Social Trauma

Racism from the dominant culture continues to impact our society in the 21st century. Discrimination and prejudice also occur among Black, Indigenous, and people of color based on factors such as skin complexion and hair texture. This complicates the issue beyond race and allows practices such as colorism to spread via internalized racism like a virulent social contagion.

An infant’s death with evidence as high as the sky should be a slam-dunk prosecution. But what happens when the savviest defense attorney in town assists his idealistic public-defender daughter? Timely in its examination of how belief in science can be manipulated, To Tell the Truth will have you questioning your own deliberations if sitting in the juror’s box. A haunting expose of the clash between law and medicine, as written by a pediatrician with more than 40 years of clinical and trial experience with shaken baby syndrome.

Riveting, honest, and raw, I Can Take It From Here recounts Lisa Forbes's harrowing journey into darkness—including a fourteen-year-long stint in a maximum-security prison—and her fierce resolve to understand the effects of the trauma she endured, to take personal responsibility for her actions, and to ensure that her history does not dictate her destiny.

The tragedy of large-scale trauma has etched the names of cities on a national monument of heartbreak and senseless loss. First responders, caregivers, and civic leaders are often left with the daunting task of navigating the emotional and physical aftermath and stitching their communities back together, a trajectory of healing that can take months and years.

In Super-Women, you'll find tools to help you explore and process painful experiences, accept difficult thoughts and feelings, and use mindfulness and self-compassion to tap into your own unique superpowers. Alongside seven other heroic women, you'll learn how to re-write your "origin story" and find compassionate tips and strategies to help you define your own heroic purpose.

Aftershock is about the real war against terror - the struggle for a world in which nobody lives in fear of atrocities perpetrated by human beings. Every day, people who push against violence and injustice or pull for peace and freedom must face their own fears. Many activists also must struggle with "aftershock," the physical and emotional reverberations of frightening, horrifying, or otherwise traumatizing experiences endured in the course of their activism.

Claudia Garcia crossed the border because her toddler, Natalia, could not hear. Leaving behind everything she knew in Mexico, Claudia recounts the terror of migrating alone with her toddler and the incredible challenges she faced advocating for her daughter’s health in the United States. When she arrived in Texas, Claudia discovered that being undocumented would mean more than just an immigration status—it would be a way of living, of mothering, and of being discarded by even those institutions we count on to care.

Over the last decade, Kevin Dedner has been on a mission to explore this powerful and troubling question, shining an unconventional spotlight on the impact of racism on mental health. In his debut book, The Joy of the Disinherited, Dedner articulates his call for urgent change: We must knock down the invisible barriers that make it harder for Black people to get the mental health care they need and deserve.

One in six women is the victim of sexual assault. Using her own hard-won wisdom, author Jen Cross shows how to heal through journaling and personal writing. Writing Ourselves Whole is a collection of essays and creative writing encouragements for sexual trauma survivors who want to risk writing a different story. Each short chapter offers encouragement, experience, and exercises.

On December 10, 1953, tragedy was visited on a family when Nathaniel Allen was murdered on the Sampit River by his White employer, who lured him into the meeting under the false promise of reconciliation. Allen's death was recorded as an accidental drowning, a deliberate cover-up of the bullet hole seen by more than one witness. Three generations later, Phil Allen Jr. revisits this harrowing story and recounts the "baton of bitterness" that this murder passed down in his family.

David W. Powell enlisted for a tour of duty in April 1966 with the US Marines after receiving an imminent draft notice. Believing he would be able to leverage his existing skills as a computer programmer, he never thought all they would see on his resume was his Karate expertise. Even less that he would wind up serving as a Rocket man in the jungles of Da Nang and Chu Lai for a 13 month tour in hell. David's journey from naive civilian to battle-hardened combat veteran shows us all how fragile our humanity really is.

What is it like to suffer Religious Trauma Syndrome while still inside a high demand religious organization? What causes Religious Trauma Syndrome, and what are the risks that come with continuing participation? A Voice from Inside presents the rare voice of a critical insider of the Watch Tower Society, offering an account of the experience, how people are struggling, and what can be done to survive and move forward.

This is an important resource for those who have survived serious injuries, their loved ones, and treating healthcare professionals. I consider this essential...and plan to have my students and junior colleagues read this book. There is so much helpful information to be had in a text that can only be written from a personal perspective. Often, injured individuals and their loved ones cannot anticipate or plan fully for the major life changes that follow a serious injury. There is just no way to really appreciate how different their lives will be.

Black Americans' resilience during centuries of racially motivated violence is beyond remarkable. But continuing to endure this harm allows for generations of trauma to fester and grow. Healing has to be the priority going forward. For decades, Tracey Michae'l Lewis-Giggetts clung to her upbringing in the church, believing that racial reconciliation would come through faith and discipline, being respectable, and doing what's right. But when her cousin became the victim of a white supremacist's hateful rampage, her body and soul said, "no more."

Should this book have been written? Should it be read? Why is there still so much stigma, shame and taboo associated with mental health? Why do men struggle so much to talk about their problems? Are we adequately equipped? In the workplace, in your home, in the church, in society? The introduction in this book briefly explains how our brains work, it is a powerful organ. Are you trapped in a negative mindset? This book will change the way that you think.

Imagine the water system that supplies water to the entire New York City. It is complex and highly interconnected, going through every zip code to supply this essential resource. So, you can expect that if something is wrong within this water supply system, every address will somewhat be affected to different degrees and the effects to each affected area will vary a lot depending on many factors. That’s what the vagus nerve is to the body.

Within you is a highway-like network of nerves that run from your head to the tips of your toes. This network passes through the organs and organ systems in between your head and the toes, supplying all manner of information. This information flows back and forth efficiently. As with any other closely linked network, failure of one part manifests as all manner of problems in the nodes within the network.

As Black people, we are more likely to face a traumatic experience or suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). But being Black is about more than the violence that has been perpetrated against us. It also means living a life of dignity and self-worth. We can pull ourselves out of the fire of painful experiences and gain the psychological flexibility needed to thrive, not just survive. Jennifer Shepard Payne presents culturally tailored acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) skills to help you heal from trauma, so you can live a meaningful life that is in tune with your own values.

Having a pet dragon is so much fun! He can sit, roll over, and play. He can candle a birthday cake, light a campfire, or so many other cool things! But what if your dragon experienced a traumatic event? What if he’s constantly having bad dreams about the terrible thing he experienced? What if he wasn’t able to rest well and telling you his tummy hurts? What if he tried to run away but couldn’t escape from his thoughts of the awful thing that happened? What if he didn’t want to share with you or to talk about the terrible thing he saw?

It is easy to be depressed if you live in a neighborhood that has few supportive resources available or is marred by gun violence. We are able to diagnose people with depression, but how does one heal a neighborhood? This City Is Killing Me brings policy and psychology together. Through case studies, Jonathan Foiles opens up his therapy door to allow us to overhear the stories of individual poor Chicagoans. Through statistics and the example of Chicago, he teaches us how policy decisions have contributed to these individuals’ suffering.