Post-Slavery Syndrome: Exploring The Clinical Impact Of The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade

Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome and PTSD in the Black Community

People of African descent, post-slavery, would have most likely had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). From a clinical perspective Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome is similar to PTSD but arises from the multigenerational transmission of stress. As the race construct becomes the focus there can be a deeply embodied sense of danger and life threat, not just in the descendants of African victims but also in the descendants of the perpetrators and witnesses. What racial differences impose on our minds and bodies as individuals and collectively as a society is challenging and complex. Ellis explores what happens in our minds and also, importantly, in our bodies in the midst of the race conversation and explores how a mindful approach to our physiological responses might help support us to stay at the contact boundary of our clients and our own experience and thereby find our voice.