Speakers and Panelists

Editors of Mindfulness-Oriented Interventions for Trauma: Integrating Contemplative Practices

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Victoria M. Follette, PhD

Keynote  ·  Book Editor

Victoria Follette is Foundation Professor in Clinical Psychology in the Department of Psychology at the University of Nevada, Reno. Her work has focused on treating complex trauma using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. A Fellow and a past president of the Western Psychological Association, Dr. Follette is coeditor of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapies for Trauma, Second Edition; Mindfulness and Acceptance: Expanding the Cognitive-Behavioral Tradition; and Mindfulness-Oriented Interventions for Trauma: Integrating Contemplative Practices.

John Briere, PhD

Keynote  ·  Book Editor

John Briere is Associate Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology at the Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California (USC), and Director of the USC Adolescent Trauma Training Center, National Child Traumatic Stress Network. He is a recipient of the Robert S. Laufer Memorial Award for Scientific Achievement from the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies and the Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Science of Trauma Psychology from Division 56 of the American Psychological Association. Dr. Briere has published widely in the areas of trauma, child abuse, and interpersonal violence, as well as the application of mindfulness to trauma therapy. He is co-editor of Mindfulness-Oriented Interventions for Trauma: Integrating Contemplative Practices.

Deborah Rozelle, PsyD

EMDR & Buddhist Practice: A New Model of PTSD Treatment  ·  Book Editor

Deborah Rozelle is a clinical psychologist who trains and consults widely on psychological trauma, trauma therapy, and their relation to contemplative practice. She is on faculty of the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy and Co-director of the Jewel Heart Buddhist Chaplaincy Program. She was Senior Fellow for the Initiative for Transforming Trauma at Garrison Institute and faculty and clinical supervisor at The Trauma Center at JRI, including as a member of the clinical team for van der Kolk's seminal 2007 research study on EMDR. Dr. Rozelle is a certified therapist and approved consultant in EMDR and is a Buddhist practitioner under the tutelage of Gelek Rimpoche. She has a clinical psychology practice in Lexington, Massachusetts and is a researcher at The Center for Trauma and Contemplative Practice. She is co-editor of Mindfulness-Oriented Interventions for Trauma: Integrating Contemplative Practices.

James W. Hopper, PhD

Harnessing the Seeking, Satisfaction and Embodiment Circuitries in Contemplative Approaches to Healing Trauma  ·  Book Editor

Jim Hopper is an independent consultant, clinician and researcher as well as part-time Instructor in Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He focuses on the effects of child abuse and sexual assault, the nature of traumatic memories, the psychology and biology of trauma, and the brain bases of meditation and other spiritual practices. Dr. Hopper trains and consults with a wide range of organizations and professionals. He is co-editor of Mindfulness-Oriented Interventions for Trauma: Integrating Contemplative Practices.

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Chapter Authors & Other Speakers

Frank Guastella Anderson, MD

Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS): Healing Trauma and Living Compassionately

Frank Anderson completed his residency and was a Clinical Instructor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He currently is the president of the Foundation for Self Leadership and has served on the Research Advisory Committee as well as the Speakers Bureau for the Center for Self Leadership. Dr. Anderson has lectured extensively on the neurobiology of PTSD. He wrote the chapter "Who's Taking What: Connecting Neuroscience, Psychopharmacology and Internal Family Systems for Trauma" in Internal Family Systems Therapy — New Dimensions. Dr. Anderson began as a staff psychiatrist at the Trauma Center at JRI in Boston in 1992 where he continues as a lecturer and senior supervisor. He maintains a private practice in Concord, MA.

Jeffrey Ansloos, PhD

Moderator for Panel on Mindfulness & Self-Compassion and Trauma

Jeffrey Ansloos is Assistant Professor of International Mental Health and Trauma in the division of Interdisciplinary Inquiry at Lesley University. He is a consultant on education and mental health program development in the global south, as well as the founder of the Interdisciplinary Innovation Series. His areas of expertise are complex psychological trauma, violence prevention, political and critical psychology, and race, gender and religion. Dr. Ansloos is a member of the board of directors for the Institute of Meditation and Psychotherapy and a researcher in the Templeton Research Program on Chinese Psychologies of Religion, with a focus on communal contemplative practices. From 2011–2014 he was a leadership fellow of the Max DePree Institute and a research fellow of the Travis Research Institute-Center for Spirituality, Language, and Transformation.

