1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,000 [Music] 2 00:00:19,393 --> 00:00:23,453 I grew up in Atlantic City, New Jersey, 3 00:00:23,453 --> 00:00:26,963 in a family with South Carolina roots. 4 00:00:27,234 --> 00:00:30,444 Here's a photo of my great Aunt Clara, 5 00:00:31,076 --> 00:00:35,206 great Uncle Henry, a neighborhood friend and me. 6 00:00:35,678 --> 00:00:39,908 I'm the one looking intently at the homemade biscuits. 7 00:00:43,442 --> 00:00:44,422 As a little girl, 8 00:00:44,422 --> 00:00:47,302 I remember Aunt Clara tucked me into bed 9 00:00:47,302 --> 00:00:53,242 and battled my childhood measles with hot cups of tea made from sassafras root, 10 00:00:53,715 --> 00:00:56,435 or gave me relief from common cold symptoms 11 00:00:56,435 --> 00:01:02,575 with a tablespoon mixture of whiskey and rum poured over rock candy and fresh lemon rind. 12 00:01:02,721 --> 00:01:10,111 As I grew older, stories with themes of hope and redemption with Bible scripture, 13 00:01:10,535 --> 00:01:13,135 humor, wisdom and care -- 14 00:01:13,512 --> 00:01:19,322 helped me make it through life's challenges whether they were measles or emotional struggles. 15 00:01:21,037 --> 00:01:24,487 I'm sure you remember similar stories from your own family. 16 00:01:24,487 --> 00:01:29,517 How do you think culture connects to healing and recovery? 17 00:01:29,994 --> 00:01:34,974 You may think they're unrelated and many health practitioners would agree. 18 00:01:36,489 --> 00:01:44,799 But a conventional medical model constructs healing as a blend of a health practitioner's expertise 19 00:01:44,799 --> 00:01:50,583 and a patient's role in connecting to a belief system 20 00:01:50,583 --> 00:01:55,203 that promotes good thoughts, feelings and behaviors. 21 00:01:56,337 --> 00:01:58,067 So let me say that again. 22 00:01:58,725 --> 00:02:06,025 Healing and recovery include a patient's role in connecting to a belief system 23 00:02:06,025 --> 00:02:10,925 that promotes good thoughts, feelings and behaviors. 24 00:02:11,996 --> 00:02:18,096 Yet conventional medicine routinely overlooks the role of culture in this process. 25 00:02:18,822 --> 00:02:24,862 As a consequence, healing traditions are often minimized as legitimate partners. 26 00:02:25,461 --> 00:02:34,511 Instead, we should appreciate the role traditions play as medicines connecting herbs and ointments, 27 00:02:34,511 --> 00:02:39,978 words and sayings, and a variety of sensory experiences. 28 00:02:40,858 --> 00:02:47,898 You see, if we paint healing traditions with the broad brush of superstitions and stereotypes, 29 00:02:48,181 --> 00:02:52,771 we are not getting an accurate picture of cultural practices. 30 00:02:54,024 --> 00:03:02,674 So I took what I learned from my aunt Clara and I recognized that on the one hand, 31 00:03:02,983 --> 00:03:07,193 there's conventional medicine which provides us 32 00:03:07,193 --> 00:03:13,696 with the best science has to offer as the mechanics of health. 33 00:03:14,024 --> 00:03:17,444 And then on the other hand, there's healing traditions. 34 00:03:17,444 --> 00:03:25,014 People are bringing and trying to claim their agency when they integrate cultural practices. 35 00:03:26,154 --> 00:03:32,364 Researchers have found connections between the brain and our immune system. 36 00:03:33,084 --> 00:03:37,084 It turns out our brain and immune system communicates. 37 00:03:38,407 --> 00:03:42,147 Moreover, researchers at the University of Wisconsin 38 00:03:42,147 --> 00:03:51,397 found changes in the brain associated with positive affect for meditators as compared to non-meditators. 39 00:03:52,123 --> 00:03:58,743 So the best practice connects conventional medicine to cultural patterns for healing and recovery. 40 00:03:59,603 --> 00:04:06,333 The best practice is an integrated process that's closer to local life. 41 00:04:08,055 --> 00:04:11,585 So I took what I learned from my aunt Clara, as I said to you before, 42 00:04:11,585 --> 00:04:16,635 and now I'm a psychologist whose passion about exploring the role 43 00:04:16,635 --> 00:04:25,135 that culture plays in aiding individual and community agency in situations of psychological and social need. 44 00:04:25,693 --> 00:04:31,433 I'm interested in healing traditions where individuals integrate elements individually 45 00:04:31,433 --> 00:04:36,043 and combined to empower their personal transformation 46 00:04:36,242 --> 00:04:42,532 and communities use them to challenge distorted ideas about their humanity. 