When Worlds Burn: Bearing Witness in Times of Collective Trauma
In Conversation
Dr. George Bermudez, Dr. Peter Maduro, and Dr. Michelle Harwell
Date & Time
Friday, January 24, 2025
12:00–1:30pm
Location
Online Event
Course fee
Free
How can I begin anything new with all of yesterday in me?” -Leonard Cohen
Join us for an intimate and meaningful dialogue about navigating our roles as practicing clinicians while we, too, carry the weight of collective trauma from the Los Angeles fires. This free community conversation will create space for clinicians to explore how we maintain our therapeutic presence while processing our own grief and anxiety, recognizing that our therapeutic encounters are inevitably shaped by this shared moment of community crisis.
Facilitated by Dr. Michelle Harwell in conversation with Dr. George Bermudez, who will share from his lived experience of losing his home to the fires, and Dr. Peter Maduro, whose voice as a fellow Los Angeles clinician will help us navigate this tender terrain. This discussion aims to address the complex dynamics of being both a healing presence for others while acknowledging our own vulnerabilities and losses, how our own raw edges and vulnerabilities meet our patients' suffering, and how these shared experiences of loss reshape the therapeutic relationship in profound and meaningful ways.
Our conversation will explore the parallel process of how our own grief lives alongside our commitment to our patients, and how finding refuge in our professional community becomes essential when collective trauma touches us all. We'll reflect together on those moments when our own emotional world meets our clinical work - when shared suffering opens new depths in the therapeutic relationship, and when we struggle to hold the delicate balance between being both container and contained. Rather than a didactic presentation, this will be an opportunity for authentic dialogue and shared experience, grounding ourselves in the understanding that healing happens within and through relationships.
This event is open to all mental health professionals seeking connection and community during this challenging time, as we together explore how to maintain therapeutic presence while honoring our own emotional experiences and needs.
For more information or questions contact us here.
No known conflict of interest or commercial support for Michelle Harwell Therapy, The Alamo Psychotherapy and Training, or the instructor.