CTM IN FOCUS
Traditional Medicine for Trauma & Mental Health
Approaching mental health as a dynamic relationship between mind, body, spirit, land, and history.
At the Center for Traditional Medicine, we understand that healing from trauma requires more than clinical care. It calls for cultural reconnection, nutritional repair, and the restoration of individual and collective balance. Guided by Indigenous knowledge systems, we approach mental health as a dynamic relationship between mind, body, spirit, land, and history.
As an Indigenous-led organization, our work recognizes that trauma is personal, historical, and intergenerational. The impacts of colonization—forced relocation, cultural erasure, violence, and systemic exlusion—have left lasting wounds in Indigenous communities.
At the same time, colonial systems have silenced generations of traditional healing knowledge that once guided people through grief, stress, and spiritual crisis.
Today, our work reclaims and revitalizes those traditions. We offer trauma-informed resources on nutrition, ancestral foods, and holistic self-care as pathways to emotional and spiritual healing. Our programs are rooted in the belief that culture is a form of medicine. By reconnecting with food, land, language, and community, we support recovery and long term well-being.
Food, Culture, and the Healing of Trauma
Nutrition is a pillar in restoring mental and emotional well-being. Traditional diets rich in plant-based remedies, healthy fats, and medicinal plants help regulate the nervous system and chronic inflammation, two contributors to trauma-related illness. These ancient dietary approaches are essential to maintaining balance and strength.
In our work, we explore the links between nutritional trauma, cultural displacement, and the rise of mental health challenges from an Indigenous perspective. Reconnecting with traditional foodways is physical nourishment, cultural survival, and emotional renewal.
Integrated and Culturally Rooted Approaches
Modern science is finally catching up to what Indigenous communities have long understood: that healing must be integrative. Our educational materials and training programs draw on both Indigenous and complementary health practices to support mental wellness in culturally appropriate ways.
We support healthcare practitioners, educators, and community members in building cultural competency around trauma, healing, and mental health. Through resources, consultation, and training, we offer tools for providing care that respects the wisdom of traditional medicine while addressing the emotional and psychological needs of today’s communities.
Resources for Healing
Our offerings include educational tools and clinical training to support healing from trauma through culturally-grounded, holistic practices.
Certification Course: PTSD, Complex Trauma, and Traumatic Brain Injury
Thank You to Our Donors
Elina Vesara
Ostern Fund
