From MHA-National
Racial trauma, or race-based traumatic stress (RBTS), refers to the mental and emotional injury caused by encounters with racial bias, ethnic discrimination, racism, and hate crimes. Any individual who has experienced an emotionally painful, sudden, and uncontrollable racist encounter is at risk of suffering from a race-based traumatic stress injury. In the U.S., Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) are most vulnerable due to living under a system of white supremacy.
Experiences of race-based discrimination can have detrimental psychological impacts on individuals and their wider communities. In some individuals, prolonged incidents of racism can lead to symptoms similar to those experienced with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These symptoms can include depression, anger, recurring thoughts of the event, physical reactions (e.g., headaches, chest pains, insomnia), hypervigilance, low self-esteem, and mentally distancing from the traumatic events. Some or all of these symptoms may be present in someone with RBTS, and symptoms can vary across different cultural groups. It is important to note that unlike PTSD, RBTS is not considered a mental health disorder. RBTS is a mental injury that can occur as a result of living within a racist system or experiencing events of racism.
Sources of Racial Trauma
Racial trauma can stem from direct personal experiences, wider systemic issues, or even vicarious and intergenerational transmission.
Direct Traumatic Stressors
Direct traumatic stressors include all direct impacts of living within a society of structural racism or being the recipient of individual racist attacks. This can include being heavily policed, facing barriers to home ownership due to inequitable policies, or experiencing individual physical and verbal attacks or microaggressions.
Vicarious Traumatic Stressors
Vicarious traumatic stressors are the indirect impacts of living with systemic racism and individual racist actions. These stressors can have an equally detrimental impact on BIPOC’s mental health as direct traumatic stressors.
- For example, viewing videos of brutal police killings of Black people, such as the video associated with the murder of George Floyd, can cause traumatic stress reactions in the viewers, especially Black individuals.
- Of Latinx youth that immigrate to the U.S., two-thirds report experiencing one traumatic event with the most common traumatic event reported during and post migration being witnessing a violent event or physical assault.
- Many Native American children are vicariously traumatized by the high rates of societal homicide, suicide, and unintentional injury experienced in these communities.
Transmitted Stressors
Transmitted traumatic stressors refer to the stressors transferred from one generation to the next. These stressors can come from historically racist sources or personal traumas passed down through families and communities.
Examples of Racial Trauma
Individual Racism
- Following the COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S., there were nearly 1,500 reported incidents of anti-Asian racism in just one month, including physical and verbal attacks and discrimination in private businesses.
- In 2018, 38 percent of Latinx people were verbally attacked for speaking Spanish, told to “go back to their countries,” called racial slurs, or treated unfairly by others.
- Twitter recorded 4.2 million anti-Semitic tweets in just one year, including anti-Semitic stereotypes, promotion of anti-Semitic personalities or media, symbols, slurs, or conspiracy theories including Holocaust denial.
Systemic Racism
- Black people make up 12 percent of the U.S. population but about 33 percent of the total prison population, reflecting racist arrests, policing, and sentencing practices in the criminal justice system.
- Policies of racial displacement, exclusion, and segregation have made BIPOC less likely than whites to own homes regardless of education, income, location, marital status, and age.
- The erasure of Asian Pacific Islanders (APIs) in the “Asian or Pacific Islander” category by U.S. Census data conceals the unique barriers faced by APIs, limiting access to opportunities.
- Historical occupation segregation has made Black people less likely than white people to hold jobs offering retirement savings, contributing to a persistent wealth gap between White and Black communities.
- Lack of cultural competency in therapy training, financial incentives, and geographical isolation have created barriers to appropriate mental health resources in Native American communities, where suicide rates are 3.5 times higher than racial/ethnic groups with the lowest rates.
Recognizing RBTS
If you identify as BIPOC and have experienced racism, you may be able to self-assess for many of the symptoms of RBTS. A formal diagnosis requires assessment by a qualified mental health professional.
If you believe you may be suffering from race-based traumatic stress injury, it is crucial to seek therapy from a multicultural or racial trauma-informed therapist. These therapists work to create an open, culturally affirming, and empowered space for you to heal from racialized trauma in all its various forms.
Find Therapists Here
Directories for QPOC
Directories for Latinx
Directories for Black People
Directories for Asian People
- Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) Therapist Directory
- South Asian Mental Health Initiative Network
- Therapy for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
Directories for Indigenous People
General Multicultural & Religious Directories
- Inclusive Therapists
- Psychology Today
- Melanin & Mental Health
- Zencare
- Institute for Muslim Mental Health
- National Jewish Health
Preventing and Healing from RBTS
The most immediate recourse for healing RBTS is through self-care. Taking steps to proactively care for your mind, body, and spiritual self can serve as a protective measure and an act of resistance against racialized traumatic stressors.
Self-Care Resources
Community Healing from RBTS
Healing from racial trauma often involves relational care, as it does not happen in a vacuum. There are restorative tools and resources available that you can bring to your communities.
Community Healing Resources
- Project LETS Resources on Race & Mental Health
- Racial Trauma Toolkit
- Black Muslim Community Trauma Toolkit
- Self-Care Toolkit for Undocumented Communities
- Asian Mental Health Project
- The Brown Girl Therapy Newsletter
- Therapy for Black Girls Thrive Tribe Facebook Group
- We R Native
By understanding and addressing racial trauma, both individually and collectively, we can create spaces for healing and resilience.