We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jessica Graham a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jessica , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

My parents raised me surrounded by art, music, and film. We were under resourced at times, and they still prioritized creativity and creative expression. They also taught me from a very young age (in the early 80’s) about things like systemic racism, climate change, and LGBTQIA+ rights. They also both had deep connections to spirituality and nature and invited me to explore the internal and external beauty and wilderness.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am incredibly passionate about trauma resolution, due to my own journey of living with C-PTSD. I experienced such profound shifts personally, and I felt drawn to support others on that path of healing. My 1:1 and couples work started with teaching meditation, grief recovery and spiritual life coaching, with a focus on sex. Over time, I found that so many people who I worked with had experienced traumatic childhoods and that seemed to be the most important place to begin. I also came to realize that the space I held safe enough for my clients to be able to share from a very deep well about things they had never before talked about, even in therapy. For a good number of years, I referred people out to trauma therapists, but eventually I got enough training and certification to start support folks with their trauma resolution journey. I still refer out as needed and work in collaboration with licensed mental healthcare professionals, but at this point a majority of my clients are coming to me to address C-PTSD.

I offer somatic trauma resolution, Brainspotting, and variety of other modalities, depending on what will best serve the individual. I am a big believer in continuing education and I’m always adding to my skill set so that I can be of more service to my clients. I support my clients in processing the incomplete embodied emergency responses (fight/fight/freeze/fawn) so that they no longer have to carry the trauma inside their bodies. By working with the nervous system the effects of trauma such as depression, anxiety, addiction, and chronic pain, start to lessen. It’s amazing to see someone build resilience and no longer feel triggered and hypervigilant every day. This leads to better relationships of all kinds, more creative expression, appreciation of life, spiritual growth, and more ease and relaxation over all. Harmful patterns, shame, and self-judgement that folks have experienced for most of their lives start to shift and a whole new way of being in their bodies and in the world opens up.

My clients tend to be artists, mental health care professionals, coaches, and executives. While not all my clients fall into these categories, I have a good number of neurodivergent, queer, and non-binary clients. I’m happy to be able to meet my clients at those intersections, since I identify in those ways. I’m grateful to all my teachers, trainers, coaches, and therapists who have supported me on my continuing journey and to the amazing humans who I get to call clients. It truly is possible for life to get so much better, and it’s such a joy to watch that happen for people.

Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?

The work I do with people was a calling, more than a choice I made. I never planned to do this work. I’m privileged to be able to earn a good income with the trauma resolution work, while also continuing to do the other things I love. So, there’s no need to go back! I’m also a filmmaker, actor, model, and author. My first book Good Sex: Getting Off without Checking Out came out in 2017, and my next book comes out in 2024. It’s a book of essays and poems about trauma, chronic illness/pain, neurodivergence, and spirituality. If I had a 4 clones of myself I might want to be a scientist, an ethical porn director, a philosopher, and a homemaker with 2 kids.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

For the trauma resolution work, the ability to be deeply compassionate and present, while also having strong and clear emotional and energetic boundaries. It’s also, more than helpful, necessary to be always doing your own inner work and getting lots of excellent support. Space holders need space holders.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://yourwildawakening.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessicaclarkgraham/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/grahamjessica/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@wildawakening
• TikToK: https://www.tiktok.com/@jessicaclarkgraham

Image Credits
Main photo, photo 1 and photo 4: @obscura_kamera