Students of the Support Group for Ethnic and Racial Diversity (SERD)/Disaster Shakti of the Department of Clinical Psychology, Antioch University New England, held a trauma conference, entitled, Defining Trauma and Resilience on April 12th and 13th, 2018 at our campus in Keene, New Hampshire.
Presentations addressed trauma in its various forms, causes, and contexts: physical and sexual abuse, elder abuse, war, racism, GLBTQ+ marginalization, sexual harassment and assault, complex trauma, continuous trauma, social oppressions, refugee status, global sociopolitical events, and disasters. Authors were encouraged to address the intersectionality of these traumas (e.g., being an older adult, African American transgender veteran). Resilience resources for the prevention of and recovery from trauma were discussed.
The conference was free so that graduate students and early career professionals could attend and share their enthusiasm for their developing knowledge, practice skills, and self-reflexivity as practitioners and scholars.