47 00:04:43,423 --> 00:04:48,143 I'm especially interested in the importance of the mind in recovery 48 00:04:48,686 --> 00:04:53,716 because our behavior rises to the expectation of our beliefs. 49 00:04:57,006 --> 00:05:01,406 So in a research study about 15 years ago, 50 00:05:02,079 --> 00:05:09,159 I found that African-American healing traditions had four structural elements or themes. 51 00:05:09,159 --> 00:05:17,409 This discovery validated the lessons I learned from my family were cultural patterns of thinking and behavior. 52 00:05:17,850 --> 00:05:20,610 And these were time honored, reasoned ideas. 53 00:05:21,727 --> 00:05:24,577 The first element is spirituality. 54 00:05:25,328 --> 00:05:34,008 I'm not talking about religion. Because religion is a particular system of faith. I'm talking about spirituality. 55 00:05:34,396 --> 00:05:41,726 An awareness of an other-worldly dimension to human experience and a personal connection with that world. 56 00:05:42,386 --> 00:05:51,406 Spiritual consciousness motivates a commitment to a higher life purpose. Spirituality is foundational. 57 00:05:52,097 --> 00:05:58,777 It shapes our personal psychology by awakening awareness of our personal strengths. 58 00:05:58,777 --> 00:06:03,657 Those strengths within ourselves and others and our strengths include love, 59 00:06:04,163 --> 00:06:14,373 compassion, creativity, hope, gratitude, justice, just to name a few. 60 00:06:14,373 --> 00:06:24,093 I was about 8 or 9 years old when I observed my Grandma Nan preparing to attend a Sunday women's day service. 61 00:06:24,093 --> 00:06:29,923 I recall her crisp white cotton dress contrasted against her maple brown skin. 62 00:06:30,427 --> 00:06:34,747 And my little eyes watched closely as she placed a white lace handkerchief 63 00:06:34,747 --> 00:06:38,517 so that it peeked from the dress pocket just below her left shoulder. 64 00:06:38,517 --> 00:06:43,257 She put on her white gloves and put her bible under her arm 65 00:06:44,129 --> 00:06:48,699 and then she held my face closely and reminded me to be good. 66 00:06:50,822 --> 00:06:55,762 My grandmother's words, I reflected on as I became an adult 67 00:06:56,553 --> 00:06:58,943 and she often said, be good, to me. 68 00:06:58,943 --> 00:07:07,603 But now I know that she meant, be of good character, be of good service and be good to myself. 69 00:07:08,248 --> 00:07:11,718 Goodness was a spiritual affirmation and she believed 70 00:07:11,718 --> 00:07:16,298 that I could survive the challenges that I'd face as a black woman. 71 00:07:16,476 --> 00:07:20,476 If I developed an active spiritual practice. 72 00:07:20,640 --> 00:07:29,640 So my grandmother's women's day annual Sunday service was an act of spiritual practice and a ritual activity. 73 00:07:29,819 --> 00:07:37,669 So the second element is ritual. Ritual is a series of actions performed in a prescribed order. 74 00:07:37,669 --> 00:07:44,641 There's ritual cleansing such as Limpia and Latina culture and the Native American sweat lodge ceremonies. 75 00:07:44,797 --> 00:07:48,597 But there are also group rituals and it's in these rituals 76 00:07:48,597 --> 00:07:54,317 that a person belongs as a member of the whole community and finds support and hope. 77 00:07:54,317 --> 00:07:58,677 So as you can see on the slide, in Goligichi culture, 78 00:07:58,677 --> 00:08:02,677 African-American communities located along the coastal shores of North, 79 00:08:02,677 --> 00:08:06,357 South Carolina, Georgia and northern Florida, 80 00:08:06,357 --> 00:08:10,877 these communities still preserve features of West African cultural ties. 81 00:08:10,877 --> 00:08:16,217 The ring shell is an important ritual in Goligichi culture. 82 00:08:16,340 --> 00:08:22,800 It's a collective performance of bonding and support using the body and rhythm. 83 00:08:22,800 --> 00:08:26,390 In this video clip, you'll see an example of a ring shell. 84 00:08:26,712 --> 00:08:32,842 Shouters are moving in a circular pattern counterclockwise while stepping in harmony. 85 00:08:32,842 --> 00:08:39,492 And this particular shout skillfully instructs on how to watch the stars to see when 86 00:08:39,679 --> 00:08:42,869 and in what direction to run to freedom. 87 00:08:43,629 --> 00:09:02,159 [Singing and chanting] 88 00:09:02,686 --> 00:09:08,666 So. -- spirituality and ritual are the first two elements. 