Writing About Trauma (Including Your Own)

This 90-minute webinar with an acclaimed health journalist will help you cross a minefield of the difficult questions raised covering difficult times.

There is no right way to write about trauma but there are many wrong ways, especially when you are writing about the most difficult moments of someone else’s life. This talk will first cover Christina Frangou’s experiences writing about events in her life—What were the unexpected consequences of writing about her story? And how does this change the way she writes about other people. Christina will cover the principles of trauma-informed reporting and how she uses these principles to guide her most difficult interviews. You will look at questions like: How do we prevent a journalist’s cynicism and skepticism from re-traumatizing someone who is trying to tell their story? How do we make sure that people who are in pain or unfamiliar with media receive the same degree of attention and accuracy that we give to celebrities and politicians? How do we build trust?

Includes: Live 90-minute lesson with Q&A password to re-watch the webinar anytime you want; a tip-sheet and checklist for interviewing subjects with trauma.
Meet the instructor