Diversity Project in the US

Urban Trauma Project – This project is focused on psychologically addressing the legacy of racism and discrimination. Additional projects will include diversity training programs to address racism, bias, and strengthen interethnic relations in a community.  Since the Urban Trauma project already exists and is underway, it will be a solid initiative for the Center to take up in order to continue to develop and expand the project.

Urban Trauma is the psychological study of historical, biological, and environmental legacy of racism in urban centers. According to Dr. Akbar in her seminal and groundbreaking book, systemic trauma in our urban centers is a result of continuing poverty, overcrowded housing, poor physical and mental health, despair, violence, crime, and drug abuse all resulting from centuries of systemic racism. Understanding the complex experience of the African diaspora requires consideration of the impact of urban trauma on their health and mental health outcomes. Accepting the existence of this trauma passed on inter-generationally, gives communities of color a chance to heal and break this vicious cycle.

Dr Akbar’s clinical work in her integrated wellness clinic, focuses on developing innovative psychotherapeutic strategies for healing urban trauma by drawing from her own work and background in multicultural and clinical child and adolescent psychology.

The funding for the Center’s Diversity project will give Dr Akbar a chance to expand the Urban Trauma model and continue this essential healing work from the clinic into the wider community, helping to heal and build communities that have been fractured by the legacy of racism and institutional discrimination.  Some projected ways in which to expand this crucial work is to first identify communities affected by urban trauma, and next run urban trauma healing groups and programs. This would require capacity building of community leaders and members, educators and social workers, in the strategies developed to start the recovery process to heal urban trauma.  It would help cover the costs of training and implementation in order to more widely disseminate this approach.

In order to effectuate systemic change to promote healing and resiliency, those aforementioned community stakeholders above will need cultivation, organization, and training at multiple levels of staffing.  This will be a strategic process of convening large and small groups ranging from executives to direct service providers. These efforts will ensure the grass roots work is being done in alignment with the Urban Trauma philosophy.  Training of the theory and principles along with the practical training of how the work is done with individuals is the foundation of the program’s efforts and all levels of practice need to be fluent in order for model fidelity and project sustainability.  This model based on the urban trauma approach can eventually be scaled up globally and applied to other cultural settings in culturally relevant ways.