Ancient Ways and Modern Times: A Conversation with Geral Blanchard
This webinar is for individuals interested in topics such as indigenous wisdom, trauma recovery, and the use of psychoactive drugs in the treatment of trauma and addictions.
Geral Blanchard has spent decades in practice with individuals who have abused. He has traveled to the farthest corners of the world studying how people change, recover from trauma, and build better lives. Geral has studied with healers and shamans across Africa and the Americas, most recently with the Kogi tribe in Colombia (one of only a very few guests they have ever invited). While many are familiar with his classic books, such as The Difficult Connection and Transcending Trauma, Geral’s more recent work has built on what he has learned from indigenous cultures and the recent empirical study of the use of psychoactive drugs in the treatment of trauma and addictions.
In this conversation, Geral will discuss both the promise and the perils of these approaches and why we need to start paying attention now.
Who's Presenting
Geral Blanchard
Geral Blanchard is an author, lecturer, and psychotherapist who is conventionally trained in psychology and anthropology. Currently he maintains a private practice in Des Moines, Iowa. Gerry has served trauma victims and abusers for over 48 years. He has also worked as a consultant and trainer for chemical dependency treatment programs in four states and has provided program consultation at prisons in the U.S. and Sweden. Several of Gerry’s early books addressed the subject of sexual abuse. His book Transcending Trauma describes how posttraumatic stress (PTS) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can become powerful engines for personal growth and thriving — what he calls posttraumatic growth (PTG). Two more recent books, Ancient Ways and Ancient Ethics, explore indigenous innovations that can complement treatment processes in Western medicine and psychology. His latest book (2020), Awakening the Healing Soul, Gerry shares many stories drawn from visits with shamans around the globe. Gerry is a popular speaker who has chaired conference committees and given invited plenary addresses on the topic of preventing violence and aggression.