89 00:09:08,955 --> 00:09:15,555 Has anyone ever said just the right words to inspire or encourage you? 90 00:09:15,555 --> 00:09:18,415 The third element is the power of words. 91 00:09:19,179 --> 00:09:24,539 Among traditional cultures, speech is a source of power and wisdom. 92 00:09:25,032 --> 00:09:33,742 And words are believed to provide and to produce the outcome when a speaker activates them by their intention. 93 00:09:34,022 --> 00:09:35,132 Here's an example. 94 00:09:35,132 --> 00:09:40,262 So if words are spoken in conditions of anger and resentment, 95 00:09:40,804 --> 00:09:46,884 then we experience that outcome. On the other hand, if words are spoken in love and kindness, 96 00:09:47,395 --> 00:09:50,075 then we see that experience. 97 00:09:50,075 --> 00:09:52,215 According to the Pew Research Center, 98 00:09:52,215 --> 00:09:56,055 55 percent of Americans pray every day. 99 00:09:57,117 --> 00:10:04,927 And for years researchers have been studying prayer as a common complement to conventional medicine. 100 00:10:06,084 --> 00:10:09,124 Moving forward, the last element is dreams. 101 00:10:09,124 --> 00:10:14,824 Can you recall ever having a creative idea resulting from a dream or solving a problem? 102 00:10:14,824 --> 00:10:21,554 Dreams are our connection to the unconscious mind and their meanings vary. 103 00:10:21,554 --> 00:10:26,704 There's a ray of information imparted about our experience through our dreams. 104 00:10:27,274 --> 00:10:29,964 Our dreams are full of metaphors. 105 00:10:30,744 --> 00:10:36,774 And there's an endless list of dream interpretations passed down through generations by oral tradition. 106 00:10:37,588 --> 00:10:43,048 For instance, if you're flying upward in a dream, 107 00:10:43,771 --> 00:10:48,021 it's a metaphor for rising to the next level in some area of your life. 108 00:10:49,010 --> 00:10:55,770 In native American culture, totem animals or guiding spirits may appear in a dream. 109 00:10:56,590 --> 00:10:58,770 To bring you a message. 110 00:10:59,122 --> 00:11:07,062 And if your totem is an eagle, the eagle may deliver a message about a problem or issue in your life. 111 00:11:07,062 --> 00:11:11,722 While studying healing traditions, in such places as Senegal, 112 00:11:12,169 --> 00:11:16,899 Brazil, China, Tibet and Thailand, 113 00:11:17,297 --> 00:11:23,827 I recognized they shared structural elements found in my study on African-American healing. 114 00:11:24,398 --> 00:11:30,168 While I'm not saying this is a final set, I posit that these four elements: 115 00:11:30,168 --> 00:11:35,438 spirituality, ritual, the power of words, 116 00:11:35,438 --> 00:11:42,148 and dreams as an age old blueprint for harnessing personal strengths. 117 00:11:42,338 --> 00:11:46,738 For instance, a team of researchers from the United Kingdom 118 00:11:46,738 --> 00:11:52,398 examined a psychosocial care project for Tibetans in exile in Darsalorma, 119 00:11:52,398 --> 00:11:54,738 northern India who had been tortured. 120 00:11:54,738 --> 00:12:01,528 They found that the clients and staff believed that the care project provided a much needed service. 121 00:12:01,528 --> 00:12:09,468 And that it effectively combined western psychological approaches with local cultural and religious practices. 122 00:12:10,584 --> 00:12:19,254 For example, the western practitioners incorporated relaxation methods with clients derived from Buddhist practices. 123 00:12:20,199 --> 00:12:29,739 Their knowledge of Buddhism and sensitivity to Tibetan culture showed respect for a different way to shape healing. 124 00:12:31,002 --> 00:12:35,762 Healing traditions integrate social connections, beliefs, 125 00:12:35,762 --> 00:12:40,182 and practices as multi-faceted medicines; 126 00:12:40,182 --> 00:12:45,172 recognizing culture's connection to healing can employ traditions 127 00:12:45,172 --> 00:12:50,472 as tools to help people recover spiritual and emotional balance. 128 00:12:51,468 --> 00:12:57,218 So modern medicine and culture can partner to support our human potential 129 00:12:57,218 --> 00:13:01,218 for power responses to disease and illness. 130 00:13:01,218 --> 00:13:07,248 Healing traditions play an important role as legitimate partners in this process. 131 00:13:07,248 --> 00:13:12,288 For those people who keep close ties to their cultural identity. 132 00:13:12,912 --> 00:13:14,342 Thank you for listening. 133 00:13:14,342 --> 00:13:16,272 {Applause.}.