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Digital Seminar

Trauma as Power Inequity: Collaborative Care in Women’s Mental Health


Faculty:
Arielle Schwartz, PhD, CCTP-II, E-RYT, EMDR-C
Duration:
1 Hour
Copyright:
30 Apr, 2026
Product Code:
POS150779
Media Type:
Digital Seminar
Access:
Never expires.

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Description

Judith Herman coined the term complex post-traumatic stress disorder for prolonged or repeated abuse and her tri-phasic model of trauma recovery became the roadmap for recovery. Her groundbreaking books, Trauma and Recovery and Truth and Repair, redefined trauma as not just a personal wound but a social and political with the later offering a fourth stage of recovery – Justice.

In this session, Dr. Arielle Schwartz, author of The Complex PTSD Workbook and The Complex PTSD Treatment Manual, draws upon Dr. Herman’s legacy in the treatment of women trauma survivors.

You’ll learn:

  • Why trauma is often rooted in misuse of power and control, often linked to patriarchy and racism
  • How a collaborative approach in women’s trauma recovery reduces power differentials and the patriarchal influence in mental health care delivery
  • Why healing needs to move beyond the treatment room, away from an overfocus on punishment in legal systems, and towards restorative justice.

CPD

Faculty

Arielle Schwartz, PhD, CCTP-II, E-RYT, EMDR-C's Profile

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Arielle Schwartz, PhD, CCTP-II, E-RYT, EMDR-C, is a licensed clinical psychologist, certified complex trauma professional, EMDR Consultant, and Kripalu yoga teacher. She is an internationally sought-out speaker, leading voice in the field of trauma recovery, and the author of eight books including The Complex PTSD Workbook, EMDR Therapy and Somatic Psychology, The Post-Traumatic Growth Guidebook, and Applied Polyvagal Theory in Yoga.

As the founder of the Center for Resilience Informed Therapy, her work is rooted in the positive psychology movement, which is focused on enhancing resources and fostering growth. She offers an integrative, mind-body approach to therapy that includes relational therapy, somatic psychology, EMDR therapy, parts work therapy, and therapeutic yoga for trauma. Praised by Dr. Stephen Porges, Arielle specializes in applying his polyvagal theory, which focuses on addressing imbalances within the autonomic nervous system that underlie most mental and physical health conditions. Her work can be found at the Shift Network, Sounds True, Psychotherapy Networker, Embody Lab, Art of Living, Omega Institute, and more.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Arielle Schwartz maintains a private practice, has an employment relationship with Integrative Psychiatry Institute and receives compensation as a yoga instructor. She receives royalties as a published author and receives compensation as an international presenter and a yoga instructor. Dr. Schwartz is a paid consultant for Evergreen Certifications. She receives speaking honorarium, recording, and book royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Arielle Schwartz is a member of the American Psychological Association and the Yoga Alliance.


Additional Info

Access for Self-Study (Non-Interactive)

Access never expires for this product.


Objectives

  1. Analyze how trauma can be understood as a function of power inequities, including the roles of gender, culture, and systemic oppression in shaping trauma responses.
  2. Apply Judith Herman’s staged model of trauma recovery, including contemporary extensions emphasizing justice and repair, to clinical work with women trauma survivors.
  3. Evaluate collaborative, survivor-centered care approaches that reduce power differentials and support agency, meaning-making, and relational healing within and beyond the therapy setting.

Outline

Reframing Trauma: From Individual Pathology to Power Inequity 

  • Trauma as misuse of power (gender, race, systemic forces)  
  • Judith Herman’s framework: CPTSD + sociopolitical context  

Foundations of Recovery: Herman’s Model + Expansion 

  • Three-stage model: safety, remembrance, reconnection  
  • Expansion toward justice and repair (Truth and Repair)  

Collaborative Care as Clinical Intervention 

  • Reducing power differentials in therapy  
  • Moving from expert-driven → relational, shared authority  
  • Centering survivor voice and agency  

Clinical Implications for Women’s Trauma Treatment 

  • Recognizing gendered and cultural trauma patterns  
  • Avoiding pathologizing adaptive survival responses  
  • Integrating relational, somatic, and contextual approaches  

Beyond the Therapy Room: Justice-Oriented Healing 

  • Risks, limitations and scope of practice 
  • Limits of punishment-based systems  
  • Supporting clients in meaning-making, advocacy, and repair 

Target Audience

  • Counsellors
  • Social Workers
  • Psychologists
  • Psychiatrists
  • Marriage and Family Therapists
  • Addiction Counsellors
  • Other Mental Health Providers

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