Geri Lynn Weinstein-Matthews, MSW, LCSW
Bio
Geri Lynn Weinstein-Mathews has been providing therapy for more than 20 years. Within that time she played a significant role delivering care to the Firefighters of New York City in the wake of the September 11th attacks. Recently Geri Lynn has turned her efforts to documentary filmmaking with her film Justice Denied to advocate and educate on the subject of rape in the military, and specifically male survivors of sexual assault in the military.
The Quote
Tears are a river that takes you somewhere…Tears lift your boat off the rocks, off dry ground, carrying it downriver to someplace better.
Clarissa Pinkola Estés
What Led to the Specialization of Trauma?
Geri Lynn shares her own personal experiences with abuse and trauma and the way in which those experiences have been a driving force in her desire to help other survivors heal.
A Crucial Early Mistake
Geri Lynn shares a story about what it was like supervising a group of clinicians working with the New York City Fire Fighters in the wake of 9/11 and how the environment in the city at that time—almost like a war zone—impacted and affected her ability to provide therapy.
Geri’s Why
I’m on a mission to advocate for those who have been traumatized through therapy as well as through filmmaking, to create hope and change and a new normal.
Geri’s Advice
- It’s okay not to know it all!
- We’re never too old or too experienced to check-in with ourselves.
- It’s important to be humble and if you don’t know something admit it and get the answer.
- Practice on-going self-care, which includes eating right, having fun, having alone time, and practicing good boundaries.
- Be open to different trauma therapy modalities.
Geri’s go-to books
- Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD: Emotional Processing of Traumatic Experiences Therapist Guide (Treatments That Work), Edna Foa
- Understanding Military Sexual Trauma: A guide for those who work with MST survivors, Miette Wells Ph.D.
Interview Links
- Justice Denied, The Untold Story of Military Sexual Assault. Geri Lynn’s documentary film
- The Invisible War, Documentary about the epidemic of rape of soldiers within the US military.
- Geri Lynn on Facebook
- Geri Lynn on Twitter
- Phone: 505-270-1575