As I was deciding whether or not to move forward with the Community Care IS Healthcare event, I realized I felt torn. The news earlier this summer about Russell Brand being under indictment on five separate counts of rape and sexual assault made me wary of promoting a film that features him. Of course, the film primarily centers on Gabor Maté, a leader at the intersection of psychology, understanding trauma, and embracing nature’s loving technology—psychedelics. The Wisdom of Trauma premiered in 2021 and flips the script on how we as a culture view and address mental health challenges by empathizing with trauma held in the body and understanding for the contexts in which trauma survivors exist. Brand and Maté engage in one-on-one conversations about vulnerable topics such as addiction and mental health in the film. Maté has also been a guest on Brand’s podcast Under the Skin, including episodes with titles like “Damaged Leaders Rule an Addicted World!”
Brand pleaded not guilty in London’s Southwark Crown Court back in May to five separate instances of sexual assault from earlier in his career. His trial is scheduled for June 2026, and he has been released on bail until then. Brand has publicly stated that he was addicted to sex and drugs and insists that all his interactions were consensual.
While I, Annie Boheler, am not in any position to serve as judge or jury, I have intentionally spent the last decade honing my social intuitive skills—including but not limited to understanding abuse of power and sexual transgressions. It makes sense that whether or not a person is guilty of an offense, being accused naturally puts them in a defensive state. I have sat with my own wounds from sexual assault for years—with the support of trusted practitioners, master plants, and wise ancestors—and have also worked with perpetrators of harm in my private practice. I have sat in high security prisons, sharing ‘just like me’ compassionate loving kindness meditations with those who have taken lives in crimes of passion. I understand that ending cycles of abuse fundamentally requires both compassion and accountability for those who have transgressed boundaries or been negligent.
I am currently enrolled in a twelve-month drug counseling program on track to become a Registered Alcohol and Drug Technician through the California Consortium of Addiction Programs and Professionals—the longest-standing addiction organization in the state. While I wholeheartedly embrace transformative justice values in repair processes within my work, we do live within a penal system that is historically rooted in patriarchal and racist structures; the system is not going anywhere. Years after the #MeToo movement and films such as 13th surfacing—and amidst controversial backlash against call-out culture—we may finally be entering a broader era of accountability.
With all my actions, work, love, and effort poured into this world, accountability is what I deeply wish for—for all those who have experienced violence and lack of support from every angle of this suffering.
I have observed friends and community members at various stages of chemical addiction and treatment. Working as a case manager at a long-term women’s house in Santa Cruz last year gave me additional professional experience around stabilization and deeper insight into experiences faced by survivors of the prison industrial complex or those stuck “in the system.” One core component of addiction—whether chemical or behavioral (such as sexual compulsions)—is that it is not a choice; therefore, it exists outside the realm of consent. I have known many folks with chemical addiction who have never been accused of crossing sexual boundaries.
So when someone says they are an addict or had addiction tendencies confined solely to substance abuse—never crossing into sexual interactions—while five women come forward with their stories, it raises questions. I share this not to encourage premature conclusions for myself or others but to acknowledge complexity.
Brand states he is being targeted by legal systems because of his outspoken criticism of corruption in media, Hollywood, and politics. Once again, I do not seek to draw conclusions; I recognize my own biases arising from being a survivor. The process of rewiring my own trauma has taught me that multiple conflicting truths can coexist—and often do. It is likely that Brand is being targeted and that he caused harm to others during murky moments of the past.
By watching this film and holding desire for accountability and safety for all, may we fortify ourselves and our community around the inevitability of harms. Harm reduction is founded in education and facts, humility and acknowledgement of belief systems. If we believe that everyone deserves dignity, safety, and connection—no matter their traumas or coping methods—we move closer to a world where love and life are at the heart of all our shared experiences. Creating accountability culture, which will include rewiring our modern westerners’ relationship with humility, is a key ingredient. The concept of forgiveness can get very sticky and I recommend this 6 minute and 40 second video on forgiveness I found when researching Family Constellations healing modality.
All this is to say: please consider joining us in Santa Cruz on September 4th, a Thursday, for the film screening of The Wisdom of Trauma featuring Gabor Maté. You can reserve your ticket on Eventbrite here:
On September 11th, the following Thursday, there will be a film screening of The Eternal Song which is produced and directed by the same folks, the founders of Science and Nonduality – https://www.eventbrite.com/e/community-care-is-healthcare-the-eternal-song-film-screening-tickets-1572189273439?aff=oddtdtcreator
References:
For more background on cancel culture—a social response deeply tied to public shaming and collective longing for accountability—read my article here:
Here is one of my favorite perspectives on the concept of forgiveness: Family Constellations with Shavasti – an interview on ‘Forgiveness’ – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjSNopwCN7c