Dr. Sim’s new book “Survivor Care: What Religious Professionals Need to Know about Trauma“ is now available! Find it on Amazon, Cokesbury, or even Barnes & Noble, through the publisher GBHEM Publishing, Wesley Foundery Books.
Within this book, Christy explains what to expect in survivor behavior based in how the body and brain are supposed to work when confronted with threat. She offers concrete healing tools, explains the roles of community partner service providers, helps organizations think through policies concerning safety planning, and so much more. See Ruth Everhart’s book review in the Christian Century for more on what to expect in the book.
Dr. Sim proposes proper responses to disclosures of violence start with understanding how the body reacts to trauma. From there, we can explore the ways healing can happen in body, mind, and spirit. Sim also explains the complexities of violence, how service provision and grants work, and offers instruction for safety in places of worship.
Sim has worked with AIMS Training and Consulting, with Chief Anthony Williams, through Cedar Valley College as the family violence subject matter expert, training Church Safety Seminars and a variety of other courses.
Sim frequently speaks, trains, and consults with nonprofits on trauma and healing (see Schedule).
See the Dallas Morning News Clip of Dr. Sim speaking:
Dr. Sim was also added to the Scientific Reviewer and Advisor database for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as an expert in Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, and Teen Dating Violence in December 2017. This is a project of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC) and the National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH), with Extramural Research Program Office (ERPO).
Dr. Sim will also be listed in the Office of Victim’s of Crime’s US Department of Justice Directory of Victim Researchers in the OVC-Funded Project with the Center for Victim Research. This project is a place for victim researchers and service providers to connect and share knowledge. See more about this new project here.
She sat on the Institutional Review Board for Claremont School of Theology for several years where she assesses care for vulnerable populations being researched by PhD Students. She also advises PhD students on a case-by-case basis which includes sitting on the review team for a PhD student’s oral and qualifying exams.
Dr. Sim was previously the Executive Director of Stronger, an organization that designed and provided healing tools for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. She also spent time as the Accreditation and Technical Assistance Coordinator at the Kansas Coalition against Sexual and Domestic Violence (KCSDV) where she worked with domestic violence and sexual assault programs helping enable a standard of trauma-informed care.
Sim has experience as an Expert Witness for the District Attorney’s Office in criminal court, testifying on victim and perpetrator behavior. She also serves on multiple Crime Victims Councils in the North Texas region.
Dr. Sim graduated August of 2014 with a doctorate in Global Health and Wholeness with her main area of emphasis and research in healing after Domestic Violence from St. Paul’s School of Theology. Her dissertation was titled: Body, Theology, and Intimate Partner Violence: Healing Fragmentation through Spiritual Play. She holds an M.Div from Nazarene Theological Seminary.
Additionally, Sim has over 500 hours of training beyond her formal education. Most of this is OVW-funded and includes domestic violence, sexual assault, strangulation, legal and forensic implications of violence, the neurobiology of trauma, trauma-informed care, gender, batterer intervention, and developing a community’s response to violence.
Sim has a chapter, “Celebration of Strength” in the book Talking Taboo: American Christian Women Get Frank about Faith (Eds. Lane and Okoro; White Cloud Press, 2013).
Sim is active publishing online with Christian Feminism Today and Evangelicals for Social Action on how faith communities can respond to violence in healthy ways and how this intersects with notions of the divine feminine. She also has guest articles on a variety of places (such as Feminism and Religion).
Sim’s recent paper presentations and research include “The Dehumanization of Abuse” at a conference on domestic violence in British Columbia and “How the Church can have a Voice and Role in Healing After Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault” at the 53rd meeting of the Wesleyan Theological Society Meeting.
In the academic world, Sim has taught several courses for Friends University (Wichita, KS), including: Imagining Healing for Violence & Poverty, an Introduction to Ethics Class, and Philosophy, and she has spoke at various institutions (such as Collin College).
Sim is trained and certified by A Window Between Worlds to offer Trauma Art Healing Workshops for survivors and professionals working with survivors.
She has also volunteered with various organizations to teach courses on ‘surviving violence’ and ‘self-care towards healing,’ created from her doctoral research and designed to help mothers with young children after the experience of violence.
Access Dr. Sim’s resources and research on her Patreon account. Different denominations unlock different levels of access.
Interested in bringing Christy in for a speaking event or training? Contact is available here.
Download the Brochure for Dr. Christy Sim here: Brochure – Dr Christy Sim
Check out the Request Christy page, the Publications page, and the Schedule Page!
#Survivor Care 