Hello From Jennifer Freyd
Dear Friends of Courage,
I am excited to welcome you to the first issue of The Courage Brief. In each issue, we will spotlight a compelling topic that aligns with the mission of the Center for Institutional Courage:
Research: To produce groundbreaking science about institutional courage
Outreach: To share what we learn on a global scale (the size of our aspirations!)
In this inaugural issue, our spotlight is on Board member and Research Committee chair Professor Jennifer M. Gómez. Professor Gómez is one of my personal heroes due to her brilliant scholarship, her profound compassion, and especially her inspiring courage. For just one example: as a graduate student, Dr. Gomez bravely first-authored a 2014 op-ed decrying the institutional betrayal of police brutality against Black Americans, and calling for institutional courage to repair it.
Thank you for being on this journey with us, and I hope you enjoy this first issue.
Jennifer Freyd
Founder and President, Center for Institutional Courage
June 2020
Spotlight: Dr. Jennifer M. Gómez
Q: Someone asks you in passing, “What is it you do, exactly?”
A: I am a trauma psychologist and a researcher. In essence, I study the impact of inequality and violence on marginalized youth, young adults, and elders. I investigate the ways in which oppression complicates the hurt that people feel. Through my work, I hope to provide a needed mirror of pain, strength, and healing to some of our country’s most silenced people.
Q: How did you begin this work?
A: I am fortunate to have studied with Dr. Jennifer Freyd, the founder of Courage. My work builds on her theory of betrayal trauma, which teaches us that the harm of trauma is even worse when it involves a betrayal by someone you depend on. That gave me a springboard to coin and develop Cultural Betrayal Trauma Theory (CBTT).
Q: What’s that?
A: CBTT is a theory that produces insights about “within-group” trauma among marginalized people. Generally speaking, the reality of oppression can make it natural to crave “within-group” solidarity. You depend on it emotionally. So, what happens when a fellow group member traumatizes you? It can be uniquely harmful because it violates the “within-group” solidarity that might otherwise sustain you.
Cultural Betrayal Trauma Theory: How It Works
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Dr. Jennifer M. Gómez is on the Board of Directors of the Center for Institutional Courage. She is an Assistant Professor of Psychology and the Merrill Palmer Skillman Institute for Child & Family Development (MPSI) at Wayne State University.
In this Spotlight, our Executive Director, Dr. Lisa Schievelbein, chats with Dr. Gómez about her groundbreaking work and its link to Institutional Courage.
Q: What are you learning?
A: Here are a few themes:
| Key Questions | Emerging Answers | |
|---|---|---|
| Does cultural betrayal (e.g., both the perpetrator and victim are Black) affect negative outcomes, like depression and cutting? | Yes, on average, cultural betrayal is one of the reasons why victims suffer. | |
| What factors increase the power of cultural betrayal? | A feeling of closeness to one’s minority group can complicate PTSD symptoms that are related to cultural betrayal trauma. | |
| What is unique about “within-group” healing in the aftermath of cultural betrayal trauma? | Black people have many strengths, both as individuals and as groups, that can pave the way towards healing. |
Q: How does your work tie into the concept of institutional courage?
A: Fundamentally, my work demonstrates that oppression is harmful to mental health. Equity is the opposite of oppression -- and equity is at the very heart of institutional courage.
Q: How can institutions use your work to become more courageous?
A: Institutions can create policies and practices that promote equity. Institutions can define their stance on critical issues (such as sexual harassment) that have a disproportionate impact on their most vulnerable members. Without this clarity, institutions tend to work against their own best interest by relying on individuals bucking the system to do the right thing.
Want to learn more?
A portal to Dr. Gómez’s work: http://jmgomez.org/
Dr. Gómez: The unique harm of sexual abuse in the Black community
Courage in Action: May & June 2020
Courage Team Publications:
Sarah Harsey & Jennifer Freyd: Deny, attack, and reverse victim and offender (DARVO): What is the influence on perceived perpetrator and victim credibility?
Carly Smith & colleagues: COVID-19 has united patients and providers against institutional betrayal in health care: A battle to be heard, believed, and protected
Laurie Girand: When to approach HR in sexual misconduct cases and when to avoid them
In the News:
Jennifer Freyd’s DARVO concept:
Metro (UK): A guide to DARVO, the gaslighting response people give when they’re called out for bad behaviour
Los Angeles Times: Try not to roll your eyes at Matt Lauer's new arm tattoo (in one very strange week in May, similar articles appeared in CNN, US Weekly, Page Six, and more)
Quotes by Jennifer M. Gómez:
Jennifer Freyd’s fight for equal pay at the University of Oregon:
Podcasts:
Kate Clancy: The Courageous Scientists Podcast: Jennifer Freyd - personal and institutional courage
Kim Scott: Radically Candid Conversations: Kim Scott & Dr. A. Breeze Harper discuss anti-racism
Sample Social Threads: