[Interview] Matters of the Heart: Healing Yourself and Building Healthier Relationships (feat. Dr. Thema Bryant)

Many of us overlook our emotional well-being while focusing on everyone else’s needs. Yet the relationship we have with ourselves shapes the quality of every connection in our lives. My guest is Dr. Thema Bryant, who explores emotional healing, self-awareness, and the hidden patterns that influence how we love and relate to others. Drawing from her book Matters of the Heart, she shares insights on people-pleasing, emotional availability, trust, and healing the wounds that keep us stuck in unhealthy relationship cycles. Dr. Thema is a licensed psychologist, ordained minister, professor, author, and speaker whose work focuses on emotional healing, trauma recovery, relationships, and self-worth. She is the past president of the American Psychological Association and a professor of psychology at Pepperdine University, where she directs the Culture and Trauma Research Laboratory. If you’ve ever struggled with self-neglect, emotional disconnection, or unhealthy patterns in love, this conversation offers a thoughtful perspective on what it means to heal and build healthier relationships.