Willoughby B. Britton, PhD

Moderator for Panel on Somatic and Neuroscience Approaches to Trauma

Willoughby Britton is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and the Director of the Clinical and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory at Brown University Medical School. She specializes in the clinical neuroscience and development of novel treatments for major depression and other emotional disturbances. As a clinician, she has been trained as an instructor in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), and has taught mindfulness to both clinical and non-clinical populations, including prison inmates, the terminally ill, drug abusing adolescents, and school-based mindfulness programs. As a researcher, she has been studying the effects of contemplative practices on the brain and body for more than a decade, with a special emphasis on practice-specific effects — "Which practices are best or worst suited for which types of people or conditions and why." She is investigating the varieties of contemplative experience, including adverse effects and difficult stages of the contemplative path.

David Emerson

Yoga as a Treatment for Trauma

David Emerson is the Founder and Director of Yoga Services for the Trauma Center at JRI, where he coined the term "trauma-sensitive yoga." He was responsible for the yoga intervention component of the first of its kind, NIH-funded study, conducted by Dr. Bessel van der Kolk to assess yoga instruction with severely traumatized adults. Mr. Emerson has extensive international experience in the instruction of yoga with PTSD in various populations, and has developed and run yoga groups for rape crisis centers, domestic violence programs, residential programs for youth, military bases, survivors of terrorism, and Veterans Administration centers and clinics. He is co-author of several scholarly articles on yoga and trauma and the book Overcoming Trauma through Yoga, and author of Trauma-Sensitive Yoga in Therapy.

Christopher Germer, PhD

Cultivating Self-Compassion in Trauma Survivors

Chris Germer is a clinical psychologist in private practice, specializing in mindfulness and compassion-based psychotherapy. He has been integrating the principles and practices of meditation into psychotherapy since 1978. Dr. Germer is a founding member of the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy, a clinical instructor in psychology at Harvard Medical School, author of The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion, and co-editor of Mindfulness and Psychotherapy and Wisdom and Compassion in Psychotherapy: Deepening Mindfulness in Clinical Practice. Dr. Germer lectures and conducts workshops internationally on the art and science of mindful self-compassion. His web site is mindfulselfcompassion.org.

Jared D. Kass, PhD

Polyvagal Theory: Foundation for a Neurobiological Model of Trauma Treatment (jointly with Sidney Trantham)

Jared Kass is Professor of Counseling and Psychology at Lesley University, where he coordinates a clinical training specialization in trauma-informed, culturally-responsive, mind-body behavioral health. His research and clinical work focus on resilience as a mediator of trauma. He is author of the Inventory of Positive Psychological Attitudes (IPPA). Dr. Kass was a staff member of the Person-Centered Approach Project (1975–1981), working closely with Dr. Carl Rogers. He was a Visiting Lecturer at Harvard Medical School (1985–1991), investigating the health effects of meditation with Dr. Herbert Benson. He was a Center Associate of the Higher Education Center for Alcohol, Other Drug Abuse, and Violence Prevention (1999–2001), and has developed a prevention-oriented curriculum for higher education, Know Your Self. He is a member of the Association for Contemplative Mind in Higher Education and the Phi Beta Kappa Society.

Anthony P. King, PhD

Mindfulness and Self-Compassion in Group Therapy for Combat-Related PTSD

Tony King is Assistant Professor of Psychiatry Research at the University of Michigan Medical School, and faculty associate of Institute for Social Research (ISR) and Trauma, Stress, and Anxiety Research Group. Dr. King's research focuses on neurobiological, neuroendocrine, and epigenetic effects of trauma exposure, and psychotherapeutic interventions for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), including contemplative practices. He is lead author of a clinical trial of MBCT for combat PTSD, and co-PI of a 5-year federally-funded research program to develop a Mindfulness- and Compassion-based therapy for PTSD in military veterans (Iraq & Afghanistan), and test its clinical and neurobiological effects (e.g. psychiatric assessment and fMRI brain imaging).

David J. Lewis, PhD

Mahayana Buddhism and Trauma

David Lewis is a retired computer scientist, mathematician, faculty at Brown University, Cornell University and Ithaca College, and software engineer and manager. He is a long-time Buddhist practitioner under the tutelage of Gelek Rimpoche and a student and independent researcher of western and eastern philosophical and psychological traditions. Dr. Lewis is co-author of the chapter "EMDR and Buddhist Practice: A New Model of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Treatment" and co-author/presenter of "PTSD and Buddhism: An Analogical Mapping Model" (Mind & Life ISCS 2014). He is a researcher at The Center for Trauma and Contemplative Practice.

