Social Justice Summit 2023: Big Conversations - Race, Trauma, Collective Healing (Trauma Research Foundation)

Please join Trauma Research Foundation in welcoming this year’s speakers to the 3rd Annual Social Justice Summit. Today we’re excited to announce that Bridget McCarthy and Eugene Ellis will share their decades of experience calling in people to share in social justice work.

Bridget McCarthy works at the intersection of mental health and the arts. Her primary role is that of mental health coordinator for theater, TV, and film, working alongside organizations and producers of all sizes to bring trauma aware, resilience focused tools into their most challenging conversations. Her session "How Understanding Safety is Key To Collective Healing" will guide us in conversation around how to tune into what’s happening in our bodies and how to tune into them while having big conversations.

"First, we need to understand how our bodies respond to cues of danger and safety. I have been hired by universities, film studios, regional theaters, and nonprofits to help facilitate challenging conversations. In every spaces, this sentence is where I start. As a trauma informed artist, educator, and facilitator, I wholeheartedly believe that understanding how our bodies react to cues of danger and safety is the key to tough conversations and collective healing." – Bridget McCarthy

Eugene Ellis is a writer, psychotherapist and public speaker on issues of race, difference and intersectionality. He is an Honorary Fellow of the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy. For many years, Eugene has worked with severely traumatised children and their families in the field of adoption and has a particular interest in body-orientated therapies and facilitating the healing of trauma.

"What racial differences impose on our minds and bodies as individuals and collectively is demanding and complex. The challenge is often simply to remain coherent in our thinking, and often there is a feeling of being under-resourced to stay with the process. I want to explore what happens in our minds and more importantly in our bodies in the midst of the race conversation and explore how a mindful and collective approach to our physiological responses might support us in staying at the contact boundary of our experience – and support us to find our voice." - Eugene Ellis

You’re invited to take part in co-creating this year’s Summit; please share your recommendations and thoughts by completing this form .