you're nervous, anxious, unsure what to expect, or suddenly talking yourself out of it, please DM us or email us. Seriously. We are happy to tell you exactly how a session works, answer the awkward questions, or help make your first one feel a little less intimidating. You do not need to be good at groups to belong here. 💙

🪐 Take a look at this week's lineup and reserve your spot ➡️ www.totem.org/spaces

10/01/2026

Content note: sexual assault, consent, and sexual harm.

A message from Heather Lillian Gressett:

“Today, it felt strange trying to think of something to post while the news coming out of Cornell has been swirling around my feed, mind, and body. As a woman who has experienced SA, and as someone who is once again watching a conversation unfold about consent, accountability, and whose safety gets protected, it felt wrong to say nothing.

So we're entering the conversation in the way we know how.

These slides aren't meant to explain what happened or tell anyone how to feel. They're prompts for reflection and conversation.
For women. For men. For survivors. For friends, partners, parents, and anyone trying to understand what creating a safer culture actually asks of us.

And I want to say something clearly on behalf of Totem:
💙 If you come into one of our sessions and share that you have experienced sexual violence, we believe you.
💙 Your safety matters to us.
💙 You will not be asked to prove your pain in order to deserve care here.

We hope these questions give people somewhere to begin.”

Thank you, Heather.

Content note: sexual assault, consent, and sexual harm.A message from Heather Lillian Gressett: “Today, it felt strange ...
10/01/2026

Content note: sexual assault, consent, and sexual harm.

A message from Heather Lillian Gressett:

“Today, it felt strange trying to think of something to post while the news coming out of Cornell has been swirling around my feed, mind, and body. As a woman who has experienced SA, and as someone who is once again watching a conversation unfold about consent, accountability, and whose safety gets protected, it felt wrong to say nothing.

So we're entering the conversation in the way we know how.

These slides aren't meant to explain what happened or tell anyone how to feel. They're prompts for reflection and conversation.
For women. For men. For survivors. For friends, partners, parents, and anyone trying to understand what creating a safer culture actually asks of us.

And I want to say something clearly on behalf of Totem:
💙 If you come into one of our sessions and share that you have experienced sexual violence, we believe you.
💙 Your safety matters to us.
💙 You will not be asked to prove your pain in order to deserve care here.

We hope these questions give people somewhere to begin.”

Thank you, Heather.

Please welcome Allison, one of Totem’s newest Keepers! 💜Allison is a certified mindfulness teacher and spent a decade as...
10/01/2026

Please welcome Allison, one of Totem’s newest Keepers! 💜

Allison is a certified mindfulness teacher and spent a decade as a psychology professor, so she brings a deep curiosity about people, relationships, and the ways we move through the world.

She’s also ridden her bike across the state of Iowa, started learning pole dance at 34 as her first formal dance experience, loves gardening, and says tomato plant leaves are one of her favorite smells. In the summer, you can usually find her paddleboarding, where she recently learned how to do a headstand on the board.

She lives in the mountains of Western North Carolina, in the Appalachian temperate rainforest. Her formative TV lineup includes Daria, Degrassi: The Next Generation, Strangers with Candy, and Twin Peaks.

Allison is leading one of our newest Spaces, Relationships Reimagined, which meets weekly and explores the many ways we connect, relate, and build relationships.

We’re so happy to have her here. Give Allison a warm welcome in the comments, and check out Relationships Reimagined if you think you would connect with her or have ever questioned the status quo of relationships.

Next Session: https://www.totem.org/spaces/sbu316nax/?utm_source=link

🎶 New on the Totem blog: Daughter of an Absent DJVanessa writes about absent fathers, complicated mothers, family secret...
09/30/2026

🎶 New on the Totem blog: Daughter of an Absent DJ

Vanessa writes about absent fathers, complicated mothers, family secrets, and the stories we inherit about love, abandonment, and belonging.

📖 Read here: https://buff.ly/ffWeMlT

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