Healing processes for historical trauma in Latinx communities

This study examined the healing strategies that community healers have developed in response to historical trauma in Latinx communities and the accompanying successes or struggles. The researcher conducted semi-structured interviews with 8 participants in Austin, Texas from a constructivist grounded theory approach that also operated from an intersectional feminist and participatory action framework. The researcher prioritized recruiting a sample of Latinx healers that were racially diverse in addition to representing a wide range of fields such as social work, community organizing, birth work, cultural centers, and other fields. All the participants identified personal experiences of historical trauma across their backgrounds. The researcher found that these community healers drew from their own healing journeys to develop the “most effective strategies” against historical trauma. In addition, the researcher found that the participants identified community healing as occurring through connection, as creating alternative pathways outside of hegemonic institutions, and as gaining a greater understanding of self and community. A core theory emerged of healing as a cyclical process that occurs through multi-level connection and in reciprocity between the individual and their communities. The researcher aims to add greater nuance to conversations about whole being health in the field of social work, which for the most part systematically fails to recognize historical trauma as an issue affecting any communities. The study contributes to the growing body of research on the diverse Latinx communities experiencing historical trauma. The researcher also hopes to contribute to the multi-disciplinary conversations that focus on healing interventions from historical traumaLatin American StudiesSocial Wor