Presented by Xihlovo Mabunda, MS, LPC, NCC & PCETT Collective Trauma Services Coordinator

If you are interested in joining this peer support group, please fill out our registration in order to register. Click here to register!
You will be contacted by our group leader for a follow-up conversation.

Date & Time:  This group will begin on Tuesday, January 10, 2023, from 5:30- 7:00 p.m. Group will meet every other Tuesday after the start date.
This is a community group and runs for 90 minutes every other week.

Virtual Zoom meeting

Cost: Free Group or Pay what you can! (Suggested donation, if financially able, $20 per session).

About the Group:

Collective Trauma is an event or series of harmful events that a group of people experience that has lasting adverse effects on their mental, physical, social, and emotional wellbeing. So collective healing in this context is a cultural, political and social process of acknowledging systemic harm and creating healing spaces that integrate community support. Our aim for this group is to explore the impacts of policy, oppression, and global crises on our lives, while forming connection and growing with others.  

The group will meet biweekly for 10 weeks and operate as a closed group after 3 sessions. Our hope is to hold space for people to attend regularly and build community that reflects their own identity and experiences.  

This group intends to hold space for people to embody healing practices that allow for nourishing and liberated lives. If this is something you are interested in, please complete the registration Google form here and Xihlovo or Sarah will follow up with you via email.  

Disclaimer: this is a free peer support group, not a therapy group. If you are looking for therapy groups or individual therapy services, please contact our Intake Coordinator at (484) 440-9416 or support@phoenixtraumacenter.com

About Xihlovo

Xihlovo Mabunda, MS, LPC, NCC (she, her, hers) is a Licensed Professional Counselor whose practice is informed by her identity as a black, cisgender woman. Xihlovo views the therapeutic relationship as a space to begin healing and seeks to foster a collaborative, affirming, and gently challenging environment. She also serves as our Collective Trauma Services Coordinator, in this role, she leads a bi-weekly free community peer support group and provides supervision for clinicians of color and queer therapist. Xihlovo’s goal is to encourage self-exploration in one’s identities while recognizing how systems of oppression affect our personhood in conscious and unconscious ways. She believes that healing is a radical act of social justice and maintains a commitment to working with clients who want to push back and explore internal and external trauma experiences. People often operate within and can sometimes be constrained by their social locations. Xihlovo acknowledges this and works with clients wherever they might currently be, helping them to create safe spaces to feel free to live. Learn more about Xihlovo here.

About Sarah

Sarah Pallivalapil-Karerat (they/them) is a second-year Master of Social Work student at the University of Pennsylvania. After receiving their Bachelor’s degree in Gender, Sexuality & Feminist Studies and History from Middlebury College, they worked for several years in the partner violence field. They provided counseling and support groups for survivors, pursued outreach to the queer and trans communities, and facilitated trainings on gender, sexuality, and partner violence in the LGBTQ+ community. Most recently, they have brought their anti-violence focus to intimate partner homicide research, conducting trauma-informed interviews and providing therapeutic services as a Vicarious Trauma Specialist. Learn more about Sarah here.