Episode 11: What Can Trauma Teach Us? With David Wang, PhD

Is trauma everywhere now, or are most of us underselling what happened to us? Dr. Gabe Lowe sits down with Dr. David Wang, the Cliff and Joyce Penner Chair for the Formation of Emotionally Healthy Leaders at Fuller Seminary, a Senior Research Fellow at the Nagel Institute for the Study of World Christianity at Calvin University, and an Affiliate Scholar at the Dallas Willard Research Center. Dave taught Gabe's trauma class in grad school and is now a friend, mentor and colleague. They talk about why trauma is so hard to name, what changes when the harm comes from someone you were supposed to trust, why the culture gap in immigrant families is often a trauma gap, the vows we make after we get hurt, why healing moves at the speed of life, and what real post-traumatic growth sounds like. Content note: this conversation touches on PTSD, betrayal and relational trauma, child trafficking and genocide. Nothing is described in detail. Please take care while listening. Show notes: https://coastaltherapygroup.com/podca... Chapters: 00:00 Intro: Gabriel on trauma, and why he invited his old professor 01:35 Welcome, Dave Wang 02:03 How Dave came to trauma work (the Houston VA and a grandfather's PTSD) 03:57 Combat trauma and the origins of PTSD 06:05 Why is trauma so hard to name? Minimizing vs. "everything is trauma" 09:49 Shame, blame, and "whose fault is it?" 12:53 Responsibility, acting out, and doing the repair work 14:36 Relational and betrayal trauma 17:38 When trauma breaks your worldview: body, brain, and spirit 20:13 Generational trauma: the culture gap is a trauma gap 23:19 Collective trauma and the language we lack 25:45 Fear, anger, and staying out of despair 29:39 Transform it or transmit it 30:47 Stoicism, machismo, and admitting we've been hurt 33:37 Why healing can't be rushed 37:42 Post-traumatic growth without minimizing the pain 41:42 Bearing witness to growth: gratitude and "not entitled to anything" 44:58 Ambiguity tolerance: the freedom to not know 45:34 Is bearing witness enough? 48:25 Closing Resources mentioned: The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk: https://www.besselvanderkolk.com/reso... Richard Rohr, "Transforming Pain": https://cac.org/daily-meditations/tra... The Serenity Prayer, and the question of who wrote it: https://archives.yalealumnimagazine.c... Further reading on post-traumatic growth (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 2004): https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327965pli1... Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033kEbN... Where Did Your Mind Just Go? is an open invitation to wonder out loud, sit with the uncomfortable, and find beauty in uncertainty. New episodes every 1st and 3rd Wednesday. Hosted by Dr. Gabriel Lowe and produced by Coastal Therapy Group, a relational psychodynamic therapy practice in Carlsbad, Encinitas and Vista, California. https://coastaltherapygroup.com/ #Trauma #IntergenerationalTrauma #PostTraumaticGrowth #BetrayalTrauma #AsianAmericanMentalHealth #MentalHealthPodcast #Psychology #Therapy