Collective Trauma & Communal Healing
Mass violence, systemic oppression, and other forms of collective trauma have created shared wounds in many of our clients. To treat these wounds effectively, we must look beyond individual treatment to address the social roots of suffering and mobilize community resilience. From processing school shootings and police shootings to rebuilding in the COVID-19 aftermath, healing collective trauma requires honoring cultural wisdom, fostering connection, and recognizing that recovery happens not just individually but together. These articles explore mass tragedy response, decolonizing mental health, community-based healing, and more. Learn from Esther Perel, Bessel van der Kolk, and other leaders in the field.
The Social Roots of Trauma
Staci Haines on Where Our Bodies, Culture, and Healing Intersect
Join Dr. James Gordon as he discusses how you can help people even before they are out of the storm. Read more
Networker talks with grief experts Andrea Dorn and David Kessler in the wake of the Uvalde school shooting about grief and healing as a community. Read more
A therapist specializing in trauma treatment in the wake of human-made and natural disasters shares what she's seeing in her work with survivors of the war in... Read more
When senseless tragedy turns a child's world upside down, parents are looking for mental health support for the whole family. Read more
Networker sits down with Elaine Miller-Karas about the trauma resources for individuals in wartime. Read more
Wendy Durant helps clinicians support families after gun violence in their community. Read more
Networker talks with Shawna Murray-Browne about ways to bridge racial barriers in and outside of the therapy room. Read more
For a few years now, I’ve worked with groups around the world to address collective trauma. Our focus is usually on something that had happened elsewhere and... Read more
What can we do in the face of our current crisis? There are no clear answers or easy fixes. As providers, we must endeavor to do what we teach our patients: in... Read more
Training must go beyond the intellectual exercise of grasping the concept of racism. The real work is getting out of our chairs and going into our communities... Read more
Nan LittleWalker never formally signed up to be one of my teachers. In fact, I first met her as one of my colleague’s patients. Several years ago, during my... Read more
In the midst of covid-19, therapists and clients are sharing many of the same anxieties. As a therapist, how do you talk about it? In this clip from her 2020... Read more
Amid the pandemic, the pain and vulnerability of the majority of Americans, who live on the financial edge and can’t afford a crisis like this, are glaringly... Read more
If ever a conference devoted to “The Art of Healing in an Anxious Time” was needed, this is that time. Read more
Even in a restrictive time like this, when so many of us are divorced from the ordinary structures of our lives, there are practical things we can do to... Read more
The COVID-19 pandemic has radically shifted how almost every therapist works nowadays, in ways both expected and unexpected. Although we’re all in this... Read more
The COVID-19 pandemic has radically shifted how almost every therapist works nowadays, in ways both expected and unexpected. Although we’re all in this... Read more
How do you find community in the midst of physical distancing? However you can. In this clip from the 2020 Networker Virtual Symposium, trauma expert Bessel... Read more
In the sea of trauma that surrounds us in our daily lives and in our offices, self-care is a life jacket. But collective trauma needs a collective... Read more
How therapists can help the traumatized community of immigrants and asylum seekers. Read more
In his opening keynote, Canadian physician Gabor Maté called on therapists to expand their frame of reference and recognize how their job is too often a kind... Read more
In one violent Chicago neighborhood, embattled gang members see themselves as UPOWs—urban prisoners of war. To introduce them to a new set of survival... Read more
Innovative co-responder programs around the country are bringing about a shift in how police and clinicians define the boundaries of their work. Read more
New policies are deepening the trauma of many immigrants, and heightening challenges for the therapists trying to help them. Read more
In the 12 years since Hurricane Katrina, what have mental health professionals learned about being helpful in the wake of natural disasters? Read more
By Gary Weinstein - I've been doing crisis work for nearly 30 years. I've confronted a number of forks in my professional road, opportunities to take a less... Read more
While research indicates that most anti-bullying projects don’t work, a disarmingly simple approach has shown promising results. Read more
Our standard psychotherapeutic paradigm is unequal to the mammoth challenge of serving the troops who've served in Iraq and Afghanistan. What's needed is a... Read more
Some years ago, Rwanda was the hellish scene of one of the most ferocious genocides in history. A therapist who traveled there reports on what it's like to... Read more
When disaster strikes close to home, the emotional shock waves make business as usual impossible for both therapists and clients. Read more
.svg)