Psyched Perspectives: Trauma, Transformations, and Truth

In the latest episode of “Psyched Perspectives,” Frank A. Clark, MD, discusses trauma, transformations, and truth with colleague Emily Lafferman, MD. Lafferman shared a poem she wrote as a reflection on her transition and learning in psychiatry residency, called “Regalis Becoming.” Working together at Prisma Health, the two have a dedicated project to share insights in the psychiatrist experience beyond break room conversations. As a fellow poet, Clark shared his response poem, titled “A Genial Gift.” The themes the pair address through poetry provide a release, says Lafferman, and “the potential of my poem and my words to fall on seasoned ears is a feeling…it will resonate for others, especially those that have faced a lot of trauma themselves or worked with patients with trauma.” Discussion of therapeutic struggle or the clinician’s own dealings with personal trauma is something Clark and Lafferman tend to work through in their poetry.

Lafferman’s interest in trauma, transformation, and truth has been something she’s reflected on as a medical resident. Aware of the trauma psychiatrists confront quite often, she worked to identify why trauma may be so intimidating as a clinician. She found that she had a discomfort in herself that arose when assisting patients discussing their trauma. Yet, this could be a clinical tool for her to relate to her patients and colleagues. Lafferman notes that she took on the perspective on trauma that it can be something of a paradox, leaving patients wanting connection while feeling isolated.¹

Clark adds that both he and Lafferman engage in therapy as patients, and knowing what it is like to “sit in the other chair” allows them to connect more strongly with both their patients and themselves. Clark references The Anxious Generation and the collective trauma that can occur in particular aspects of society.² A constant news cycle with a focus on negativity and inundation of information can heighten the arousal of the amygdala, Clark points out.

Dr Clark is an outpatient psychiatrist at Prisma Health-Upstate and clinical associate professor at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Greenville. He served on the American Psychiatric Association’s Task Force to Address Structural Racism Throughout Psychiatry, and he currently serves as the Diversity and Inclusion section editor and advisory board member for Psychiatric Times.

Dr Lafferman is a resident at Greer Psychiatry with Dr Clark. She received her undergraduate degree in Psychology from Emory University, and worked in many different fields of medicine before earning her MD from Ross University School of Medicine. Her professional interests include CAP, reproductive psychiatry, different psychotherapeutic modalities and mindfulness based practice.

References

1. Bradford JMW, de Amorim Levin GV. Vicarious Trauma and PTSD in Forensic Mental Health Professionals. J Am Acad Psychiatry Law. 2020;48(3):315-318.

2. Haidt J. The Anxious Generation. Penguin Books; 2024.

Dr Clark's poem, "A Genial Gift"

Transformed by your attraction

to the light of purpose,

I too seek resurrection

from the shadows of

my trauma, that

once darkened the hickory

leaves of my life tree,

that were stunted

by a weathering

and withering root system

saturated in the soil of exile

craving for companionship.

Your arrival: impeccable and impactful,

spreading your wings of

regal enlightenment

on the shoulders of my being

yearning to shrug off

the horns of my immaturity

and insecurity

Gratitude for your stately

presence in my heart

that marvels and flutters

at your audacious adaptability

to renew, reflect, and revive self

through creative and compassionate

expression.

Transformed by your attraction to the

the light of loving, I am flourishing.

Dr Lafferman's poem, "Regalis Becoming"

Here I enter the nocturne halls,

where grief coils quiet in the vents—

where minds unravel, call, confess,

and silence is what healing invents.

I listen not just with ears—

but with ache behind my eyes,

with wings still damp from past cocoons,

and all the selves I’ve left behind.

I hold their rage like river stones,

their silence - a sacred rite.

I meet their terror in the room—

drawn, like moth, toward hidden light.

What strange alchemy it is,

to cradle madness with my care—

to trace the tremble in their wings

and find my own reflection there.

In their unraveling, I meet myself—

the neophyte I learned to hush,

the longing cloaked in patterned grief,

the stillness pulsing under rush.

I do not cure, but I companion—

through transferences thick with flame—

and in their flicker, I grow whole,

unnamed, unmasked, yet still same.

So let the nights stretch long and raw,

and let weekends be a storm—

I will move through each shadowed hall

soft-winged, flame-drawn, and

transformed