Hidden Gems: Meet Jamie Wehmeyer of The Battle Within; Jamie Wehmeyer, LLC and MJM Consulting: Our Journeys Matter

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jamie Wehmeyer.

Hi Jamie, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and have spent most of my career in community behavioral health. I started working at an urban core women’s substance use program. The women could bring their children with them to treatment. From the time I started there, I realized I did not have the skills or knowledge to help these families heal from the significant trauma they experienced. I had not experienced life-altering trauma at that point and knew I would need to educate myself if I was going to help them. At the time, I was focused on how I, as a clinician, could help women and their children heal from what was often a lifetime of trauma. After about 10 years, I transitioned to working with individuals with severe mental health issues. I quickly saw the impact of trauma and the challenges to healing again because of it. While working at this organization, I was introduced to Trauma Informed Care (TIC). From the time it was introduced to me, I felt I had found the missing link in helping people to heal. TIC is not just about specific trauma-focused interventions being used to treat individuals, although that is a part of it. It is more about creating safe spaces for all people to heal, regardless of their organizational role. TIC teaches us to assume all individuals may have a history of traumatic loss and take precautions to avoid doing more harm. At that point in my career, I had been in management for a long time and had seen the effects of trauma and secondary trauma on my staff. I loved that TIC honors everyone’s journey.

While my work has always been important to me, my family is the most important thing in my life. I have been married for nearly 30 years to my husband, Jeff. We are parents to two boys, Jake and Zane. Not to sound like a sappy movie, but the three of them complete my heart. On June 25th, 2017, a part of my heart was broken when Jake, at 17, was murdered by a childhood friend. To say I am forever changed is an understatement. While I had spent much of my professional career understanding trauma, I had no idea how it changed a person’s brain and body. I am now intimately aware of what trauma can do. But I have also learned the many ways that a person can heal.

After losing Jake, I quickly discovered that most individuals and systems did not know how to nonjudgmentally help our family overcome the trauma of losing Jake. The legal system, the school system, the organization I worked at, and my loved ones did not know how to support our family. It has become my mission to teach others about trauma, traumatic loss, and building resilience to be well.

Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned? Looking back, has it been easy or smooth in retrospect?
NO! There have been so many struggles on this road! First, my child was taken from me. I will always be a mother of two, with one missing. Watching Zane move into young adulthood, I am so proud of him and all he has overcome. But also, I am reminded that his brother should be going on this journey with him. There will always be reminders of who we are missing. And while we all experience the same trauma, Jeff, Zane, and I, each have very different trauma responses. During the first few years, I was unsure if we would survive as a family. We were all going through so much anger and fear during that time. We have healed as a family by learning to give grace to each other and ourselves. I could share about so many other challenges, but the last thing I want to share about is the unexpected secondary losses I have experienced. The loss of what “should be” is ever-present. But I have also lost people on the journey because we were at different places in our lives. And worst of all, I had lost the person I was before Jake was killed. I have been so profoundly changed that I have had to figure out who I am now. And while I have been given so many gifts and discovered so many things about my resilience in the last few years, I miss who I was before.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about The Battle Within; Jamie Wehmeyer, LLC and MJM Consulting: Our Journeys Matter?
Jamie Wehmeyer, LLC and MJM Consulting: Our Journeys Matter are focused on educating others about trauma and resilience. I provide presentations and training on trauma, traumatic loss, healing, and resilience through my LLC. MJM Consulting is a nonprofit I started with two of my colleagues who are trauma-informed champions. We provide consulting and coaching on building trauma-informed organizations and communities. In November, I joined The Battle Within as their Clinical Director. The Battle Within is a nonprofit providing a safe space for veterans, first responders, and frontline medical staff to begin healing from the trauma they experience while serving others. The Battle Within recognizes the many paths to healing. The Battle Within is an amazing organization that honors our heroes and helps them to heal. The Revenant Journey is an intensive 5-day program that teaches our country’s warriors the skills to begin their healing journey. The Frontline Therapy Network removes the barriers often found when seeking therapy. We work to match our warriors with therapists who will meet their needs, and we cover the first 6 sessions. And our KC Warrior Coalition is a partnership with other like-minded organizations that allow Revenant journey graduates to continue practicing the skills they learned during their week.

Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc.?
Some so many good books and podcasts have helped me!

I’ll share a few:

• The Body Keeps the Score by Dr. Bessel Van Der Kolk
• What Happened to You by Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Bruce Perry
• The Trauma Stewardship by Laura van Dernoot Lipsky
• Finding Meaning by David Kessler
• Brené Brown’s Unlocking Us podcast
• Being Well with Rick and Forrest Hanson Podcast

And my blog helps me heal so much! I only write a blog when I am moved to do so, but it has been so healing! https://inspirehopehealing.com/blog/.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://inspirehopehealing.com/,  https://www.thebattlewithin.org/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inspirehopeandhealing/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/inspirehopeandhealing https://www.facebook.com/jointhebattlewithin
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-wehmeyer-95963737/ 

Image Credits
Brandi Wisdom
Elizabeth Laden Photography