Relieve Trauma, Build Resilience in Women & LGBTQI
HELP PROVIDE TRAUMA-IMPACTED WOMEN & LGBTQI WITH RELIEF
Please make a (tax deductible) donation and be part of this movement! With your help, Bay Area Women Against Rape and Spectrum Queer Media will be provided with 12 week treatment programs. Too many of us have endured years of trauma, with no relief. Acupuncture is incredibly effective at relieving the intense physical impact of emotional and traumatic scars. Fight/flight neurochemicals, though miraculously useful in propelling us out of immediate danger - can get lodged and loop, often out of context, into our first responses. Sometimes talking it out just isn't enough.
That's where acupuncture and herbs come in. They can take people from a state of fight/flight/freeze into a state of rest and digest. Overly activated, relentlessly sad or fearful people can calm down. People that detach from their feelings and bodies can reconnect - in a way that feels safe, and manageable. 
I've heard enough to know that I'm getting in this with you!
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As we move through these challenging times, we can continue to steady ourselves and continue to gain ground. I love treating everyone! I have the best job in the world, making people happier and healthier.
This fundraiser is to help those most vulnerable as they heal. I'm asking a diverse community to help support women and LGBTQI people who have endured trauma due to emotional, physical or sexually abuse. We can do this by providing free, 3-Month Acupuncture Treatment Programs. The effects of living in this era can be devastating for those who have trauma and no access to therapies and treatments - but we, as a global community, can prove that by lifting each other up, we create a safer world for all of us. Ultimately, this project seeks to be a global movement. We are starting locally.
You can significantly improve the wellbeing and healthy trajectory of a life by donating now. Any level of donation is appreciated!
Here's where people will be receiving treatment: 
Who Is Asking Me to Donate?
Hi, I'm Tehea Robie.
I'm an acupuncturist and herbalist that specializes in integrative medicine and emotional distress due to trauma.
I own Thea Wellness & Acupuncture, which is in the Lake Merritt area of Oakland, CA. I offer patients full, private acupuncture treatments and consultation about the condition of their health. 
[Tehea Robie, M.S., L.Ac.]
I spend one day a week as a resident at Highland Hospital, Integrative Medicine Division, where we treat for pain relief in the Emergency Department, Inpatient and Outpatient Clinics. Many of our patients at Highland are homeless and have never tried acupuncture. Guess what? It turns out that it works to relieve pain, whether patients "believe in it" or not.
I worked with severely mental ill adults for over 10 years. I've seen the horrors of how trauma plays out, for so many — and I've ALSO experienced the impact of effective treatment.
Trauma and big emotions don't scare me. My superpower is to meet people exactly where they're at.
Getting licensed in acupuncture is an expensive, lengthy undertaking, making it almost impossible to offer services to those that need it most for free. I chose to do this work so I could offer this powerful relief. I've been building my practice, with a plan to donate my services when I am able. Like anyone, I have to be sustainable.
I long to provide the kind of care that I know all souls deserve - and I don't believe money should stand in the way. So I'm doing this fundraiser, so that you can help me offer these services now, when they are needed. I know I am willing to give, so I know others are too.
During my master's program, I did this:
[Here's me with members of the free clinic I co-founded in 2016]
What is the Impact of Trauma?
Trauma lodges itself into the body. Fight/flight neurochemicals have lasting effects, and need to be addressed physically as well as verbally. This is why "talking it out" doesn't always work. When you help people with trauma, you do more than make them feel better:
•You help restore their motivation. Trauma impacts workplace productivity and success.
• You help them keep their support network. Trauma impacts personal relationships .
• You help them maintain their physical heath. Unresolved trauma drastically increases the risk for disease .
Why Acupuncture?
• Acupuncture affects the limbic system of the brain, which regulates emotions and the amygdala, a key player in the fight/flight mechanism.
• Acupuncture has also demonstrated effects on the volume and connectivity of the hippocampus, which can be smaller in people with trauma.
Are you making all of this up?
No. In fact, I encourage you to do research on your own. Here are some links to studies:
• On acupuncture in general
• On acupuncture and PTSD
• Harvard study on acupuncture and the brain
• On acupuncture and the amygdala 
(photo is representative to respect privacy of my patients)
What Are the Challenges?
• Often, a lasting result comes from a series of full sessions. Occasional treatments can be more temporary.
How does this work? Simple:
1. You donate to me.
2. I offer 3-month Treatment Certificates to BayWAR (Bay Area Women Against Rape) and Spectrum Queer Media (LGBTQIA organization that provides community, healing through the arts and justice workshops).
3. Or: you pick up the cost of a full program voucher and donate it yourself to your favorite nonprofit.
What does my donation make possible?
You can cover the cost of individual sessions, or donate to cover full programs (up to 3 months). These programs provide everything from assessment to tracking to treatment and education. No matter which type of offering people receive, my service is comfortable and comprehensive — delivered in the privacy of my office with the client supported in full-relaxation, lying posture, rather than upright in a chair.
Whatever amount you give is welcome and will get a woman or LGBTQI person closer to releasing trauma and building resilience.
Session-Based offerings:
[$250] FULL: the full cost of a Comprehensive Assessment and Treatment Session
[$125] HALF: 1/2 the cost of a Comprehensive Assessment and Treatment Session
[$80] FOLLOW UP: a Follow-Up Treatment Session
[$5, $10, $20, $30, $50] Many small donations can be just as powerful as a few large ones. Thank you!
Programs:
[$400] Donate a 6 Week Treatment Program - discounted 6 sessions, follow up, tracking, education
[$800] Donate a 3 Month Treatment Program - discounted 12 sessions, follow up, tracking, education
Donate what you can and book your own Comprehensive Assessment and Treatment Session here . Maybe you also need to take care of yourself. That's okay.
What do I get out of this?
• I'll report back when the vouchers are delivered to tell you exactly where your donation went.
• You'll receive a Healing Trauma info sheet with free, online resources.
• You get to know that your money was well spent this holiday season, lessening the suffering of someone else.
