Understanding and treating complex racial trauma

Description

*This session will be live interpreted French to English.

Racial trauma refers to the dangerous experiences of threats, prejudice, prejudice, shame, humiliation and guilt associated with various types of racial discrimination, whether for direct victims or witnesses. Identifying the impact of racial trauma requires a life-course approach that captures the complex nature of individual, collective, historical and intergenerational experiences of racism experienced by racialized and Indigenous Peoples in Western societies. Studies conducted over the last few decades have shown that racial trauma and race-related stress have a significant impact on the mental and physical health of racialized people (anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress, depression, psychological distress, sleep disorders, alcohol and drug use, cardiovascular disease, cortisol dysregulation, obesity, hypertension, diabetes, etc.).

In this presentation, Dr. Cénat will first present the latest data collected on the prevalence and factors associated with different forms of racial discrimination in different contexts and services in Canada (for example, health, education, racial profiling and police violence). It will then present the evidence related to the new theory of complex racial trauma, as well as elements relating to its assessment and treatment.

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  Jude Mary Cénat, Ph.D., M.Sc., C.Psych., is an Associate Professor in the School of Psychology, the Director of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Black Health and of the Vulnerability, Trauma, Resilience & Culture Research Laboratory (V-TRaC Lab) at the University of Ottawa. Dr. Cénat also holds the University of Ottawa Research Chair on Black health. His research program explores factors associated with vulnerability, trauma, and resilience, with a particular interest in the role of cultural factors; racial disparities in health and social services; and global mental health (including sexual violence and intimate partner violence in the Caribbean and mental health consequences of infectious diseases in Africa). He conducts research in North America, Europe, Africa, and the Caribbean. He leads a major project on the mental health of Black communities in Canada that documented for the first-time prevalence and factors related to depression, anxiety, PTSD, psychosomatic symptoms, substance use, and other mental health issues among Black individuals in Canada. With his team, he also developed online trainings (via the bilingual platform https://santementalpourtous.ca/ https://mentalhealthforveryone.ca) which aim to equip mental health professionals to provide culturally safe and antiracist care. Dr. Cénat is also a member of the College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists of the Royal Society of Canada.