TRI Training Faculty

TRI Trainers and Facilitators

Elaine Miller-Karas, LCSW, is co-founder and Director of Innovation of the Trauma Resource Institute and adjunct faculty at Loma Linda University. She is an author, lecturer, consultant, radio show host, blogger, trauma therapist, and social entrepreneur. She is a founding member of the International Transformational Resilience Coalition. She has held leadership roles in international disaster-recovery projects in North America, Central America, Europe, Asia, Africa and the Caribbean Islands. She has presented at the Skoll World Forum, the Resiliency Forum, the Centers for Disease Control, the Global Fund, the Trauma Action Network, the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, and the United Nations. Elaine’s book was selected by the United Nations and Taylor and Francis’s curated online library as one of the innovations helping meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/sdgo. She is a Senior Consultant to Emory University’s SEE Learning program, inspired and launched by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. She also is a consultant to the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Foundation, helping to create a virtual curriculum of the US Civil Rights Movement. Her radio talk show, Resiliency Within, Building Resiliency during Unprecedented Times, is on VoiceAmerica. She has a regular blog on Psychology Today.

Melissa Boley, LCPC, began her career in social services in 1978. She has worked many different venues in social services from Hartford, CT to Seattle, WA with diverse populations and age groups. She obtained her Master's in 1986, and has been in Private Practice since 1990 in SunValley, ID. She is founder and Director of The Sexual Abuse Family Recovery Program and Shared Parenting Seminars in the Wood River Valley. Ms. Boley is an Intern Supervisor for the State of Idaho and a Teaching Assistant for Somatic Experiencing. She is also Somatic Experiencing Practitioner and holds advanced certifications in EMDR and family therapy.

Jennifer Burton, LMFT, CEAT, is a licensed marriage family therapist, certified EMDR therapist, and expressive arts therapist in Los Angeles.  Jennifer has worked with the Trauma Resource Institute (TRI) since 2006. She is a master trainer for TRI, co-teaching both Level 1 and Level 2 Trainings in addition to developing specialty classes for TRM and coordinating and co-facilitating TRM consultation groups.  Jennifer has been instrumental as one of TRI’s lead trainers in bringing the Community Resiliency Model to underserved populations throughout the United States. She led TRI's efforts in Orlando, Florida, following the Pulse attack. She has worked at Sherman Oaks Hospital with chronically mentally ill adults. Jennifer has a private practice specializing in trauma and attachment issues with children, adults, couples, and families.

Jan Click, LCSW, retired from the Veterans Administration in 2012 after 32 years of service. Ms. Click has been a consultant to the Trauma Resource Institute as a result of her vast experience in working with veterans and their families -- she coordinated the Veterans Extension Project for TRI which was funded by the Mental Health Services Act. Ms. Click is also an EMDR Certified Therapist and EMDR Approved Consultant and has been a facilitator at EMDR trainings for the Department of the Army. She is a renowned national expert in the area of innovative treatments, helping our veterans and families heal from the repercussions of combat zone and military trauma. Ms. Click offers a free monthly TRM telephone consultation call that is open to clinicians working with active duty military, veterans and their families. Ms. Click has a psychotherapy practice in Encino and Valencia where she specializes in treating both military and civilian trauma.

Bill Cross, Ph.D., LMFT, has been a practicing psychotherapist for over 40 years working with veterans, other individuals, couples and families. He specializes with those dealing with histories of trauma. His practice includes Somatic Experiencing and Trauma Resiliency Model and he conducts Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction classes at the Zen Center of Syracuse, N.Y. He is a combat veteran and in addition to being a West Point graduate, taught leadership and psychology at West Point after his service in Viet Nam.  He also is Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Onondaga Community College and was awarded the State University of New York Chancellors Award for Excellence in Teaching.  Bill is a CRM and TRM Master Trainer and has been leading efforts to bring TRM and CRM to upstate New York.

Dana Eisenberg, LCSW, received her MSW at the University of Michigan in 1999. Her practice has focused on high needs children and families and she has provided therapy in group home, outpatient, school and intensive in-home settings. Before receiving clinical training Ms. Eisenberg had a career teaching science. Since 2003, she has combined her skills in educator and mental health in the job of School Counselor. For six plus years, she has worked in the Arlee School District on the Flathead Reservation in Montana, home of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. There her passion for reducing the number, and limiting the effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), lead her to the work of TRI. She now brings CRM and TRM skills to her clientele in the schools and elsewhere and is committed to expanding the work of TRI in Montana and beyond.

