The trauma-aware perspective presented in the award-winning documentary The Wisdom of Trauma reveals the invisible forces shaping San Antonio – and our own lives.

“We may not be responsible for the world that created our minds, but we can take responsibility for the mind with which we create the world.” - Dr. Gabor Mate

Trauma awareness (and the required work to heal) allows individuals to release guilt and prior labels that called their behavior "bad." Trauma-awareness allows individuals to rewrite their story and define their own identity for the future.

Trauma, caused by exposure to toxic stress, deeply impacts the human body. In fact, understanding the workings of trauma takes the focus off an individual and offers a more systematic and socially-just perspective, helping to better understand the systemic barriers to healthy-living. Becoming trauma-informed helps to create room to envision more equitable (and therefore healthier) lives for everyone in our community. At the center of the film, Dr. Gabor Mate offers a vision for a trauma-aware society in which parents, teachers, physicians, policy-makers, and legal personnel are not concerned with judging symptoms and creating diagnoses, but seek to understand the sources of troubling behaviors in our wounded human souls. The movie looks at trauma-aware practices in action, including the work of the Compassion Prison Project (current or formerly incarcerated people advocating for a more compassionate world), The Chrysalis Society (a Vancouver based women’s recovery center), and Downtown Streets Team (Bay Area homeless resource group).

Community Discussion following movie with small groups lead by:
Group Leader 1: Rev Anna Gordy, Platicas de Santa Sophia
Group Leader 2: Stacie Orsagh, Esther Vexler School of Yoga
Group Leader 3: Michelle Bowles, My Lotus Blossom Yoga Therapy
Group Leader 4: Ann Helmke, Compassion SA
Group Leader 5: Zet Baer, Celebration Circle
Group Leader 6: [Ellie Mental Health]
Online Leader: [Ellie Mental Health and Mark Hiebert, Celebration Circle]