278 - Judith Herman - Activism is the Antidote to Despair

In the words of my esteemed co-host, Anne Remy, “There’s a difference between an elder and a person who is older than you.” Judith Lewis Herman, MD, is wise––a psychiatrist, professor, researcher, author, and advocate who helped establish the diagnosis of PTSD back before many of us were born. In addition to her work with veterans and children, Judith fundamentally altered the discourse around women’s traumatic experiences and pioneered subsequent treatments for victims of abuse. How’s that for street-cred sagacity!?

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that this is Anne Remy’s final episode as co-host. Don’t worry, it’s all for good! You can find out more by tuning in. I couldn’t think of a more fitting interview than this to close out Anne’s incredible tenure. It’s been my pleasure and privilege to share this virtual space with her.

GUEST BIO

Judith Lewis Herman, MD, is a part-time senior lecturer in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. For 30 years until she retired, she was director of training at the Victims of Violence Program at the Cambridge Hospital in Cambridge, MA. She's the author of award-winning books, Father-Daughter Incest and Trauma And Recovery. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1984 and the 1996 Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies like that's life goals. In 2007, she was named a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. Her new book, Truth And Repair: How Trauma Survivors Envision Justice was published in March 2023.

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