Self Evident Presents: “Exploring Ancestral Grief” (by Grief, Collected)

About the episode:

America! The land of opportunity! And also, for so many, the ambiguous loss of immigration and uprooting a life and a history comes with a complex web of emotions.

In this episode of Grief, Collected by The Mash-Up Americans, hosts Amy S. Choi and Rebecca Lehrer speak with trauma therapist and educator Linda Thai — about ancestral grief, and how unmetabolized grief, particularly in "Mash-Up" families, is passed down through generations. We dive into how important understanding historical context is for grief and healing, and ask: What happens to a family structure if we don’t grieve?

Full episode transcript available on the Grief, Collected website.

Reading and Resources:

• “The Return to the Sacred Path: Reflections on the Development of Historical Trauma Healing” by Maria Yellow Horse Brave Heart (PhD and Associate Professor of Psychiatry/Director, Native American & Disparities Research Center for Rural & Community Behavioral Health
  President, The Takini Institute)

• Linda Thai is a trauma therapist and educator who specializes in brain and body based modalities for addressing complex developmental trauma. She is highly sought after for her trainings in trauma-informed care, compassion fatigue resilience, and vicarious trauma recovery skills for human services professionals. As an adjunct faculty member in the Social Work Department at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Linda's decolonized approach to education and engaging teaching style makes her well-loved with students. She assists internationally renowned psychiatrist and trauma expert, Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, with his private small group psychotherapy workshops aimed at healing attachment trauma. She has a Master of Social Work with an emphasis on the neurobiology of attachment and trauma.

• More about Linda Thai and her work here.

• More episodes, info, and resources at GriefCollected.com.

Credits:

• Grief, Collected is a production of The Mash-Up Americans

• Executive produced by Amy S. Choi and Rebecca Lehrer

• Senior editor and producer is Sara Pellegrini

• Development Producer is Dupe Oyebolu

• Production manager Shelby Sandlin

• Original music composed by The Brothers Tang

• Sound design support by Pedro Rafael Rosado

• Website design by Rebecca Parks Fernandez

• Grief, Collected was supported in part by a grant from The Pop Culture Collaborative