Dr. Thema Helps Heal Your Trauma, One Tweet At A Time
Dr. Thema speaks up about no longer suffering in silence!
Svitlana Sokolova / Shutterstock As life goes, most of us are dealing with past trauma of some sort.
Even though we might not easily be able to put a finger on what it is, when triggered, we can start recognizing that there's something we need to heal to move forward with a healthy lifestyle.
Of course, healing trauma might feel unobtainable, especially considering access to therapy isn't always easy to come by — and that's where Dr. Thema comes in.
Dr. Thema Bryant Davis is a Renaissance woman.
A psychologist, minister, artist in dance and theatre, and a writer, Dr. Thema has so many passions that all incorporate into her profession as a clinical psychologist specializing in trauma.
She is a firm believer in the effectiveness of art and movement therapy, and her original idea to become a counselor came from her pastor father.
In an interview with The Trauma Therapist Project, Dr. Thema tells a story about when she was young. She remembers the phone was always ringing off the hook for her dad to give counseling to his congregants.
When people don’t want to go to a therapist because of stigma or other reasons, they may turn to their religious leader.
Dr. Thema also includes the lessons she learned from her religious upbringing as well as her own spiritual journey into her therapy practices because she recognizes the importance of spirituality and spiritual identity in recovery and healing.
Dr. Thema is all about intersectionality as we can see by the marriage of her many interests as well as her approach to understanding her clients.
In the Trauma Therapist Project interview, Dr. Thema explains, “Our multiple identities, not only shape who we are, but it shapes how we see our traumatic experiences, how we understand healing and recovery, what we believe is possible.”
Dr. Thema illuminates the issues of institutional psychology simplifying their patients to checklists; it is up to the clinician to dive deeper and get a more holistic view of who their patient is in order to wholly and accurately treat their problems as well as develop the trust that is needed between therapist and patient.
Dr. Thema chose to specialize in psychology because she has bore witness to and experienced so much trauma throughout her life. Her first- and second-hand experiences allow her a deeper understanding and empathy for trauma survivors while also imploring her to do something about the issue.
Dr. Thema says to The Trauma Therapist Project, “Even though the [trauma] issues were so prevalent, so pervasive, there was a deafening silence,” so she decided to break this silence, speak up, and actually do something to help.
Dr. Thema uses Twitter to spread her messages and let survivors know that they are not alone.
There are possibilities for victims of trauma to not only survive but also thrive.
Dr. Thema's inspiring tweets help make healing trauma more approachable.
Dr. Thema emphasizes the importance of self-care often.
This isn't to say have a wine night or get a manicure, although those things can be good too. Rather, Dr. Thema discusses the necessity of defining what spirituality means to you, expressing yourself through art, and defining who you are — because your trauma may be a part of you, but it is not the entirety of you.
Deep, compassionate self-care keeps your tank from running on empty instead of you needing to pretend that everything is fine.
Trauma can oppress and manipulate you into thinking that these things are just who you are.
Seeking help and making the effort to recover and be kinder to yourself, stand up for yourself, give yourself space, can bring you possibilities you may have thought were never attainable.
Healing is not a linear, single route journey. Relapses happen, don't beat yourself up over it.
Whether it's returning to toxic relationship, using maladaptive coping mechanisms, or whatever your case may be, it is human and okay to fall off of the recovery wagon. Just remember to get back on.
It is uncomfortable to face our issues and revisit our pain.
Often in trauma cases, it can feel like you are back in that moment that the trauma occurred. But what is not acknowledged cannot heal. Ignoring your trauma will not make it go away. It takes time, but the growth that comes from this hard work is invaluable.
Those who have survived trauma sometimes learn coping mechanisms that were necessary for their survival. Even when the danger is gone, those coping mechanisms still spring forward on instinct.
Learning new ways to interact with yourself and the world is difficult, but the healing process can help guide you towards developing healthier reactions.
Growth is hard, at times painful, and sometimes it may not even feel like it's happening. But look back at where you were, look at where you are now, the views are different, you are different, that's healing.
Colleen Fogarty is a writer who covers self-care, astrology, and relationship topics.