Ronald C. Fish, Ph.D., is the Clinical Director and Co-Owner of Psychological HealthCare, PLLC, a multispecialty group practice located in Syracuse, NY. He is especially interested in the effective integration of behavioral and physical healthcare and worked with Family Medicine residents on the psychosocial aspects of the doctor-patient relationship, meeting weekly from 1988 until 2015. Dr. Fish is currently on the board of directors of HealtheConnections, the health information and data exchange for Central New York. He has encouraged other mental health professionals to become involved in business and leadership, teaching at the graduate level on Organizational Management at the Forest School for Professional Psychology. He has presented numerous invited papers at professional conferences on stress management, fibromyalgia, depression, marital enhancement, caring for the caregiver, and behavioral and physical healthcare integration. For many years he translated concepts embedded in the martial arts into a life skills program for parents and children. Dr. Fish is energized and enthusiastic about his involvement with TRI and currently serves on TRI's Board of Directors.

Carol Michelson, Ph.D., is a Licensed Psychologist who has maintained a private practice in Claremont, CA for the past 30 years. Dr. Michelson has participated in training individuals in the United States, China, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. In addition, she was instrumental in bringing TRM/CRM to San Bernardino County Department of Behavioral Health where she worked as a clinician and supervisor for over 30 years.  Dr. Michelson has been committed to providing services to the underserved and has received awards from the San Bernardino County Mental Health Commission and from the County Board of Supervisors for the quality of care that she provided. She has a long history of interest in trauma and in cross cultural work, having served on the board of Project SISTER in the 1970’s and on the National Steering Committee of Women Against Violence Against Women in the 1980’s. She has also conducted research in Peru and in Western Europe. Dr. Michelson has publications in the area of cross-cultural psychology and was the co-recipient of the Stirling Award from the American Anthropological Association for outstanding research in Culture and Personality Studies.

Martha Parra, LCSW, is a bicultural and bilingual Licensed Clinical Social Worker. She is currently working at the Department of Behavioral Health with the County of San Bernardino with the Juvenile Justice System. Ms. Parra received her Master’s degree in Social Work at University of Southern California (USC), where she specialized in the Community Organization Planning and Administration (COPA). Ms. Parra has extensive experience working with the geriatric population, crisis intervention, substance abuse, at-risk children such as foster care youth, LGBTQ, and gang members. She has also provided counseling and spiritual instruction for children and adolescents on a volunteer basis. For the last 11 years, she has provided clinical services and crisis services for children, transitional aged youth, adults, and older adults in community centers, schools, and outpatient clinics. Most recently, her work has included training clinicians, managers, and support staff in the Trauma Resiliency Model at the Department of Behavioral Health and training community members within the Community Resiliency Model. Ms. Parra has also provided services for families interested in becoming foster or adoptive parents.

Susan Reedy, M.A., LMFT is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with a private practice in Arcadia, CA. She specializes in Child-Centered Play Therapy and has been extensively trained in the DIR Model of Stanley Greenspan and Serena Wieder, working with children with developmental delays, ASD, sensory regulation issues, and trauma histories. Along with her private practice she works as a consultant at Mayfield Junior School in Pasadena, CA where she teaches parent ed and introduces Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction and CRM Skills to 2nd-5th graders. She is a frequent speaker at local schools and preschools, sharing CRM and MBSR skills with educators and also hosts an annual Play Therapy seminar at Azusa Pacific University to support incoming graduate students as they begin their internships in school settings. She has been involved with TRI since falling in love with the elegant design of the model at her first training in 2010. She presented the CRM model with Elaine Miller-Karas, TRI's Executive Director, at the ECHO Parenting conference: "Changing the Paradigm—Trauma and the Developing Child." She loves nothing more than watching a child learn how to build their resources, track their bodies and find ways to stay in their resilient zone.

