The word “inheritance” brings to mind images of a financial legacy, but Reesie Sims suggests another meaning: an inheritance of trauma that ancestors may have left behind. The director of therapeutic services at Volare, Reesie explains why she considers a client’s emotional inheritances in this conversation with hosts Bridgette Stumpf and Lindsey Silverberg. “The tree remembers what the ax forgets,” she says. “Trauma either begins a story in a person, or it continues a story in a person.”

Traumatic “inheritances” can lie deep in a person’s genetic make-up, she says: “All of your pregnant grandma's experiences, including those that could have been traumatic, undoubtedly had an impact and influence on the expression of genes that were developed for you, for your mom, and for you in the womb.” She encourages clients to investigate their family's emotional history to identify whose trauma stories they might be carrying. “I think this type of self-awareness will encourage self-betterment, and it allows you to become an active writer in your trauma story. And I think that can lead to a feeling of agency.”

Reesie also discusses emerging trauma treatment approaches like Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, or EMDR, and the flash technique. Tune in for her insights about why such modalities should always be done with skilled supervision and why she’s always thinking about a client’s culture when developing different tools.

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Brought to you by Volare, TraumaTies: Untangling Societal Harm & Healing After Crime is a podcast that creates space and conversations to dissect the structural and systemic knots that keep us from addressing trauma.

Rooted in a belief that survivors of crime deserve respect for their dignity in the aftermath of victimization, Volare seeks to empower survivors by informing them of all of the options available and working to transform existing response systems to be more inclusive of the diverse needs that survivors often have after crime.

Volare also provides free, holistic, and comprehensive advocacy, therapeutic, and legal services to survivors of all crime types. Visit our website to learn more about how to access our trauma-informed education training and how to partner with us to expand survivor-defined justice.