Activism and Mental Health: Why Is Activism Important
Activism as a Healing Path for Trauma Survivors. Activism is a powerful avenue for mental health and trauma healing and transformation, particularly for trauma survivors seeking to channel their experiences into positive change. It is crucial for survivors to approach activism and mental health with self-compassion, awareness, and a deep understanding of their triggers.
Evidence-based trauma treatment: How Radical Acceptance works
In Dialectical Behavior Therapy, radical acceptance shows up as a concrete coping skill, a way of dealing with intensely distressing situations. In DBT, we acknowledge that there are moments when we can be in high distress about something that we cannot change. A skill for radical acceptance can be around accepting the truth, moving out of this distress and angst around forcing something that will not change. When we finally accept the situation, the distress tends to fall into grief, the sadness we may have been trying to avoid. The opposition to change, or acceptance, was really about preventing the grief. This realization can often bring our distress down, and we learn how to cope. Acceptance and change are in a dynamic yet creative relationship with each other. By accepting the relationship is over and the change I was hoping for is not possible, I can now move to make changes that are in my power. It stops me from going to a place of intense shame or sadness where I can now find peace and comfort.
Therapy, Trauma, and Our Therapist Friends - Interview with Kelsey Harper, Psy.D.
Dr. KELSEY HARPER, Psy.D., is a practicing psychologist, writer, podcaster, and sexual assault survivor with a background in community work and activism. Her unique path to psychology, profound lived experiences, and inherent creativity have given her a vast perspective and razor-sharp discernment when it comes to treating her clients.
