Cultural Trauma & the Role of Therapists

EducationNews
Written By José Rosario

Trauma Psychology News (APA Division 56), November 2022
By José R. Rosario

Violence driven by hate and oppression reverberates across generations — shaping the identities, well-being, and lived realities of entire communities. In this article, Dr. José Rosario explores how events like the Pulse Nightclub shooting, racist police violence, and other acts of culturally-targeted harm impact collective mental health long after the headlines fade.

Drawing on cultural trauma theory, José highlights the ways these experiences:

  • Transform community identity and memory

  • Generate shared grief, anger, and fear

  • Compound chronic exposure to discrimination and hate-based violence

  • Remain overlooked by traditional trauma diagnoses like PTSD

José calls attention to a critical gap: current diagnostic frameworks often fail to acknowledge community-level trauma, especially when experienced through media exposure. As he makes clear, culturally-rooted distress is real — and must be recognized in treatment, research, and clinical training.

Read the full article
Trauma Psychology News — APA Division 56
https://traumapsychnews.com/2022/11/cultural-trauma-the-role-of-therapists/

José Rosario

José R. Rosario is a speaker, researcher, clinician, and above all, an advocate. As a member of many diverse identity groups, José recognizes that common experiences bring people together and that taking stock of who we are gives us power. José wants to inspire others to acknowledge their identities, share their stories and empower those who are underrepresented to rise. As a mental health professional, José understands that this empowerment, and the creation of a space to be vulnerable, can lead to individual and group growth, awakening agents for change. José is a Clinical Psychology Ph.D. student at Clark University studying the factors associated with cultural trauma and healing within minoritized communities. From this passion, José launched The Phoenix Empowered, an organization focused on mental health disparities in minoritized groups. In addition, he is an Expressive Arts Facilitator through the PeaceLove Studios.

https://www.thephoenixempowered.org
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