The Wisdom of Trauma

This film is brutally honest while at the same time being hopeful and tender about human potential- honest and tender in the most eloquent way possible. I am not exaggerating when I say that I don't believe that this film could have delivered its message any more impactfully, at least for me.

Perhaps the film is excessively focused on Gabor Mate's work, which might impart a cheesy glamorized halo around him in the eyes of some viewers, but at the same time, I was able to follow and appreciate the contributions and insights of other professionals and survivors throughout the film. For his part, I considered Mate a kind of cinematic anchor, a unifying thread through the work and experiences of others, which contributed to an overall sense of structure and cohesiveness within the film.

This documentary is truly a film from the heart- in my mind (and heart), a work of art 😊✌🏼

I liked it, but it lacked something. I don't know if it should have blown me away like the others, but it did raise new questions which I will use. Nevertheless, I recommend it! Well done!

Everybody needs to see this. Everybody has trauma and this is a great introduction to doing the work. The concepts make so much sense and Gabor Mate is so brilliant. This gave me more motivation to put in the work in rediscovering my true authentic self.

While the general approach towards appreciating trauma is definitely welcome, it is nothing too radical and has been part of psychology for years.

The methods and suggestions depicted tiptoe between science and pseudoscience with no reference to studies whatsoever. I also can't help but notice that the documentary revolves around one person and his brand rather than the full range of approaches, definitions and meanings of trauma that exist, that a title like the above would lead me to expect.

Unfortunately, for me it is a romanticised advertisement and awareness campaign rather than a documentary.

The good: -the parts where prisoners are talking about their own traumas and doing some kind of group therapy -the interviews with (ex)addicts and (ex)homeless people where they talk about their lives in a trauma informed way -some of the talks of Gabor Mate about trauma and how we are living in a society that traumatizes people and fails to help those who are traumatized

The bad: -overall the documentary felt like a big Gabor Mate worshipping session rather than being about trauma which is a shame in my opinion and was even unerving at times. I mean, seeing him surrounded with groups of photogenic women in awe in front of him.... -the parts where you see him doing some kind of express therapy to some people in front of an audience, it made me cringe. I looked like some typical personal development guru doing these big workshop events with a large audience and I can't imagine how this can provide any of the needed intimate and safe space needed to do trauma work. I can't imagine anyone being comfortable talking like that in front of an audience and making sure they talk in a microphone and keep the audience entertained with witty comments while doing trauma work. So if it's not trauma work being done bur a mock session, what is the point of it? Do people benefit by from those type of 'shows' about trauma?

-the part with someone doing some kind of psychedelic therapy session in with Gabor Mate. The substance used is not explained and while i did enjoy seeing how Gabor runs the session, i thought interviewing the patient after the session and how he feels good now also felt oversold. I have done a number of psychedelic therapy sessions and am well aware of how one can feel permanently healed during the afterglow phase but after a few weeks or months a lot of the feeling of being healed can vanish. Nothing wrong with psychdelic therapy, it is a worthy endeavour but i thought it would have been more honest to say how long after the session was the interview with the patient.

-finally and my biggest frustration with this documentary is the feeling someone has turned the whole thing about Gabor Mate into a personality worshipping business and is trying to get as much momentum as possible. Probably to make money ultimately. I might be wrong but it reminded me of how Wim Hof the 'Ice Man' has a son who is running a business to promote and maximize value out of his father's work and public image. Again it's not that bad but it just feels like there something inauthentic about it. I wish the documentary would have been less about Gabor Mate and more about trauma.