PROUD What We Miss When We Don’t Listen: Patient Story, Cultural Humility, and Trauma-Informed Reproductive Care – 6/9/26

An interactive in-person workshop to kick off the 2026 PROUD Summer Series, themed Strengthening the Systems of Care, will be held on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, 9:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at CHA (110 Barnes Road in Wallingford, CT).

This onsite educational activity is jointly provided by AXIS Medical Education and the Connecticut Hospital Association in collaboration with the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services.

Reproductive healthcare experiences—spanning fertility, pregnancy, birth, loss, and postpartum—often unfold within high-pressure hospital environments where patient stories can be truncated, misunderstood, or overshadowed by clinical urgency. For individuals navigating trauma histories, substance use or recovery, and marginalized identities, these encounters can feel stigmatizing, disempowering, or unsafe.

This interactive workshop centers story-listening as a clinical and systems-level skill, inviting providers across emergency, labor and delivery, inpatient, and ambulatory settings to more fully hear, interpret, and respond to patient experiences. Participants will explore how gaps in listening contribute to patient distress, disengagement, and inequitable outcomes.

Through a trauma-informed and culturally responsive framework, the session will highlight how bias—particularly related to substance use, mental health, and reproductive decision-making—can unintentionally shape care delivery. Attendees will examine real-world scenarios and identify how language, workflow, and system design can either reinforce or reduce harm.

Using facilitated discussion and small-group collaboration, participants will translate patient narratives into actionable strategies to strengthen compassionate, respectful, and coordinated care. Emphasis will be placed on practical, feasible shifts that support dignity, trust, and safety for all patients, including those navigating substance use and recovery.

Participants will leave with concrete tools to enhance story-listening, reduce stigma, and implement trauma-informed, culturally humble practices across hospital systems.

Target Audience: This conference is designed for healthcare professionals, educators, social service providers, and policy leaders committed to creating systems that recognize and respond to the impact of trauma.

Presenter: Catharine McDonald, MS, NCC, LPC, PMH-C, Growing Well Counseling