Tiffini Johnson’s ashRISE program empowers trauma survivors to reclaim their voices and creativity, turning pain into personal transformation.
Trauma has a way of leaving people feeling fragmented, but Tiffini Johnson’s ashRISE program is helping survivors reclaim their wholeness through a powerful process of creative healing. In a quiet room filled with anticipation, participants gather for the final session of the workshop, holding their personal creations, a vivid representation of their healing journey. What was once an overwhelming burden of pain has transformed into art, writing, and stories of survival. It’s a profound moment of collective realization: trauma doesn’t define us, but how we choose to rise from it does.
Tiffini Johnson is a seasoned expert in trauma support, with over 17 years of experience as a member of RAINN’s Speaker Bureau and as a hotline specialist. She’s also a certified trauma-informed coach, holding dual certifications from the International Practitioner of Holistic Medicine and The Soul Institute. Additionally, Tiffini is a certified medical accompaniment person, offering support to rape survivors through the SAFE exam process.
For Tiffini, this transformation is not just a program, it’s a life mission. ashRISE is a creative healing space for survivors of trauma, and its profound impact comes from Tiffini’s unique combination of psychological insight, personal experience, and artistic expression. She’s not just teaching survivors how to heal; she’s showing them how to turn their deepest wounds into sources of strength and beauty.
The Genesis of ashRISE: From Personal Struggle to Universal Healing
The foundation of ashRISE is deeply personal. Tiffini Johnson’s own experiences with trauma and survival are the roots of the program. At a young age, she found herself grappling with emotional scars that seemed impossible to overcome. Her journey took a transformative turn when, at nineteen, she volunteered as a hotline specialist for a rape and sexual abuse center in Nashville. As a hotline specialist for RAINN (Rape and Incest National Network), Tiffini, offers support to individuals who have experienced sexual violence. This role, combined with her experience as a certified medical accompaniment person, helped her understand the profound needs of trauma survivors and motivated her to develop the ashRISE program.
Tiffini learned that trauma could be understood and managed by addressing the nervous system’s responses to stress, such as the amygdala’s “fight or flight” reaction. With this newfound knowledge, she stopped viewing her past as something that made her broken. Instead, she began to see herself as resilient, a survivor, not a victim. She reinterpreted her own trauma as a bodyguard, protecting her from future harm, rather than something to be ashamed of. “My body was simply working really, really hard to perceive threats and protect me,” Tiffini says. “What once felt like brokenness turned into gratitude for my body’s resilience.”
This shift in perception became the foundation for ashRISE, a program where survivors are encouraged to take their darkest moments and reshape them into something empowering. It’s about turning pain into possibility, ashes into art.
The Power of Creative Healing: From Surviving to Thriving
Tiffini’s journey wasn’t just about surviving trauma, it was about learning how to rise from it. When she discovered Polyvagal theory, which describes the body’s autonomic nervous responses to stress, she gained the tools to better understand her body’s reactions. But it wasn’t until she connected this knowledge with creativity that ashRISE truly came to life.
“Creative healing was the piece I was missing,” she reflects. “Supporting trauma survivors is my life’s passion. The number one lie of abuse is that we are alone and broken. The beauty of ashRISE is that it invites survivors to challenge these beliefs and get curious about what life might look like if they could replace that with a message of worth.” This realization led to the development of ashRISE, a program designed not only to educate about trauma but also to encourage creative expression as a means of reclaiming one’s story.
In ashRISE, creativity is not just an act of self-expression, it’s a path to self-empowerment. Participants use their art, writing, or creative projects as tools to process, heal, and ultimately empower themselves. The act of creating something meaningful from trauma becomes an act of defiance against the power trauma once held over them.
A Unique Approach: Merging Neuroscience with Artistic Expression
What sets ashRISE apart from other trauma-focused programs is its unique blend of neuroscience and creative expression. Each six-week session starts by grounding participants in a safe, supportive space where they can reconnect with their bodies. Understanding how their nervous systems have responded to past trauma is the first step to regaining control.
Then, the real magic happens. Tiffini encourages participants to embark on a “Personal Transformation Project,” a creative endeavor that represents their healing journey. This project could be anything, a piece of art, a poem, a short film, or any form of self-expression that allows them to visually or artistically reinterpret their trauma.
The creative process is not only therapeutic but transformative. Tiffini recalls one woman who stitched her divorce papers into a quilt, an act of reclaiming control over a painful chapter of her life. Another participant turned his anxiety patterns into music, translating his inner struggles into something beautiful and healing. These creative acts of reclamation serve as proof that trauma can be transformed, not erased, but reshaped into something powerful and empowering.
“The beauty of this work is that it’s not just about being tough or hiding your pain,” Tiffini says. “It’s about being tender with yourself, acknowledging the hurt, and still having the strength to rise.”
The ashRISE Process: Turning Pain into Personal Power
ashRISE’s methodology is simple yet deeply impactful. The program follows four key steps, designed to help participants not just survive trauma, but transform it into empowerment.
R: Remember
The first step is remembering: acknowledging the pain, grieving the loss, and allowing oneself to feel the depth of the trauma. This isn’t about staying stuck in the past, but honoring it as part of the survivor’s journey.
I: Imagine
The second step is imagining the future. Participants are invited to envision a blank canvas, a space where they can redefine who they are, on their terms. This step helps them realize that they are capable of shaping a future free from the limits of their past.
S: Shape
Shaping is the next phase, where participants begin to integrate their past with their present. They start to understand how their experiences have shaped them and begin to mold their path forward. This step empowers them to move with clarity and strength.
E: Empower
The final step is empowerment. Armed with the knowledge and creative tools gained in the workshop, participants are encouraged to take decisive steps toward their goals and dreams. It’s about recognizing that despite trauma, they are whole, valuable, and capable of building the life they desire.
And perhaps most importantly, ashRISE is offered at no cost to participants, ensuring that healing and empowerment through creative expression are available to all survivors, regardless of financial circumstances.
ashRISE: A Sanctuary for Survivors
What makes ashRISE so special is that it’s more than just a healing program, it’s a sanctuary. Tiffini’s vision has always been to create a safe space where survivors don’t have to explain their pain to be understood. “Every cohort teaches me something new,” she says. “It’s a constant reminder that we are all survivors in our own way, and we all have the ability to rise.”
ashRISE is a movement, a reminder that trauma doesn’t define us. Survivors have the power to reclaim their stories, to transform their pain into strength, and to rise above it all.
Transform Your Trauma Into Art
If you’ve experienced trauma and are ready to reshape your story, ashRISE offers a unique opportunity to heal, grow, and create. It’s not about forgetting your past, but about taking ownership of it, rewriting your narrative, and embracing the power within you.
Learn more about the ashRISE program or join the next cohort by visiting ashRISE. For more information on Tiffini Johnson’s work, books, and blogs, visit tiffinijohnson.com and connect with her on social media.
