“I really think it is important for us to really address our internal biases, call it out for what it is and ask yourself at that point, do we care to actually be better or do we care to stay the same?” ~Giancarlo Simpson, MS

Transforming Trauma host Sarah Buino and guest Giancarlo A. Simpson, MS, reconnect in the wake of George Floyd’s death and the nationwide protests against racial violence and systemic oppression, providing real-time context to their previously-recorded conversation about NARM’s ability to address complex trauma and support post-traumatic growth in communities of color.

Giancarlo shares with listeners that now is the time to look inward, to be vulnerable, to listen to others, to address our internal biases, and to actively work to be anti-racist. In their discussion both Giancarlo and Sarah provide resources on Anti-Racist learning, which are available in this online guide.

Recounting stories from his work as a therapist, mentor, and teacher of teens and young adults, Giancarlo centers the discussion on the corrosive effects of complex trauma, specifically within the Black community.

“The system in itself needs to shift in order for people to feel comfortable about who they are as individuals, because right now what the system itself is telling people, communicating to people, is that you are not good enough, and that in itself is reinforcing a lot of thinking, a lot of behavior that occurs in these environments and communities, and makes it very hard for us to get out of that, because we don’t have enough individuals telling us otherwise, or showing us otherwise.” 

Giancarlo shares the ways he has begun using the NeuroAffective Relational Model, particularly in classrooms, to shift this implicit learning and the long-term effects of complex trauma, which includes the under-recognized impact of cultural, intergenerational, and racial trauma. 

Giancarlo reframes the current nationwide protests against racial violence and systemic oppression as protests against needs not being met for Black Americans. Communities are coming together to communicate about environmental changes needed in response to centuries of oppression and violence. Instead of using old stereotypes like “angry black man” and “angry black woman”, which shut down expression of authentic experience and make people feel bad for feeling, it is time for our culture to listen to and respect people’s experiences.

Giancarlo suggests that our culture needs to do better in understanding the root causes for why the anger is occurring, instead of just focusing on behaviors - the outbursts, outcries, protests, violence, etc.  All Americans need to listen to Black Americans, and not continue “minimizing the reasons why we feel the way we do, why we’re hurting, why we’re upset, what we’re lacking, the things we’re not receiving at the most basic human level.”  While this discussion can make some uncomfortable, it is essential for transforming trauma and leading to a more just, humane and healthy society for us all.

CONNECT WITH GIANCARLO A. SIMPSON:

CMC Therapy

 

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Right Of Passage Program

Lynn University

Family First Adolescent Services

Jane Elliot, PhD

White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard To Talk To White People About Racism - by Robin J.DiAngelo

Decolonizing Therapy for Black Folk (event)

Geonograms

Dr. Laurence Heller, PhD

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NARM Training Institute

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The NARM Training Institute provides tools for transforming complex trauma through: in-person and online trainings for mental health care professionals; in-person and online workshops on complex trauma and how it interplays with areas like addiction, parenting, and cultural trauma; an online self-paced learning program, the NARM Inner Circle; and other trauma-informed learning resources.  

For the full show notes including references, podcast episodes mentioned, and a quick glossary of terms, visit us at http://www.narmtraining.com/transformingtrauma

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