Barbara E. Phillips, PhD, LICSW

A Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Approach to the Treatment of Trauma: Embodying the Foundational Principles

Barbara Phillips is a clinical social worker with expertise in the treatment of adults who carry the legacy of childhood trauma. A firm advocate for the integration of body, emotion, and mind, Dr. Phillips consults to individuals and groups on the use of somatic interventions in trauma treatment. She is a certified Sensorimotor psychotherapist, approved consultant, and certification coach. Dr. Phillips is past President of the New England Society for the Treatment of Trauma and Dissociation (NESTTD). Her recent presentations include "Three Storytellers in Search of a Listener: The Words, the Body, the Emotions" (Harvard Grand Rounds) and "Deconstructing Shame: A Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Approach to the Treatment of Trauma" (NASW Biennial Symposium). Dr. Phillips serves as Dissertation Chair for the PsyD Program at JFK University College of Graduate and Professional Studies. She has a private practice in Arlington, MA.

Jenny Phillips, PhD

Trauma Treatment via Vipassana Meditation Inside a Maximum-Security Prison

Jenny Phillips is a cultural anthropologist, filmmaker, writer and psychiatric nurse. She has a psychotherapy practice in Concord, MA, specializing in crisis intervention, family and marriage therapy, behavioral medicine, and mindfulness training. In 2002 Phillips successfully brought a 10-day intensive Vipassana meditation program inside a maximum-security prison in Alabama. In 2008, to raise public awareness about the potential for personal transformation among prisoners, she produced and directed The Dhamma Brothers, a documentary film based on the prison program, with a national theatrical and public television release. She is currently directing a new documentary, Beyond the Wall, which follows the stories of a small community of men released from prison and attempting to rebuild their lives with inadequate support from the criminal justice system.

Susan M. Pollak, MTS, EdD

Moderator for Panel on Individual Psychotherapy for Trauma

Susan Pollak is a clinical psychologist. She received her degree in Comparative Religion from Harvard Divinity School, her doctorate in Psychology from Harvard University, and her clinical training through Harvard Medical School. Dr. Pollak has been a clinician and Instructor in Psychology at Harvard Medical School for 20 years, specializing in the integration of meditation and psychotherapy. She has had a meditation and yoga practice since childhood. She is co-editor of The Cultural Transition, contributing author to Mapping the Moral Domain, Evocative Objects, Mindfulness and Psychotherapy, Second Edition, and co-editor of Sitting Together: Essential Skills for Mindfulness Based Psychotherapy. Dr. Pollak writes a popular blog for Psychology Today.

Ronald D. Siegel, PsyD

How Trauma Creates Chronic Physical Pain

Ron Siegel is Assistant Professor of Psychology, Part Time, at Harvard Medical School, where he has taught for over 30 years. He is a long-time student of mindfulness meditation and serves on the board and faculty of the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy. Dr. Siegel teaches internationally about mindfulness and psychotherapy and mind-body treatment, has worked for many years in community mental health with inner-city children and families, and maintains a private practice in Lincoln, Massachusetts. He is the coauthor of Back Sense: A Revolutionary Approach to Halting the Cycle of Chronic Back Pain, coeditor of Mindfulness and Psychotherapy and Wisdom and Compassion in Psychotherapy: Deepening Mindfulness in Clinical Practice, and coauthor of Sitting Together: Essential Skills for Mindfulness-based Psychotherapy.

Sidney M. Trantham, PhD

Polyvagal Theory: Foundation for a Neurobiological Model of Trauma Treatment (jointly with Jared Kass)

Sidney Trantham is Associate Professor of Counseling and Psychology at Lesley University. He is a neuropsychologist, providing integrative psychological, neuropsychological, and gender assessment as well as long-term psychotherapy. His areas of expertise include work with gender variant children and adolescents. Dr. Trantham's interest in trauma began with research on the impact of early childhood sexual experiences on the psychological functioning of adult males. He has been a Harvard Clinical Fellow (1996–2000), where he completed a clinical psychology internship, neuropsychological post-doctoral fellowships, and conducted research identifying early cognitive markers of HIV-related dementia. He recently co-authored a book chapter with Jared Kass, "Perspectives from Clinical Neuroscience: Mindfulness and Therapeutic Use of the Arts," that introduces mind-body clinicians to the neuroscience of trauma and somatic memory.