New Directions in Trauma Work? Cultural Trauma Theory as an Instrument to Contextualise and Address Histories of Pain in Global Communities

We live in a world where natural and man-made disasters and political conflicts disrupt people’s lives, their sense of continuity, and potentially, their sense of identity. These events challenge the skill set of social workers working with people with complex histories of colonialism, violence, abuse and disruption. In this chapter, the author argues for a particular focus on cultural trauma theory in social work education. The author argues that expanding the scope of cultural trauma theory in social work education has decolonial potential as it provides social workers with analytical and reflective tools within which they can understand the historical footprint of trauma in communities that cannot be comprehensively addressed through westernised models of trauma work.