
YOU Restored: Healing from Trauma For Everyone with Jimanekia Eborn
Episode 06
When it comes to healing, the path is not linear. Whether you are are a survivor of sexual assault or have experienced trauma in your life, you are worthy to pursue wholeness and healing. It can be a hard road to find the right community to heal with, especially if you identify as part of a marginalized community. Prevalently, therapy and therapeutic services cater largely to one group, evidenced by the fact that approximately 86% of psychologists are white, and less than 2% of American Psychological Association members are African American, and for people in the LGBTQ+ community, the offerings are similarly limited. Our guest for this episode in the For the Love of You series believes that healing and help for trauma and abuse is for everyone. Jimanekia Eborn is a queer trauma media consultant, comprehensive sex educator, and a sexual assault and trauma expert. Her work lands at the intersection of healing and community for marginalized folks. Not only that, Jimanekia is a survivor herself, and talks about her experience with vulnerability and honesty, creating a welcoming and comforting atmosphere for her clients. Jen and Jimanekia talk through the boundaries that exist for marginalized communities as they seek out mental health care, how to help those closest to you after traumatic experiences, and why caring for ourselves allows us to care for others better.
Content Warning: A quick note for you listeners. This episode touches on sexual assault and sexual trauma, so it may not be suitable for young audiences or survivors on the path to healing.
Hey, everybody, Jen Hatmaker here, your host of the For The Love Podcast. Welcome to the show. I’m so glad that you’re here, because right now we are in a series called For the Love of You. We are looking at, essentially, what does it mean to be a flourishing human on this earth so that we can be in the highest service to our families, and our communities, and the people that we love, and the whole entire world?
And so, a big part of the series is learning to take care of ourselves so that we can be present and mindful in the middle of our little space in the world. But for many people, and I say many, I think the numbers are astronomically high, there is either an unidentified or perhaps ignored trauma in their past that holds them back from flourishing. But here’s the thing, I think when a lot of us think of the word trauma, I don’t know, maybe we think about physical trauma, something that our bodies maybe went through, an accident, or something that dramatically influenced our day-to-day lives, which is all real, a huge thing that we’ll be talking about in this episode as well.
But in addition to physical trauma, mental trauma, as we’re coming to learn more, and more, and more is finally, I think, getting the attention that it deserves in the mental health conversation. Because this impacts, well, everything. It impacts relationships. It impacts our ability to function daily. And then, it literally impacts our physical health and our bodies, which we talk about in this episode. And then, long term, of course, it increases our chance of experiencing depression, or anxiety, or PTSD. So when it comes to treating past trauma and working towards healing and a space of mental clarity, and health, and wholeness, it can be hard to find holistic help, and then even communities that provide the proper room to heal.
This is doubled down if you are additionally in a marginalized community, if you are a person of color, if you are in the LGBTQ+ community, if you are an immigrant, if you add any sort of marginalization to your identity, it’s even harder. I have learned this deeply inside our community here, and how mental health is really an exercise in inequality. At virtually every level it is a game of privilege and who has access to it. Not only who has access to it, but whose communities have normalized therapy as a healthy part of life and also who our providers look like. Imagine bringing your trauma to a place of healing and being unable to find a therapist, or a counselor, or a healing community that looks like you, that understands your specific set of trauma and suffering. And then, you end up spending your own personal emotional labor trying to educate your therapist. And so, at every level, this is a complicated conversation, not just what is available but to whom, and how easily and how readily.
I have a fabulous guest today. I’ve got Jimanekia Eborn with me. Jimanekia is a queer trauma media consultant, comprehensive sex educator, and a sexual assault and trauma expert. I mean, she basically only deals in deep waters. Jimanekia has been working in mental health for over a decade with all ages. She’s led trauma informed comprehensive workshops at multiple universities. She’s been the keynote speaker at Princeton Women’s History Month this year, and at the UCSB Women of Color Conference in 2019. Jimanekia saw the need for sexual education and trauma support, which led to her passion for helping those who have survived, and specifically even those without access to comprehensive sex education. She has worked in all kinds of fields to build safe spaces for her clients. She shares education wildly and widely and essentially supports all facets of mental health and healing.
She says, “When we can come together as survivors to reflect, reenergize, and regenerate ourselves, the healing magnifies. This is more than a mantra, it is my mission.” You’re going to see this as you engage in our conversation today. Her work is so vital, and so important, and so crucial. So, real quick, just reminder, if you’d like to watch us have this conversation, because this one is so tender and full of fragile elements of our histories and stories, you want to watch us talk, you can go to my YouTube channel, which all episodes are over there, so you can see the visual recording of our conversations, and just listen to it in your earbuds.
I’m delighted to introduce this really special leader, and thinker, and healer, and practitioner to this community. You’re going to love her. So, buckle up for this really profound conversation with Jimanekia Eborn.
Stay Connected with Jen Hatmaker:
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | YOUTUBE | WEB
Thanks for listening to the For the Love Podcast!
XO – Team Jen
- Get 20% off your first order at thirdlove.com/forthelove.
- Get $20 off your first purchase at rothys.com/forthelove.
-
Get 10% off your first month at betterhelp.com/forthelove.

Take a peek around
If you’re not sure where to begin, I got you, friend. I’m always bringing you something new to enjoy.
Read More About Jen