Advancing a Holistic Trauma Framework for Collective Healing From Colonial Abuses

Abstract

In this article, we argue that healing from trauma in a racialized context requires an act of collective, critical resistance whereby educators and researchers reject a White-dominant colonial perspective of trauma on the grounds that it is pathologizing in several ways. We introduce a holistic trauma framework for understanding and responding to trauma within a racialized context. First, our framework seeks to draw on multiple forms of knowledge and experience to gain a deeper sense of trauma, suffering, and healing. Second, it uses an organic approach to promote relationships and support healing. Third, our framework explores multiple timepoints by introducing proactive, interactive, and reactive approaches for addressing trauma more comprehensively. We hope our framework will enhance the field of trauma research, which is, at present, overpopulated by White-dominant, colonial perspectives that mask systemic racial inequities.