Michael Sapp, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist with a private practice in Claremont, CA. He received his M.A. in General Psychology and his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from The New School (The New School for Social Research) in New York, NY. After earning his degree, Dr. Sapp worked as a supervising psychologist at the Child and Family Guidance Center in Northridge, CA, for three years before going into private practice and teaching. He served as an adjunct professor at Azusa Pacific University for 10 years. Dr. Sapp completed his training through the Trauma Resource Institute in 2010 and currently serves as TRI's Chief Executive Officer. He has traveled internationally as part of teams introducing CRM and TRM to various communities in the Philippines, Turkey, London, Nepal, Germany, and Iceland.

Nancy Sokolow, LCSW, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in private practice in Santa Monica, CA. She is a Master Trainer for TRI. Nancy has taught both levels of the Trauma Resiliency Model, co-facilitated consultation groups, developed a specialty class on Addiction and the Application of the Trauma Resiliency Model, and traveled internationally as part of a team, to bring the Community Resiliency Model to Haiti, Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda. In addition to being somatically trained, she is EMDR certified.

Jessica K. Waterson, M.A., LMFT, is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist who specializes in the treatment of PTSD, anxiety and depression. She has a private practice in Old Town San Diego, CA. She has been involved with The Trauma Resource Institute since 2007 when she accompanied Elaine Miller-Karas to Nairobi, Kenya. She is a certified CRM Teacher and Trainer and Consultant for CRM and TRM. She has trained/facilitated in a variety of different settings throughout the United States. She has worked in an array of different therapeutic settings including Alvarado Parkway Institute, which is an inpatient/forensic psychiatric hospital in San Diego. She was also the lead psychotherapist at an inpatient/outpatient chronic pain and addiction/dependency recovery treatment center. Her clinical work was highlighted on A&E’s Intervention.  

Kim Cookson, Psy.D. is a licensed psychologist, having received her doctorate in psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology. Currently, Dr. Cookson is the Trauma Training Director at the Southern California Counseling Center. Previously she was the Doctoral Training Director at SCCC. She is certified in EMDR and has a private practice in the Century City area where she sees individuals and couples who come with issues ranging from trauma, anxiety and depression to life transitions and relational struggles. Dr. Cookson states that the TRM model has become essential to her work – whether working primarily in the somatic realm or integrating it into EMDR or talk therapy.

TRI Facilitators - under construction

Cynthia Costas Cohen, LMFT, is a licensed psychotherapist in Beverly Hills, California. She earned her Masters’ degree in Clinical Psychology at Antioch University Los Angeles during which time she interned at a community mental health clinic and a juvenile detention center. Ms. Costas Cohen served on the board of The Robert McCormick Boys and Girls Club of Chicago for many years where she worked in fundraising and orchestrating events. She is currently on the board of the My Hero Project, a not-for-profit educational organization that provides children all over the world with an opportunity to use media and video technology to share their stories of the people in their lives that have impacted them. She assists in the bi-annual film festivals, event planning and fundraising. Ms. Costas Cohen is known for her expertise in trauma, utilizing many modalities. She studied hypnosis under the tutelage of renowned hypnotherapists Dr. Michael Yapko and Dr. Jeffrey Zeig. She is certified by The American Society of Clinical Hypnosis as well as being a certified EMDR practitioner. She also co-facilitates trainings for The Trauma Resource Institute that utilizes an integrative mind-body intervention based on somatic therapies. Her friendship and professional association with lifestyle and fitness expert Jim Karas led to the creation of their book, The 7-Day Energy Surge, a New York Times bestseller.

Merdice Ellis, LMFT, is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. In her private practice in West Los Angeles, Ms. Ellis works with clients dealing with unresolved grief, trauma and phase of life transitioning. Beginning in 2011, Ms. Ellis began her training and subsequent work with (TRI) Trauma Resource Institute. She has participated as a co-trainer teaching CRM and as a group facilitator for TRM. She has also given educational presentations and worked with other community based organizations such as 18th Street Art’s Complex, The Writer’s Guild and The Psychological Trauma Center. For several years Ms. Ellis worked within the Foster Care community as a counselor and Group Home Administrator. Ms. Ellis holds degrees in Child Development and Clinical Psychology, is a Certified EMDR practitioner and has additional specialized training in Bereavement counseling.

