Treatment for interpersonal trauma and the effects of violence is most often framed from a biomedical perspective in the individualistic cultural context of mainstream US society. This approach has left most psychotherapists, treatment professionals and other helpers with a major blind spot. We are also psychosocial cultural beings. One of the central injuries from interpersonal violence is harm to our interpersonal skills and capacity to trust. Healing well from trauma requires special attention to rebuilding our interpersonal and relationship skills and capacity to trust. Informed by cross-cultural research in relational cultures, we can enhance our understanding of both the harm done and the healing approaches required to more effectively treat interpersonal trauma and the aftermath of violence. This workshop outlines a way of viewing trauma effects and healing through a relational lens and introduces a set of principles to inform effective, cross-cultural collaboration and supportive group consultation.

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Participants will be able to:

• Identify and compare the way that individualistic and relational cultural contexts shape our understanding of trauma effects and trauma healing. With special attention to the way that relational cultural schemas enhance trauma healing.

• Explain the way that cycles of trauma harm and healing framed with a relational emphasis enhance well being through supporting interpersonal skills and rebuilding trust.

• Describe the way that cross-cultural collaboration can strengthen learning and resilience through a process that combines complexity, challenge and support within well-defined limits.

• Become more alert to the way that power differences affect interpersonal relationships and require special attention to cross-cultural respect.

• Identify a set of 6 Principles for effective cross-cultural working and how they inform the process of supportive consultation and collaboration across significant differences of point of view.