Understanding Racial Trauma: What It Is and How We Heal in Therapy

By a Alexa Peters

Racial trauma is real, and it affects the mind, body, and relationships in profound ways. Many people carry wounds from racism—some from a single humiliating encounter, others from daily microaggressions, community violence, or legacies of historical oppression. And unlike many other traumas, racial trauma doesn’t happen once. It can be ongoing, repeated, and socially reinforced.

As a therapist who has not only personally experienced racial injustice, my goal is to create a space where racial trauma is named, honored, and tended to with care through a culturally aware lens.

What Is RACIAL TRAUMA

Racial trauma is the emotional and physiological response to experiences of racism—whether direct, indirect, or historical. It can emerge from:

• Overt discrimination or threats

• Microaggressions and subtle shaming

• Vicarious trauma from media or community stories

• Intergenerational wounds passed down through families

• Structural inequities in schools, healthcare, justice systems, and workplaces

Research shows that racial trauma can shape identity, self-worth, relationships, and physical health. It can even mirror PTSD symptoms—intrusive memories, hypervigilance, avoidance—but it’s unique because it is ongoing and embedded in cultural systems, not just isolated events.

How Racial Trauma Shows Up

Clients often come to therapy describing:

• Difficulty concentrating, chronic stress, or irritability

• Feelings of shame, invisibility, or self-doubt

• Emotional numbness or loss of interest

• Anxiety around police or authority figures

• Fear of being stereotyped

• Sleep issues, flashbacks, or nightmares

• Tension in the body or a sense of being “on guard”

Some people blame themselves or minimize their experiences, especially when past attempts to talk about racism were dismissed. Others carry intergenerational messages of silence—“don’t talk about family business”—or feel guilt for not coping “better.”

In therapy, we make room for all of this.

What We Do in Therapy

1. We Build Safety and Trust

Many people have worked with therapists who did not acknowledge race at all. So the first step in our work is creating a space where your lived experience is not only allowed—it's central.We explore your comfort level, your cultural background, and the messages you learned growing up about race, identity, and survival.

2. We Name the Wound

Racial trauma is often unnamed. Clients may say, “I’m stressed,” or “I’m angry,” but feel unsure if racism “counts” as trauma.

I am here to say that it does.

Together we explore your racial identity, early memories of being racialized, and the emotional impact of discriminatory experiences. Understanding these patterns helps restore clarity and reduces self-blame.

3. We Work With the Body

Racial trauma lives in the nervous system. Hypervigilance, tension, and shutdown responses are not signs of weakness—they are adaptations. We may use grounding, breathwork, body awareness, and culturally rooted practices to help your body settle and strengthen your sense of safety.

4. We Explore Coping Styles

Some people cope actively—speaking up, seeking support, advocating. Others cope passively—staying silent to avoid backlash or further harm. Neither approach is “wrong”; each has a purpose.

In therapy, we explore which strategies help you thrive and which ones drain you. We also unpack internalized messages like “I have to work twice as hard” or “I shouldn’t make a fuss,” realizing where they came from and whether they still serve you today.

5. We Integrate Racial Socialization

For many clients—especially Black and Indigenous youth—racial socialization is protective. This includes learning:

• Cultural pride

• Historical truths

• How to recognize and respond to discrimination

• How to stay grounded in identity despite oppressive systems

We might use role-plays (e.g., what to do if profiled), conversations about heritage, or discussions about community strengths.

6. We Use Storytelling and Community Healing

Racial trauma is not only individual; it is collective. Healing often involves:

• Sharing personal stories

• Witnessing others’ stories

• Connecting with cultural practices—drumming, spiritual rituals, song, movement

• Building community support

• Participating in advocacy or justice-oriented action

Your story matters, and when spoken in safe, supported environments, it becomes a source of power—not pain.

7. We Address Intergenerational Trauma

Many clients carry inherited beliefs shaped by colonization, slavery, displacement, genocide, or systemic exclusion. We may explore family narratives, patterns of silence, and historical context.

Healing often involves reclaiming culture, breaking cycles of shame, honoring ancestors, and creating new pathways of resilience.

Healing Is Possible

Racial trauma is not a personal flaw—it’s an injury inflicted by systems and sustained across generations. But healing is deeply possible. It requires acknowledging truth, reconnecting with identity, grounding in community, and learning new ways for the mind and body to feel safe again.

In therapy, you don’t have to minimize, explain, or prove your experience. You get to be witnessed. You get to reclaim your voice. You get to heal.

If you are navigating racial trauma, you deserve a therapist who understands the emotional, historical, and systemic layers at play. You deserve to feel whole.

And we can walk that path—together

The journey toward healing from racial trauma is not easy, but it is worth it. Each step taken is a step toward a brighter future. By embracing therapy and community support, individuals can transform their pain into strength. Together, we can create a world where healing is possible for everyone.