Dr. Judith Lewis Herman | Understanding Complex PTSD

“For complex PTSD, you have to establish a relationship. And only after trust has been established can you do the trauma-focused work.”

This week, Thomas sits down with Dr. Judith Lewis Herman, an author and senior lecturer in psychiatry and Harvard Medical School, to explore her groundbreaking work on the psychology and social and cultural aspects of Complex PTSD, or CPTSD. Unlike the better-known diagnosis of PTSD, CPTSD arises from prolonged, repeated trauma that erodes one’s sense of self and ability to trust.

So, how should we approach healing and therapy for this uniquely challenging diagnosis?

Dr. Herman believes there is hope, and it comes from the healing power of relationships…a tough pill to swallow for those whose trauma arose from abusive or coercively controlling relationships. But therein lies the key to healing—a therapeutic bond where the patient’s experience is validated, their safety is paramount, and trust is carefully built up through mutuality.

But it’s not just therapy where healing can occur. Thomas and Dr. Herman discuss the importance of acknowledgment for people who’ve experienced ongoing trauma and how lifting shame from victims and survivors and transferring it to the perpetrators is an essential shift with powerful healing potential. They also explore social movements, like the women's and civil rights movements, that can lead to helpful reforms and the development of new support systems for trauma survivors.

✨ Click here to watch the video version of this episode on YouTube:

👉 https://youtu.be/HcTmrzBQ2GU

Video episodes are typically posted at 8am PT/ 11am ET

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✨ Judith Lewis Herman, M.D., is a Senior Lecturer in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and was Director of Training at the Victims of Violence Program at Cambridge Hospital. She is the author of multiple award-winning books, including Truth and Repair: How Trauma Survivors Envision Justice. She has received numerous awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies. In 2007, she was named Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association.

Order Judith's books here:

👉 https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/contributor/judith-lewis-herman-md

Thomas Hübl, PhD, is a renowned teacher, author, and international facilitator who works within the complexity of systems and cultural change, integrating the core insights of the great wisdom traditions and mysticism with the discoveries of science. Since the early 2000s, he has led large-scale events and courses on the healing of collective trauma. 

In addition to Attuned, he is the author of Healing Collective Trauma: A Process for Integrating Our Intergenerational and Cultural Wounds. He has served as an advisor and guest faculty for universities and organizations, as a coach for CEOs and organizational leaders, and is currently a visiting scholar at the Wyss Institute at Harvard University.

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