Culturally specific organizations are not replicas of mainstream organizations. We can’t care for culturally specific organizations using the same first healing aid kit or swapping a few supplies. Standardized kits often fail cultural or Black/Brown leaders.
Jorge Vidal
For this month’s blog, we want to take a moment to reflect on what we have learned about healing as we hold space in our trainings, coaching sessions, and support for organizations redefining their healing journeys. “Pause” is a fundamental approach in our work, allowing us to contextualize and deepen our understanding of healing within organizational settings. By pausing, we create the opportunity to integrate these insights and foster more meaningful growth and transformation.
3 recurring healing themes:
Voicing Our Pain:
Many front-line workers have identified experiencing grief, pain, exhaustion, and often powerlessness due to their roles as violence interrupters, mental health supporters, and outreach workers. For many of us, cultural leaders, especially Black and Brown individuals, we have not been taught to voice our pain, express it, or create moments to identify its presence. We often don’t pause to consider where the pain resides in our bodies or how to articulate it, as it has never felt safe to do so. When we are constantly in survival mode, taking a moment to breathe is a privilege that not all can afford.
Preparing the Soil:
Many organizations want to dive into healing immediately, seeking the best techniques for staff to breathe, engage in mindfulness, or explore somatic therapies. While this healing commitment is commendable, especially when driven by leadership, it’s crucial to recognize that we cannot effectively implement healing strategies while staff are still in a trauma response or bonded by past or current systemic trauma.
Before jumping into healing, it is essential for staff to gain trust in those leading the healing process and the system itself. Staff may wonder, “Is this another checklist activity?” or question the timing of the healing strategy. Therefore, the first step is to let staff voice their pain, provide space for collective support and processing, and practice pausing. Consistency is key here.
Begin by consistently processing pain, allowing staff to express what is needed and what isn’t working before introducing other practices. Building the right foundation is crucial. One effective technique is exploring your organization’s healing story. .
Redefining Healing:
I advocate for a broader definition of healing that includes trust building, exploration of our organizational story, system change, coaching, analysis of power dynamics and sharing, equity, gender, and justice. Traditionally, healing has been viewed primarily through the lens of wellness, but without these components, it cannot be sustainable. By expanding this definition, we acknowledge that the seed of healing must be planted in fertile soil to sprout and mature effectively.
A broader perspective also allows us to view healing as a continuous process. For instance, if staff members feel angry, overwhelmed, or hopeless, our initial goal should be to guide them toward a more positive outlook to initiate healing. Rather than viewing healing as a singular issue, I propose adopting a healing pathway framework. This framework enables the development of individualized roadmaps because we recognize that there is no one-size-fits-all solution—each culture and individual is unique.
After many years as a Cultural Leader within organizations, where I have sometimes felt constrained, I now find joy and empowerment in #Voicing and #Framing my ideas. Therefore, the offerings above are meant to be tested, discussed, and deconstructed.
What Does Healing Mean to You?
I would love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below.
