About Christy Gibson, MD DProf

Making sense of our personal & collective struggles

I help people grow beyond shame and better understand how trauma is shaping what they’re experiencing in themselves, their organizations, and their communities.

About Christy Gibson, MD DProf

Making sense of our personal & collective struggles

I help people grow beyond shame and better understand how trauma is shaping what they’re experiencing in themselves, their organizations, and their communities.

Many of the ways we struggle today began as ways we learned to survive.

Rather than asking, “What’s wrong with you?”, my work asks a different question: “What happened to you, and how did your nervous system adapt?”

Compassion over shame
Many of our most frustrating patterns are adaptive responses, not personal failures. Understanding this creates space for healing and change.
Knowledge that empowers

In a gentle, inclusive way, I translate complex trauma science into practical, relatable insights that people can apply in everyday life.

Healing beyond the individual

Our struggles don’t happen in isolation. By exploring the intersection of trauma, health, culture, and modern life, I help people see the bigger picture.

Certifications

Being caught in the 2015 Nepal earthquake changed the course of my work.

After a decade as a physician and global health leader, my understanding of trauma shifted when I experienced it firsthand.

In the aftermath of the earthquake, I started noticing symptoms I didn’t immediately recognize. As I began to better understand my own experience, it became clear that trauma was at the root of many of the struggles I had been seeing in my patients all along.

Over time, I came to see that trauma shapes not only our individual health and relationships, but also many of our collective and systemic challenges, from addiction and poverty to racism, burnout, and climate anxiety. Because of the climate crisis, in particular, it’s never been more important to understand trauma.

Today, my work brings together medicine, trauma science, and healing traditions from across the globe

I’ve completed training in 21 trauma-focused modalities, integrating somatic, cognitive, relational, and narrative approaches to help people better understand themselves and the world around them.

In addition to my work in primary care and global health, I’m the author of The Modern Trauma Toolkit, an internationally recognized speaker, and creator of educational content that reaches hundreds of thousands of people around the world.

My work sits at the intersection of trauma, health, culture, social and environmental change. Whether I’m writing, teaching, speaking, or consulting, my goal is the same: to make trauma science accessible and equitable so that individuals, organizations, and communities can thrive.

Want to see Dr. Gibson's full resume?

Professional Highlights

20+ Years in Family Medicine

For more than two decades, Dr. Gibson has cared for individuals and families as a family physician in Alberta, Canada, bringing a compassionate, whole-person approach to health and healing.

Doctorate in Transdisciplinary Studies

Dr. Gibson holds a DProf in Transdisciplinary Studies, as well as a Masters in Medical Education. Her doctoral work reflects her commitment to exploring complex human challenges through the intersecting lenses of global health, psychology, and social innovation.

Trauma-Informed Facilitator

Individually and as a co-founder of Safer Spaces Training, Dr. Gibson facilitates trauma-informed learning experiences for healthcare professionals, organizations, and communities across multiple continents, blending medicine, education, and lived experience to support meaningful change.

Award-Winning Author

Dr. Gibson is the author of The Modern Trauma Toolkit, an award-winning book that makes trauma science accessible, practical, and hopeful for readers around the world. It has won a Gold Nautilus Book Award, Book Excellence Award, and International Book Award in Psychology.

International Speaker

A sought-after keynote speaker and two-time TEDx presenter, Dr. Gibson has shared her work with audiences in 17 countries, helping individuals and organizations better understand trauma, resilience, and psychological safety.

Global Health Innovator

As founder of the Global Familymed Foundation and The Belong Foundation, Dr. Gibson has partnered with communities around the world to strengthen primary care systems and advance more equitable social care.

Book by Dr. Christy Gibson

The Modern Trauma Toolkit

Embrace your innate power and find growth from trauma with this essential guide filled with groundbreaking solutions and strategies for your healing journey.

Read. Listen. Grow.

Attuned Substack

Essays and reflections on trauma, healing, post-traumatic growth, and the many ways we are shaped by the worlds within and around us.

Attuned Podcast

Conversations exploring trauma, health, culture, and the modern world through the lens of the nervous system.

Unbothered Course

A practical guide to feeling less overwhelmed, less reactive, and more grounded in an increasingly chaotic world.

Free download

See the hidden impact of trauma

Begin your journey toward healing and growth.

This collection of powerful illustrations from The Modern Trauma Toolkit make complex trauma concepts easy to understand, with tools you can start using right now.