On-Demand
Treating Racial Trauma

Module 4: Healing of Racial Trauma

Monnica T. Williams, PhD, ABPP
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Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to:

  • Identify the psychological impact of internalized racism and its role in fostering self-blame, emotional distress, and eroded self-worth.

  • Explain the social construction of race and the systemic privileges associated with whiteness.

  • Utilize techniques such as cognitive restructuring, affirmations, and mindfulness to challenge racial myths and internalized stereotypes.

  • Demonstrate the ability to facilitate exposure and processing sessions to address unresolved racial traumas and reduce emotional distress.

  • Prepare clients to adopt assertive communication and identify allies as part of foundational strategies to combat racism.

Educational Goal

Introduce preparatory skill-building strategies for combating racism, such as assertive communication and seeking allies, creating a foundation for a new sense of agency and empowerment.

Description

This module focuses on addressing the harmful impact of internalized racism and deepening clients’ understanding of race, whiteness, and systemic privilege. Clients explore how repeated exposure to racial bias and discrimination fosters negative self-beliefs, self-blame, and emotional distress, which erode self-worth. Through psychoeducation, they uncover the social construction of race and how whiteness operates as a privileged norm, while also building a broader understanding of the systemic forces shaping their lived experiences. In this healing phase, therapists guide clients in processing unresolved experiences of racism, employing tools like cognitive restructuring, affirmations, and mindfulness to challenge internalized stereotypes and cultivate resilience. Exposure and processing sessions are used to reduce the emotional burden of past racial traumas, while affirmations—both micro and macro—are woven throughout to validate clients' identities and strengths. The module also introduces preparatory skill-building strategies for combating racism, such as assertive communication and seeking allies, creating a foundation for a new sense of agency and empowerment.

Presenters

Monnica T. Williams, PhD, ABPP
Dr. Monnica T. Williams is a board-certified Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Professor at the University of Ottawa, in the School of Psychology, where she is the Canada Research Chair in Mental Health Disparities. She is also the Clinical Director of the Behavioral Wellness Clinics in Connecticut and Ottawa, where she provides supervision and training to clinicians for empirically-supported treatments. Prior to her move to Canada, Dr. Williams was on the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania Medical School (2007-2011), the University of Louisville in Psychological and Brain Sciences (2011-2016), where she served as the Director of the Center for Mental Health Disparities, and the University of Connecticut (2016-2019), where she had appointments in both Psychological Science and Psychiatry. Dr. Williams' research focuses on BIPOC mental health, culture, and psychopathology, and she has published over 200 scientific articles on these topics. Current projects include the treatment of racial trauma, improving cultural competence in the delivery of mental health care services, and addressing structural racism. She gives diversity trainings nationally for academic programs, scientific conferences, and organizations. Through the Kentucky Psychological Association (KPA), Dr. Williams served as the diversity delegate to Washington DC for the American Psychological Association (APA) State Leadership Conference for two consecutive years. She has served as the African American SIG leader for Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT), and recently served as Chair of their Academic Training & Education Standards (ATES) Committee. She serves as an Associate Editor of Behavior Therapy and the Behavior Therapist. She also serves on the editorial board of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, Canadian Psychology, International Journal of Mental Health, the Journal of Obsessive Compulsive and Related Disorders, and the Cognitive Behavioural Therapist. She is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the International OCD Foundation, and co-founded their Diversity Council. Her work has been featured in all major US and Canadian media outlets, including NPR, CBS, CTV, CBC, Huffington Post, and the New York Times.