Written by: Shalyn Isaacs / Communication Coaching /December 3, 2021 / 10 minutes read

Have you ever struggled to communicate your experiences with your mental health, trauma triggers, or simply your life story to others? In many ways there are benefits to feeling confident and able to share our life experiences with our mental health and trauma with others if we need support, accommodation, or someone to understand our story. However, the article entitled “Giving Voice to Silence: Empowerment and Disempowerment in the Developmental Shift from Trauma ‘Victim’ to ‘Survivor-Advocate’” by Delker, Salton and McLean (2019) helped me come to a greater understanding of the numerous complexities that individuals with marginalized identities and experiences face when it comes to publicly sharing stories of their trauma. 

In their article, Delker, Salton and McLean (2019) describe the ‘American Master Narrative’ that “…provide[s] important information about cultural values and expectations, offering a model for how individuals should story their own experiences. Therefore, they can guide how survivors tell their stories. But they can be constraining if one’s story does not fit the expected narrative arc.” 

After reading this article, I have an enhanced appreciation for diverse experiences with trauma recovery that do and do not conform to typical developmental progressions of ‘trauma victim to survivor-advocate.’ What would it be like if leaders also understood the struggles that trauma survivors in their workplace may experience with asking for support by sharing their mental health difficulties?

As Delker, Salton, and McLean (2019) describe, there are social and psychological benefits that can result from trauma survivors publicly sharing their experiences with healing and recovery. However, redemptive trauma stories are systemically less accessible and advantageous to individuals whose experiences with trauma do not conform to North American preferences for redemptive stories that highlight the ‘trauma victim to survivor-advocate’ trajectory. 

To illustrate, individuals with marginalized identities who face systemic oppression and discrimination on the basis of their race, gender and sexual identity, or socio-economic class often face additional obstacles to sharing their experiences with trauma and becoming social advocates when coping with on-going traumas that are part of their daily existence (Delker, Salton and McLean, 2019) For example, women of color who face socio-culturally constructed sanctions on what emotions are acceptable for them to express may face additional obstacles to publicly sharing their trauma stories that involve anger associated with injustices perpetuated by dominant groups. In addition, individuals with marginalized identities may also avoid sharing their experiences of trauma that took place within institutions that are intended to protect them and/or the wider public (law enforcement, schools, healthcare facilities, or religious spaces). These kinds of disclosures have the potential to lead to further harm, public silencing and disbelief, as well as fewer opportunities to engage in social activism (Delker, Salton and McLean, 2019) 

Through being able to critique the values inherent within the ‘American Master Narrative’, I have a deeper appreciation for the stories that demonstrate diverse recovery pathways, and for stories that may never get told. 

Having a more nuanced understanding of the various complexities and obstacles that individuals with marginalized identities face when it comes to sharing their trauma stories and engaging in public advocacy enables me to feel and communicate greater empathy for my clients. If my clients struggle with feelings of unworthiness, shame, or self-blame when their experiences with trauma recovery are not aligning with the ‘trauma victim to survivor-advocate’ model enforced by the ‘American Master Narrative,’ I am able to empathize with them on a deeper level because I have experienced similar feelings. In addition, I am able to provide some psychoeducation on the systemic reasons that my clients may struggle with these feelings. 

The insights that I have gained from Delker, Salton and McLean (2019) will help me encourage the development of feminist consciousness (Brown, 2004) among my clients in my work as a Psychotherapist grounded in the values and principles of Multicultural Feminist Therapy. To illustrate, I can raise awareness among my clients, particularly those with marginalized identities, that any shame they feel from having trauma stories that do not align with the ‘American Master Narrative’, is not a result of any personal deficiency, but rather the result of social, cultural, and systemic institutions that encourage public sharing of trauma stories which highlight North American values of individualism, hard-work, and that showcase healing as a developmentally linear path. 

REFERENCES

Brown, L. S. (2004). Feminist paradigms of trauma treatment. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 41(4), 464-471. doi:10.1037/0033-3204.41.4.464

Delker, B. C., Salton, R., & Mclean, K. C. (2019). Giving Voice to Silence: Empowerment and Disempowerment in the Developmental Shift from Trauma ‘Victim’ to ‘Survivor-Advocate’. Journal of Trauma & Dissocation, 21(2). doi:10.31234/osf.io/2wzsq

To work with Shalyn Isaacs as your psychotherapist (qualifying) at Well Said: Toronto Speech Therapy, schedule an initial consultation by clicking the link below or by calling (647) 795-5277.