Abstract
Recognizing the need for a transformative shift to advance scholarship and practice focused on traumatic stress, this paper emerged from a special invited panel at the 38th Annual Meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS). The panel brought together scholars from interdisciplinary backgrounds, including psychology, public health, and social work, to share their unique perspectives and experiences harnessing a collaborative, critical, and strengths-based lens in research. This piece invites the field to consider the importance of cultural humility as a foundational, nonnegotiable practice in traumatic stress studies. Details about participatory science and healing-centered practice are presented along with key questions to support the application of these frameworks in studies of traumatic stress.