Abstract
In this three-hour workshop, Dr. Gómez will center U.S. Black women as relates to their lifetime histories of sexual abuse. In the first half of the workshop, she will provide a basic primer on structural racism (Neblett, 2022) and intersectional oppression (e.g., interlocking racism and sexism; Collins, 2017) that impact Black women. She then will detail her research with cultural betrayal trauma theory (CBTT; e.g., Giroux et al., 2023), which she created as a Black feminist scientific framework for examining the unique cultural betrayal harm of within-group violence in marginalized communities, including specifically Black male perpetrated sexual abuse against Black women. According to CBTT, (intra)cultural trust, such as solidarity in the Black community, is a protective factor against racism and intersectional oppression. As a violation of (intra)cultural trust, within-group violence is a cultural betrayal trauma. Research has shown that cultural betrayal trauma is associated with mental health outcomes, such as dissociation, and cultural outcomes, such as internalized prejudice (Howard Valdivia et al., 2023). Building on this foundation, Dr. Gómez will then discuss relational cultural therapy (RCT; Jordan, 2017), an evidence-informed therapeutic approach that centers both the therapeutic relationship and the client’s context in healing. She will close this first half of the workshop by applying the tenets of RCT to a Black woman survivor of cultural betrayal trauma, Nikiya (pseudonym). The second half of the workshop will focus specifically on systems-level harm and avenues for change. First, she will introduce the liberation health framework from Belkin and Martinez as a model for incorporating cultural competency into therapy: 1) connecting clients’ mental health with their social conditions, such as oppression and trauma; 2) focusing solutions on both individual and societal levels; 3) centralizing the client’s worldview and understanding of their life into treatment; 4) promoting critical consciousness and agency within clients, while focusing on the impact of oppression in their lives; and 5) engaging in collaboration with clients in all facets of treatment. Given the role of institutions in both harm and healing, Dr. Gómez will shift to focusing on institutional change. From her book, The Cultural Betrayal of Black Women & Girls: A Black Feminist Approach to Healing from Sexual Abuse, she will share an excerpt of a U.S. White woman doctor’s sexual violence and negligence against Nikiya (pseudonym), a Black women patient and survivor of cultural betrayal trauma. Within this example, she will identify the institutional betrayals, institutional courage steps to remedy the harm, and dreamstorming of a world in which all doctor’s visits could be culturally competent and trauma-informed. Finally, Dr. Gómez will close by discussing the necessity of hope amidst belonging to institutions and societies that remain violent and unequal.  

Video: Introduction to the Liberation Health Model- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fn5EnbeBIK0&t=246s 

Potential to Distress: Yes

Timed Outline
20 Minutes - Racism, Intersectional Oppression
20 Minutes - Cultural Betrayal Trauma Theory
30 Minutes - Relational Cultural Therapy
20 Minutes - Discussion
30 Minutes - Break
20 Minutes - Liberation Health Model
30 Minutes - Institutional Courage
10 Minutes - Conclusion
30 Minutes - Discussion