Ellen G. Ledley, LCSW, has been working with survivors of trauma for over 30 years. She served as the program director of the Family Violence Project of Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles and worked at the UCLA Trauma Psychiatry Program. Committed to helping people find resiliency and healing, Ms. Ledley is an EMDR and a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP), trained in Somatic Trauma Resolution (STR) and also uses Trauma Release Exercises (TRE). She has been providing trauma therapy at Bridges to Recovery, a residential treatment program for people with serious mental health issues since 2011. Ms. Ledley works with couples, both straight and gay and with parents struggling with parenting traumatized children and issues of attachment. Adoption is one of her specialties and she works with all aspects of the adoption triangle. She is also trained in discernment counseling for couples considering divorce. She has always been interested in how people navigate diversity in themselves and their relationships and incorporates mindfulness, yoga and Zen Buddhist meditation practice into her work. Ms. Ledley has a BA in Fine Arts from the SF Art Institute, moved to Los Angeles to be involved in the Woman’s Building, and earned her MSW from the USC. She serves on the advisory board of Peace Over Violence (formerly LACAAW) and introduced CRM to the agency. Ms. Ledley holds a black belt in karate and has taught self-defense to women. She has trained both professionals and paraprofessionals and has taught graduate-level courses on domestic violence. Ms. Ledley is passionate about understanding the links between trauma of all kinds and the conditions that cause suffering and believes that healing from trauma is possible. She is very excited to be working with TRI and is committed to spreading both CRM and TRM.

Jessica Klein, LCSW, is a passionate and active practitioner of the TRM in her psychotherapy practice. As a somatically oriented psychotherapist, Ms. Klein focuses on wellness by integrating a mind/body approach informed by the most recent neuroscience. She was part of TRI's international team to Haiti. Ms. Klein specializes in treating trauma, with extensive experience working with sexual assault and childhood sexual abuse.

Kirby Palmer, LCSW, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who is in private practice in Claremont, CA. He holds a Master's Degree in Social Work from San Diego State University and has been licensed in California since 1990. In addition to his private practice he is an Adjunct Professor in the School of Social Work at Cal State University San Bernardino and is a consultant to the Claremont Police Department. As a part of his practice he is a group facilitator for Health and monitoring support group for attorneys and physicians. In recent years he has been active with TRI as a group facilitator. He has found the TRM skills to be a very valuable addition to his practice and feels privileged to be part of the TRI team.

Reena Patel, LCSW, earned her Masters in Social Work in 2009 from Tata Institute of Social Scienes in Mumbai, India as a Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholar from the USA to India. Reena is of Indian descent, and is interested in understanding the impact and systems surrounding gender-based violence in the South Asian community. Her M.A. research, "Children No More: Exploring Healing Processes of Youth Survivors of Gujarat 2002 Violence" focuses on Muslim youth affected by the 2002 pogrom in Gujarat, India. After earning her MSW, Reena worked on the San Carlos Apache Reservation as a mental health therapist with children and families in a community based program focusing on wraparound model of services. Reena was also trained in providing trauma-informed care for formerly homeless and foster care youth in transitional housing at San Diego Youth Services. Both of these settings led Reena to deepen her interest in the multigenerational effects of trauma and post-traumatic growth in marginalized communities. Reena currently works as a clinician for active duty military and their families in Naples, Italy, including active duty affected by Military Sexual Trauma. Reena's beliefs regarding mental health service delivery is summarized by Aboriginal activist Lilla Watson's words "If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together."

Wendi Svoboda, LCSW, is a licensed clinical social worker in Los Angeles. She has been involved with TRI since 2006 and is a facilitator of both Level 1 and Level 2 trainings. She has co-created and taught a TRM specialty class on utilizing TRM skills with the chronically mentally ill. Ms. Svoboda works at a hospital in Sherman Oaks treating persons with chronic mental illnesses.  She is a tutor for the Systems-Based Healthcare course at UCLA for 3rd year medical students and advanced practice nursing students. Since 2004, Ms. Svoboda has been an active member of Toastmasters, International; a public speaking and leadership organization. She has a private practice in Burbank, CA where she uses both TRM and EMDR (in which she is certified).