Historical Trauma, Social Work and Social Justice, Jennifer Elkins

HISTORICAL TRAUMA,SOCIAL WORK, AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

Jennifer Elkins, PhD Associate Professor and Coordinator of the MSW/JD Program

Historical trauma is understood to be the collective trauma exposure within and across generations, including interpersonal losses and unresolved grief. Recognizing and responding to the intergenerational transmission of trauma is integral to facilitating the process of healing, reconciliation and restoration associated with historical and ongoing systemic racism, oppression and social injustice experienced by Indigenous peoples, African Americans, Latinxs and other historically marginalized populations.

"It is imperative that the social work profession incorporate culturally responsive and trauma-informed strategies with(in) our classrooms, research and the populations we serve."

Over the past decade, there has been a groundswell of federal, state, and local efforts to translate research on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) into traumainformed practices across multiple systems. ACEs are associated with enduring neurobiological, physiological, relational, behavioral and emotional consequences over the life course. Increasingly, grassroots organizations such as California’s RYSE Center have been a leader in pushing an interdisciplinary field of professionals to incorporate the centrality of historical trauma, structural racism and white supremacy into our understanding of ACEs and trauma informed care. Building culturally responsive and trauma-informed healing systems requires a paradigm shift that uses what we know about trauma and its impact to do our work differently.

The social work profession is ideally poised to provide leadership in this area. It is imperative that the social work profession incorporate culturally responsive and trauma-informed strategies with(in) our classrooms, research and the populations we serve. This includes ensuring that our teaching, research and practice also emphasizes and nurtures a more culturally inclusive understanding of resilience and the culturally specific values, beliefs, traditions, practices and ways of knowing that may mitigate risk. 

Reference

Dhaliwal, K (2016, October 24). Racing ACEs gathering and reflection: If it’s not racially just, it’s not trauma informed. ACEs Connection. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/2dVDNS0.