Racism, Violence, and Healing

Societal inequality, including racism, impacts marginalized youth and young adults, including their experience, meaning-making, and outcomes of interpersonal trauma. Proposed by Gómez in 2012, cultural betrayal trauma theory (CBTT) highlights cultural betrayal in within-group trauma in marginalized populations as a dimension of harm that affects mental, physical, behavioral, and cultural health outcomes. In CBTT, within-group trauma violates the (intra)cultural trust—solidary, love, loyalty, connection, responsibility—that is developed in-group to buffer against societal inequality. This violation, termed a cultural betrayal, can contribute to diverse, costly outcomes, such as dissociation, hallucinations, and internalized prejudice. In this talk, I will first briefly review the literature on trauma and racism. I then will define CBTT, list its postulates, and review the state of empirical support for CBTT in diverse marginalized populations. Next, I will preview the scope of my book project, Cultural Betrayal, Sexual Abuse, & Healing for Black Women & Girls: From Black Lives Matter to Me Too (Publisher: APA Books). I will close with future research directions and implications for healing.
Join zoom webinar: https://berkeley.zoom.us/j/96523524698.