Marginalized Voices, Racial Trauma, and the Psychedelic Healing Movement

By April 24, 2018 No Comments
When:
May 4, 2018 @ 7:30 pm
2018-05-04T19:30:00-07:00
2018-05-04T19:45:00-07:00
Where:
California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS)
1453 Mission St
San Francisco, CA 94103
USA
Cost:
$15

Trauma is caused by feeling profoundly unsafe physically, emotionally, or spiritually and is often the root of mental illness. Despite the misperception that PTSD is most commonly caused by a single event, for many people, simply existing in a society that marginalizes their identities is inherently and perpetually traumatic. Oppression, poverty, and discrimination can all contribute to traumatic experience at both individual and collective levels. These ongoing traumatic experiences enhanced and compounded for people who exist at the intersection of multiple marginalized identities are often under-diagnosed and thus under-treated. There is a vast potential for psychedelics to help heal trauma and move people toward wholeness. But how does that healing potential stand up to systemic oppression? Dr. Monnica Williams will discuss the traumatizing impact of life in the United States on people of color and the work being done at the MAPS-sponsored MDMA-assisted psychotherapy research program UConn site, which is focused on the traumas of people of color. This presentation will explore if and how psychedelics can contribute to the healing trauma that stems from racism and contribute to a more just society.