Judith Herman - Activism is the Antidote to Despair
“It's not until the public gets outraged and demands something that you see a change.” - Judith Lewis Herman
There’s a difference between an elder and a person who is older than you. Today, I’m talking to someone who embodies the defenition of elder. Judith Lewis Herman, MD, is wise––a psychiatrist, professor, researcher, author, and advocate who helped establish the diagnosis of PTSD back before many of us were born. It’s a true honor to have her as my last guest on the podcast.
Wait, last guest? What?
Yep, as you’ll hear us announce, this is sadly my last episode of Conversations with a Wounded Healer and I’m going out with a bang. Why? Well, the answer is simple- I decided to practice what I preach a little bit more. In the Fall of 2024, I took stock of how I was taking care of myself, what I needed to do more of, and what changes I needed to make. The answer from my body was clear, “Girl, you need to learn to do less.” The hardest thing in the world for me to do is to not do, but it’s what is necessary right now to make sure I have a long healthy life and career (another lesson I’ve learned from my elders- don’t burn out too soon).
But before I get sad and steal the limelight from my esteemed guest, let’s talk more about Judith, my true hero.
In addition to her work with veterans and children, Judith fundamentally altered the discourse around women’s traumatic experiences and pioneered subsequent treatments for victims of abuse. How’s that for street-cred sagacity!? She changed the way I look at working with a feminist lens!
“I had the good fortune to come of age during the second wave of the women's liberation movement, which set the direction of my whole career,” Judith says. Women were a token presence in psychiatry in 1968 when she received her degree from Harvard. “I developed the theory that when women reach maybe 15-20% of a profession where they have been marginalized, that's when you go from being a token to being able to organize and have a voice!”
Judith has continued to use her voice ever since. “I was on the Committee On Women of the American Psychiatric Association in the 1980s,” she recalls. “Women were about 15-20% by that time, and we made some noise!” The group called attention to blind spots regarding the impact of violence against women. “We were talking about things that nobody wanted to talk about,” Judith says. So badass. I aspire.
While women enjoy more professional, social, and economic prominence today, Judith maintains that our collective liberation from patriarchal, capitalistic oppression is far from complete. “You have to take the long view,” she advises. “The United Nations now finds that violence against women is the most prevalent and longstanding human rights violation in the world. That's what we're up against.”
Notice how Judith used “we” when identifying the challenges ahead. “I still supervise psychiatry residents, and they're just all so dedicated, bright, and imaginative,” she says. Judith urges them and us to pick our battles but, above all, stay engaged. “Activism is the antidote to despair.”
This conversation gave me the boost I needed during inauguration week. It gave me life, it gave me hope, and it made me excited for all the work I can do in the future- after I rest.
I have loved doing this podcast. I am forever grateful to my incredible co-host Sarah for asking me to join her. She has been an exemplary leader, supporter and cheerleader. Keep listening, friends- she’s not giving up on her mission.
To everyone who has listened and supported, I’m thankful to you as well! I’m so lucky to have had this as part of my life. Let’s all keep up the fight (but rest when we need to).
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
#MeToo
African Education Festival 2025 in Rwanda - My session is Trauma Informed Teaching- Supporting the Wellbeing of Students and Teachers
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Judith Lewis Herman, MD, is a part-time senior lecturer in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. For 30 years until she retired, she was director of training at the Victims of Violence Program at the Cambridge Hospital in Cambridge, MA. She's the author of award-winning books, Father-Daughter Incest and Trauma And Recovery. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1984 and the 1996 Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies like that's life goals. In 2007, she was named a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. Her new book, Truth And Repair: How Trauma Survivors Envision Justice was published in March 2023.
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