Healing Women’s Intergenerational Trauma with Wellbriety

As our understanding and acceptance of new cultures and ideals begins to overwhelm old legacies of distrust and xenophobia, it becomes ever more important to understand the true nature of historical trauma, and to respect the everlasting devastation it can leave on a culture and its many peoples. Much like modern medicine has grown from a cure-all promise of health to a deeper understanding of the social complexities in being happy and healthy, of fighting addiction and disease—so must we understand the complexities of historical maltreatment of certain cultures and communities, and what persisting trauma it has left upon them. We must seek to overcome the tragedy of our former misunderstandings with realistic and complete comprehensions of the stigmas that persist within these groups, and the scars that remain upon them, slowing the healing process as these cultures seek to reestablish their vividness and influence in the global stage, as well as the health of their individual families.

It is for this reason that New Directions for Women has implemented Wellbriety into our healing curriculum. One of our foundational values is the many therapeutic benefit of Diversity. Knowing that women with addiction come from many backgrounds, we choose to provide therapeutic services that are inclusive to women from various cultures, and that expose our women and children to new ways of thinking and experiencing, with openness of heart and mind, the beauty of the world around them. Our staff members Paulette Cullen and Victoria Herbert are currently in the process of getting trained in Wellbriety and we are looking to the future to becoming a certified Wellbriety site.

It is beyond words to express the difficulties faced by Native American women, from intergenerational trauma, which in turn may manifest itself into a dependency or addiction. It is for these reasons that, for the past four years, we have proudly been providing a Wellbriety group on campus facilitated by Sparrow Goudey. Our hope and goal is that these services help women and their families recover from unresolved grief and losses created by the legacy of Historical and Intergenerational Trauma.