Healing Trauma: A Brief Intervention for Women

“Healing Trauma is a wonderful adaptation of Stephanie Covington's beautifully written and more comprehensive program, Beyond Trauma. This is a hopeful guide to support the healing of women who are trauma survivors. Clinicians may be surprised by the effectiveness of such a comprehensive brief intervention."

Janet Surrey, Ph.D., Founding Scholar, Jean Baker Miller Training Institute, Stone Center, Wellesley College, Author of The Buddha's Wife: The Path of Awakening Together

"Throughout her career, Stephanie Covington has opened a space in our field for gender-responsive, trauma-informed services. Her work is grounded in a deep understanding of the role of power and control in women’s lives and relationships. In the second edition of Healing Trauma: A Brief Intervention for Women she and Eileen Russo provide essential information and new tools to support healing through empowerment. This program is a simple-to-follow roadmap for women who want to take charge of their own recovery and their own lives. It should be on your bookshelf."

Andrea Blanch, PhD
Senior Consultant, National Center on Trauma-Informed Care

“Thank you Stephanie for creating Healing Trauma. This abbreviated/short term version of Beyond Trauma is exactly what we need for our community mental health centers as it allows for brief intervention on this critical topic. Once again, you have helped not only our staff, but all of the women we serve."

Kimberly Bond, Chief Operating Officer, Mental Health Systems

“Healing from trauma and addiction is a long and arduous pathway that begins with admitting there is a problem and seeking help. But the next step is developing words and concepts for what one has been through. In this way, education is the window of opportunity to change our whole conception about who we are, what we have experienced, and how to make sense out of it, all of which is necessary to enable us to make better choices in our lives. In her group process work, Stephanie Covington opens wide that window with materials and processes that are accessible for anyone and especially for the women to whom Stephanie has directed her work.”

Sandra L. Bloom, M.D., Associate Professor, School of Public Health, Drexel University

“This second addition of, Healing Trauma, a brief intervention for women, makes the Beyond Trauma curriculum accessible to short-term programs while maintaining the core principles. You will find this guide easy to use and a must have for those doing gender-responsive, trauma treatment with women.

The Connecticut Women's Consortium has been impressed with the results of using this curriculum for years in both community-based and prison settings. In our experience, Stephanie Covington listens to the feedback from clinicians and programs who use her materials. The new session entitled the ACE Survey and Anger was developed after discussions with the Connecticut Women’s Consortium and staff at York Correctional Facility and is valuable to anyone working in criminal justice programs. In this session, the women are able to work on finding words and feelings for anger thus reducing the effects of anger triggers. As a training facility we know that Stephanie’s expertise and trauma curriculums are on the cutting edge of research but also that she is one of the few trauma experts that consistently highlights gender. ”

Colette M. Anderson, LCSW, Executive Director, Connecticut Women's Consortium

"If you thought that the twelve sessions in Beyond Trauma were a bit skimpy in terms of facilitating trauma recovery and healing, wait until you see Healing Trauma, a six session introduction to trauma work that is sure to be one of the next "big things' in the field. Author Stephanie Covington, working here with the able assistance of Eileen M. Russo, has produced another wonderful work. It covers all of the absolute essentials of early trauma recovery work for women, including sessions on the process of trauma and on healthy relationships. But perhaps most importantly, Covington here emphasizes the importance of grounding skills and other wellness-facilitating abilities. With this emphasis, Covington provides something few other very brief curricula can offer: the sort of beginning level skills that are so important for women to develop as they start their journeys of recovery. Along with her usual presentation of the sorts of guidelines that any group leader can benefit from, this adds up to a stellar work by a terrific clinician."

Roger D. Fallot, Ph.D. Independent Consultant in Trauma and Trauma-Informed Care and adjunct faculty, Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry.

"Once again Dr. Covington has provided an important guide for women healing from trauma. Uniquely focused on causes rather than symptoms, this gender specific, strength based approach to helping women recover is a huge contribution for those suffering across systems, cultures and communities. We will certainly reference and recommend to our constituents across the country."

Joan Gillece, Ph.D.
Director
National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors

"Healing Trauma: A Brief Intervention for Women is based on Dr. Covington’s highly regarded, evidence-based curriculum, Beyond Trauma: A Healing Journey for Women. This 6-session version is specifically designed for settings in which a shorter intervention is more feasible/desirable. Additional accessibility features include the ability to replicate materials from the CD and the Spanish translation of the participant workbook. More importantly, Healing Trauma incorporates the depth and insight of Beyond Trauma while focusing on healing from interpersonal abuse. Dr. Covington’s gift for drawing on the experience and strength of survivors dealing with a range of complex issues and creating a healing process that touches the multiple dimensions of what makes us human - is a true contribution to the field."

Carole Warshaw MD
Director, National Center on Domestic Violence, Trauma & Mental Health
Chicago, Illinois