A colleague from Northern California recently visited Sonoma County to learn more about our work to address behavioral health and track community well-being. We shared much of our work to mobilize action for resilient communities, and some of Upstream Investment's tools to track impact on community health. I hope hearing some of our journey made her out of state visit worthwhile!
What I gained through the site visit was profound...
After hearing about our work to build resiliency, address adversity and support trauma responsive organizations or self healing communities, my colleague asked casually, "Have you ever heard of Healing Centered Engagement?"
Soon, she emailed me a recent paper by Dr. Shawn Ginwright, Associate Professor of Education and African American Studies at San Francisco State University. "The Future of Healing: Shifting From Trauma Informed Care to Healing Centered Engagement." Prepare for a radical shift in thinking that is sure to resonate with those of us in the trenches of healing work!
Here follows a brief outline of his inspiring paper. Click here to read more:
The Promise of Healing Centered Engagement
- Healing centered engagement is explicitly political, rather than clinical.
- Healing centered engagement is culturally grounded and views healing as the restoration of identity.
- Healing centered engagement is asset driven and focuses well-being we want, rather than symptoms we want to suppress.
- Healing centered engagement supports adult providers with their own healing.
A Note for Practice and Policy
- Start by building empathy
- Encourage young people to dream and imagine!
- Build critical reflection and take loving action.
I am very moved by this model and plan to pursue exactly this type of work and research in my new role as doctor of justice studies student at Arizona State University!
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