Healing History: Where History Meets Behavioral Health Equity for African Americans

Target audience and instructional level of this course: Intermediate

There is no known conflict of interest or commercial support related to this CE program.

TRAINING

Course Description

"Healing History" explores the intersection of history and behavioral health equity for African Americans, emphasizing the ongoing impact of historical trauma, loss, and inequities. It provides a self-study guide for professionals in the field, aiming to deepen understanding and foster healing within communities.
African American history demonstrates remarkable resilience, wisdom, strength, and courage despite centuries of oppression. The community's gifts include the African American Spiritual and a fierce will for freedom and justice. Understanding and honoring these strengths are crucial for behavioral health equity and healing historical trauma.
In exploring the achievements of contemporary African Americans, colors and cultures intersect, highlighting resilience, wisdom, strength, courage, spirituality, and the pursuit of freedom and justice. Through historical insights and behavioral health focus, this guide underscores the transformative power of embracing and addressing systemic disparities with courage, empathy, and hope.

Learning Objectives

After completing this training the professional will be able to:

1. Define historical trauma and its impact on African American communities as distinguished form individual trauma:
2. Identify the various ways historical trauma manifests in African American individuals, families, and communities, including its effects on physical, psychological, and social well-being.
3. Summarize strategies for addressing trauma and promoting healing within African American communities:
4. Describe opportunities for addressing loss, including facilitating effective and culturally relevant grieving and building new dreams after losses have been witnessed, honored, and laid to rest.
5. Summarize strategies for recognizing and addressing historical and intergenerational losses in individuals, including understanding the role of grief and approaches to supporting individuals in processing these losses with humility, compassion, and respect.
6. Summarize the protective factors contributing to resilience among African American individuals, families, communities, and cultures.
7. Describe the implications of historical experiences, such as chronic suffering and oppression, on the development of resilience, wisdom, strength, and courage among African Americans.

Author(s)/Reference(s)

Developer/Presenter: Pamela Woll, MA, CPS, Senior Consultant, African American Behavioral Health Center of Excellence