Experts Behind the Trauma Healing Movement Say Personal Wellness Isn't Enough -- And They've Built a Program to Remedy It

Featuring contributors Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, Dr. Gabor Maté, and Dr. Dick Schwartz, The Outer Work Project launches July 11 with a 3-month program helping people transform anxiety and inaction into strategic civic engagement.

OAKLAND, Calif., June 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Millions of Americans are grappling with mounting anxiety over political upheaval, rising inequality, and social injustice. In response, a new initiative is offering something different: not just a call to action, but a roadmap for sustaining it.

Launching July 11, 2026, The Outer Work Project is a first-of-its-kind 12-week program designed to help people move from overwhelm and inaction to purposeful, collective engagement — with the 2026 U.S. Midterm elections squarely in its path. The program is led by Staci Haines, Nkem Ndefo, Karine Bell, and Kai Cheng Thom, four leading practitioners at the intersection of trauma healing, somatic therapy and social movement organizing.

The program addresses a gap that activists and healers alike have long identified: the tendency to treat personal healing and social change organizing as separate endeavors. The Outer Work Project brings them together, offering participants expert guidance from professionals who understand both the interpersonal and structural dimensions of change.

Participants receive eight weeks of live, expert-led guidance covering trauma-informed approaches to social change alongside 12 weeks in a dedicated 10-person learning pod — a small group format designed to build accountability, community, and the kind of trust that sustains long-term action. The program also includes exclusive bonus content from three of the world's foremost experts on trauma and healing: Dr. Dick Schwartz (Internal Family Systems), Dr. Bessel van der Kolk (The Body Keeps the Score), and Dr. Gabor Maté. Their involvement signals the growing consensus within the healing professions that individual wellness and collective wellbeing are inseparable.

"The Outer Work Project is calling to all of us who care about healing, our communities and changing the violence in our world. It is building a bridge between healing and social action that we need," said Schwartz.

Delivered entirely online with weekly sessions from 9–11 a.m. PDT, the program runs from July 11 through October 11, 2026. The Outer Work Project is a non-profit program with sliding-scale pricing for the full program and no one will be turned away for lack of funds.

You can join the Outer Work Project now through The World Is Calling, a four-part online learning series led by the program leads. Registration is free and includes replays of every session at theouterworkproject.org/the-world-is-calling.

About The Outer Work Project
The Outer Work Project is a transformative 3-month online program helping guide people from individual resilience and healing towards meaningful social change. In these times of political chaos, this project invites people on a shared journey to take us from I care to I know what to do — bringing powerful social change into reach.

Contact:
Sabina Parker
7743689145
The Outer Work Project
[email protected]

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SOURCE The Outer Work Project