Dr. Dina Cuervo shares her personal upbringing in a Los Angeles immigrant community, plagued by violence and institutional racism. She shares her path to becoming a clinical psychologist and her passion for supporting under-served communities of color that have been victimized by trauma. Dina then explains the psychological trauma caused by systemic racism and how racism is literally a public health crisis. She talks about the concept of “toxic stress” that is created through institutionalized racism. She then explains how racism functions as a form of dehumanization and emotional abuse that has caused ongoing individual and collective injury. She then examines racial trauma in the educational system, the pathologizing of Black children, the replacement of school counselors and social workers with police, and its impact on Black youth. She then talks about the traumatic effects of police interaction with the Black community and explains some of the trauma triggers and stress responses to police encounters. She then discusses inter-generational racism, epigenetics, adverse childhood experiences, and the culmination of the “cradle-to-prison pipeline.” Dina then recommends transformative changes such as the re-allocation of resources back into education and social services as well as a trauma-sensitive approach to conflict resolution centering on restorative justice. She emphasizes the importance of acknowledging white privilege, validating Black experiences, and actively diversifying Universities. She also emphasizes the vital importance of increased police training around mental health and trauma. Dina then discusses her location independent therapy practice, answers the lightning round questions, and names her Top 5 Hip Hop MCs of all time. FULL SHOW NOTES AVAILABLE AT WWW.THEMAVERICKSHOW.COM
Episode #89: The Psychological Trauma of Systemic Racism with Dr. Dina Cuervo
Episode Summary
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About the Guest
Dr. Dina Cuervo
Dr. Dina Cuervo is a licensed clinical psychologist who primarily works with under-served communities of color and immigrants, especially in California. She specializes in child psychology, developmental trauma, and secondary traumatic stress. Her post-doctoral fellowship focused on bringing trauma-sensitive practices to urban, inner-city schools. She has lead crisis support groups for those impacted by shootings and violence AND has worked directly with criminal offenders. Dina has also run support groups for teachers working with traumatized students in low-income urban communities. Her personal bi-lingual, bi-cultural experience as the first generation born in the U.S. inherently contributes to her passionate support for the struggles of immigrants and communities of color, as well as her commitment to gender and racial equality, youth and social justice, and making a positive social impact as a therapist. She is also an avid world traveler, has been to 30 countries, and is now building her practice with a location-independent infrastructure so she can serve clients from anywhere in the world.
What You'll Learn
- How systemic racism causes psychological trauma and collective injury.
- The traumatic impact of police interactions with the Black community.
- Transformative, trauma-sensitive changes that need to be implemented.
Links From the Episode
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LEARN MORE ABOUT DINA’S ONLINE COUNSELING PRACTICE
#1 BOOK THAT DINA RECOMMENDS
#1 APP THAT DINA RECOMMENDS
DINA’S TOP 5 HIP-HOP MCs
LOCATIONS WHERE THE INTERVIEW TOOK PLACE
TOP 3 TRAVEL DESTINATIONS
TOP 3 BUCKET LIST DESTINATIONS
CONTACT DINA
Time Stamped Show Notes
[4:18] Dina’s Background and Upbringing in Los Angeles
- Growing up in communities of color
- Experiencing loved ones being killed
- Developing passion for supporting youth in high risk environments
- Choosing to become a clinical psychologist
[6:47] Defining “Trauma” and Dina’s Specialization in Trauma Therapy
- Observing trauma in her own community
- Wanting to help youth in her community from the bottom up
- Differentiating “trauma” from “PTSD”
- Defining “trauma”
- Understanding “toxic stress”
- Trauma symptoms
[10:19] The Psychological Trauma of Systemic Racism
- Declaration of racism as a Public Health Crisis
- Repeated exposure to toxic stress through institutionalized racism
- Racism as an ongoing individual and collective injury
- Racism as dehumanization and emotional abuse
[13:20] Racial Trauma in the Educational System and Its Impact on Black Youth
- How racial trauma impacts the developing brain
- Pairing the fear system with the memory system
- Impaired learning and relationship development
- Pathologizing Black children
- The impact of replacing school counselors and social workers with police
- Teaching discipline and punishment instead of conflict resolution
- Re-traumatizing children with a police presence in schools
- The need for a restorative justice approach
[22:30] The Traumatic Effects of Police Interactions with the Black Community
- Collective racial trauma from the historical abuse of Black communities by the police
- Dina’s traumatic experience getting pulled over by cops with guns drawn
- Trauma triggers and stress responses to police encounters
- Understanding the brain’s “Fight or flight” (or “Freeze”) survival mode
[35:32] Inter-Generational Trauma from Systemic Racism
- Explaining inter-generational trauma
- How Dina experienced inter-generational trauma
- Understanding “Epigenitics” in the case of Holocaust survivors
[43:04] Adverse Childhood Experiences and the “Cradle to Prison Pipeline”
- The racial disparity of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE)
- The physical health consequences of ACEs
- The racial disparity of incarceration
- The need for institutional transition towards a more trauma-informed lens
[48:35] Transformative Changes That Dina Recommends
- Understanding and acknowledging white privilege
- Stop saying “All Lives Matter” and invalidating Black experiences
- Re-allocate resources into social services, education, music and art
- Using trauma-sensitive lenses for supporting students
- Having more professors of color at Universities and more diverse student bodies
- Providing much better police training around mental illness and trauma
[56:42] Dina’s Location Independent Therapy Practice
[58:17] The Lightning Round
- Dina’s #1 Top Book Recommendation
- Dina’s #1 App Recommendation
- The people with whom Dina would most like to have dinner
- Dina’s top 3 favorite travel destinations
- Dina’s top 3 bucket list destinations
- What hip hop means to Dina
- Dina’s Top 5 Hip Hop MC’s of all time
[1:02:34] How to Follow Dina and Learn More About Her Therapy Services
- The types of clients with whom Dina works
- How to learn more about Dina’s therapy services
- How to follow Dina on Instagram
