Professional Biography
For your reference
David Archer, PSW, MFT, MSW
David Archer, PSW, MFT, MSW, is a Black Jamaican African Canadian father and husband from Montreal, Canada (Tiohtià:ke). He is also a registered social worker, couple and family therapist, anti-racist psychotherapist, and EMDRIA Certified Approved EMDR Trainer. He is studying a PhD at Concordia University and was won several awards which include a full scholarship by the Canadian federal government’s SSHRC doctoral fellowship.
With over 16 years of experience, he specializes in treating complex PTSD and complex racial trauma using Africentric principles and memory reconsolidation-based approaches. David is the recipient of the Emerging Leader Award from EMDRIA as well as the developer of Rhythm and Processing (RAP) Strategies, an integrative therapeutic approach for treating complex PTSD and racial trauma.
David is the author of five books relating to anti-racist psychotherapy, mindfulness, complex trauma treatment, and revolutionary healing methods. His amazon author page is here. He is a keynote speaker and regular conference presenter who offers workshops to help therapists integrate anti-racist principles into their practice and to teach people of all backgrounds to recognize their awesomeness.
If you would like additional information feel free to contact me or continue reading below.
Awards and Distinctions
- SSHRC Doctoral Award – Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (2025)
- Concordia University Graduate Doctoral Fellowship– Concordia University (2025)
- Concordia Merit Scholarship — Concordia University (2025)
- Concordia Black Student Excellence Doctoral Entrance Award – Concordia University (2025)
- Faculty of Arts and Science Entrance Award – Concordia University (2025)
- Community Service Award – Association of Black Psychologists (2025)
- Emerging Leader Award Recipient – EMDRIA (2024)
- President’s Task Force on Anti-Black Racism Award – Concordia University (2024)
- ByBlacks.com People’s Choice Award (Therapist Category) – ByBlacks.com (2024)
Complex/Racial Trauma and Dissociation
Archer is a recipient of Concordia University’s President’s Task Force on Anti-Black Racism Award and the Emerging Leader award in EMDR therapy from EMDRIA. These recognitions reflect his contributions over the years in racial trauma recovery.
As the first Black EMDRIA Approved EMDR trainer in Canada, he has a personal commitment to addressing the wounds of systemic racism and fostering healing for all diverse identities in the Montreal communities.
He is also an EMDRIA certified Approved Consultant from Montreal, Canada (Tiohtià:ke) who specializes in treating complex PTSD and complex racial trauma using memory reconsolidation-based approaches.
Archer is the developer of an integrative therapeutic approach called Rhythm and Processing (RAP) Strategies which uses memory reconsolidation and Africentric principles to create a culturally responsive framework to assist in recovery from complex PTSD, identity-based stresses and treatment resistant disorders.
Public Speaking and Presentations
Mr. Archer has been a plenary and keynote presenter at multiple events discussing topics which range from racial trauma, trauma-focused therapy, dissociation and social justice.
He was a keynote for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr symposium at the University of Michigan, a plenary presenter for the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation, as well as a plenary presenter for the EMDR International Association.
His social media can be found here:
As he operates a private practice which serves clients in multiple provinces he provides both individual and group consultations to support other therapists.
His written contributions are part of the required reading for EMDRIA Approved EMDR trainings this article can be found here. He also provides consulting to organizations, group practices, and corporations internationally.
Special areas of interest relate to complex PTSD, racial trauma, addictions, mindfulness, and vicarious growth.
Mr. Archer seeks to increase the number of Black EMDR therapists, anti-racist therapists of all backgrounds, and revolutionary therapists in all disciplines.
Books and Additional Information
Mr. Archer is regularly invited to serve on number of panels, workshops, plenary discussions, and was on radio and television. He has a been a guest on several podcasts (you can see them here).
He is the author of Anti-Racist Psychotherapy: Confronting Systemic Racism and Healing Racial Trauma , which explains the philosophy behind anti-racist practice and the mental health consequences of racial trauma. It is available on Amazon in paperback, hardcover, e-book and audiobook versions.
His second book is called Black Meditation: Ten Practices for Self-Care, Mindfulness, and Self-Determination. Based on principles of mindfulness, it describes 10 practices designed to improve racial awareness and positive self-identity with Black people who may or may not connect with mainstream Eurocentric models of psychotherapy.
His third book is called Racial Trauma Recovery: Healing Our Past Using Rhythm and Processing. This is an integrative clinical framework that describes his primary means of helping clients to heal from social identity based forms of suffering using strategies from diverse modalities as well as the Rhythm and Processing Technique.
His fourth book is called Black Mountain: Fight for the Future. It is an Afrofuturistic science fiction novel that revolves around youth who undergo an ancestral transformation ceremony to fulfill their destiny fighting against an intergalactic faschistic government bent on achieving global supremacy. The use the power of the elements to cultivate self-understanding, recover from their trauma, and protect the oppressed.
The fifth book is called Transforming Complex Trauma: Reflections on Anti-Racist Psychotherapy. This book was meant to be a consolidation of the ideas from the previous books in a simpler language. It was also meant to explain the need to revolutionize our perspective on therapy and bring awareness to Rhythm and Processing Strategies for the purpose of racial trauma recovery and complex trauma treatment.
My CV is available on request.
Learn about my EMDR Trainings here.
See the faculty page.
And here is the link to my books.
You can click here if you need to contact me for any reason.
Thank you for taking the time to read this.