Phoenix Rising With Dr Z: Conversations About Grief and Loss
Jul 21, 2026 · 50 min · 10 segments
Medical Trauma: Anxiety, Agency, and Advocacy in Healthcare (PART 1) Medical Trauma: How Healthcare Experiences Can Shatter Trust, Agency, and Safety | Phoenix Rising with Dr. Z Dr. Christina…
Carolyn NgGuestChristina ZampatellaHostSo what is your view on medical trauma? Like how would you define medical trauma?
And I think we need to start from there because I think when we talk about trauma itself, right, different people probably have different understanding.
Typically, I think when we think of trauma, you know, we tend to think of some types of incidents, right? Right.
Or if there's something, you know, maybe, you know, something that is very, you know, severely.
Turn out well upside down, you know, by maybe being raped, you know, or having violence, you know, at home.
by the types of incidents, but rather is defined by the impacts of the incident on us.
And so even with the same incident, different people may have different reactions to that.
And so even though as a family, for example, we went through something similar, but then one person can be badly traumatized by that, but the other person may not.
And so I would like to go by that definition, because in that case, I'm not organized and boxed up by, okay, it's nothing big deal.
And then I may then underestimate, undermine the possible impacts on this person without being able to join this person to come to appreciate what is it that has been shakening or even shattering our original, if you may say, our original belief system, more or less our lens, to see a few things.
Be it the physical world or the social world in terms of interpersonal relationships, family relationships, or could be the lens that we see ourselves.
What I thought I am sometimes can be shattered by having gone through a major situation.
our life and of course our lens to see one another right see our people you know and so on um may also be shaken or shattered
you know
and so that's where there are times that trauma could be you know happening in a relational dimension you know uh and so we may experience attachment you know or relationship trauma you know that you know may shatter you know our our trust in people, you know, and also maybe our sense of self and so on.
So when it comes to, you know, medical trauma, then, you know, it can be really of various kinds, you know, depending on our role in this situation, whether I'm the one, you know, having the sickness, you know, or for simplicity, we call it as patient, even though we don't, you know, I don't really like the term patient, you know.
So what is your view on medical trauma? Like how would you define medical trauma?
And I think we need to start from there because I think when we talk about trauma itself, right, different people probably have different understanding.
Typically, I think when we think of trauma, you know, we tend to think of some types of incidents, right? Right.
Or if there's something, you know, maybe, you know, something that is very, you know, severely.
Turn out well upside down, you know, by maybe being raped, you know, or having violence, you know, at home.
by the types of incidents, but rather is defined by the impacts of the incident on us.
And so even with the same incident, different people may have different reactions to that.
And so even though as a family, for example, we went through something similar, but then one person can be badly traumatized by that, but the other person may not.
And so I would like to go by that definition, because in that case, I'm not organized and boxed up by, okay, it's nothing big deal.
And then I may then underestimate, undermine the possible impacts on this person without being able to join this person to come to appreciate what is it that has been shakening or even shattering our original, if you may say, our original belief system, more or less our lens, to see a few things.
Be it the physical world or the social world in terms of interpersonal relationships, family relationships, or could be the lens that we see ourselves.
What I thought I am sometimes can be shattered by having gone through a major situation.
our life and of course our lens to see one another right see our people you know and so on um may also be shaken or shattered
you know
and so that's where there are times that trauma could be you know happening in a relational dimension you know uh and so we may experience attachment you know or relationship trauma you know that you know may shatter you know our our trust in people, you know, and also maybe our sense of self and so on.
So when it comes to, you know, medical trauma, then, you know, it can be really of various kinds, you know, depending on our role in this situation, whether I'm the one, you know, having the sickness, you know, or for simplicity, we call it as patient, even though we don't, you know, I don't really like the term patient, you know.
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