Choosing Help Podcast: Professor Jennifer M. Gómez Discusses Cultural Betrayal Trauma and Healing
What happens when the people and communities meant to protect you are the source of harm? And what happens when the systems designed to help don’t feel safe to turn to?
These are the questions at the center of a recent Choosing Help podcast episode featuring Boston University School of Social Work Associate Professor Jennifer M. Gómez. Host Dr. Tracy Stecker invited Professor Gómez to discuss the Cultural Betrayal Trauma Theory (CBTT), which she first developed in 2012 to describe a distinct form of trauma that occurs when members of marginalized groups experience violence or abuse from within their own communities.
In the episode, Dr. Gómez explains how that harm carries an added layer of betrayal rooted in systemic inequality, and how it complicates everything that follows, including the pressure survivors often feel to stay silent and protect the group. She walks through the mental health consequences of cultural betrayal trauma and addresses why traditional help-seeking can be unsafe, before turning to what healing can actually look like outside of formal systems: writing, art, activism, and community.
“The road to healing starts with a nugget of a belief that healing is possible,” Dr. Gómez says, “and that it’s even possible for you.”
Listen to the full episode on YouTube
Learn more about Dr. Gómez and her work at BUSSW