Thema S. Bryant, PhD, is a tenured professor of psychology in the Graduate School of Education and Psychology at Pepperdine University, where she directs the Culture and Trauma Research Laboratory. Her clinical and research interests center on interpersonal trauma and the societal trauma of oppression. She has raised public awareness regarding mental health by extending the reach of psychology beyond the academy and private therapy office through community programming, organizational consultation, popular books, and media engagement. 

Bryant is a past president of the Society for the Psychology of Women and a past APA representative to the United Nations. She also served on the APA Committee on International Relations in Psychology and the Committee on Women in Psychology.

In 2013, APA honored Bryant for Distinguished Early Career Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest. The Institute of Violence, Abuse and Trauma presented her their media award for the film “Psychology of Human Trafficking” in 2016, and the Donald Fridley Memorial Award for excellence in mentoring in the field of trauma in 2018. The California Psychological Association recognized her for Distinguished Scientific Achievement in Psychology in 2015. One of the foundational scholars on the topic of the trauma of racism, she gave an invited keynote address on the topic at APA2020. That year, APA’s International Division honored her for her International Contributions to the Study of Gender and Women for her work in Africa and the Diaspora.

Bryant—known popularly as Dr. Thema—is host of “Homecoming,” a mental health podcast, and director of the mental health ministry at First AME Church in South Los Angeles. She is author of the book Homecoming: Overcome Fear and Trauma to Reclaim Your Whole Authentic Self and co-author of The Antiracism Handbook: Practical Tools to Shift Your Mindset & Uproot Racism in Your Life and Community. She is editor or co-editor of the APA books Womanist and Mujerista Psychologies: Voices of Fire, Acts of Courage and Multicultural Feminist Therapy: Helping Adolescent Girls of Color To Thrive. Her presidential initiatives aim to enhance belonging and engagement within APA and use psychological science to address trauma, grief, and oppression nationally and internationally.

Bryant completed her doctorate in clinical psychology at Duke University and her post-doctoral training at Harvard Medical Center’s Victims of Violence Program. Upon graduating, she became the coordinator of the Princeton University SHARE Program, which provides intervention and prevention programming to combat sexual assault, sexual harassment, and harassment based on sexual orientation.

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Resumen

This presentation will highlight the mental health consequences of trauma with special attention to COVID-19 and the trauma of oppression.  These potential effects include but are not limited to depression, anger, distrust, anxiety, dissociation, difficulty concentrating, somatic complaints, self-harming behaviors, internalized oppression, declines in physical health, and disrupted spiritual and religious beliefs. The presenter will make the case for clinical psychologists to respond with trauma-informed care and practice that actively promotes the decolonizing of psychology through principles of liberation psychology.  The presentation will explore both theory and practical applications of trauma-informed care and liberation psychology.  The barriers to such applications will be examined, as well as ways to address those barriers.  Finally, the presentation will address ways of countering burnout and vicarious trauma for practitioners who attend to these pervasive and deleterious aspects of the human experience.  Implications, limitations, and recommendations for clinical practice, research, teaching, and policy will be highlighted.