ABOUT HOCII

About HOCII

#healingourcoreissues

Founders

Jan has extensively trained and been mentored over the past decade (2002-2016) by Pia Mellody, (Facing Codependence, Facing Love Addiction and Intimacy Factor). She has also trained (2002-2006) with Terrence Real (I Don’t Want Talk about It, How Can I Get Through to You and The New Rules for Marriage) and gone through his Relational Life Training program.

She completed the three-year Somatic Experiencing training program (December 2015) which is a body-based trauma model developed by Peter Levine (Waking the Tiger, In an Unspoken Voice, Trauma, and Memory). She has also completed the EMDR basic training program (January 2016) which is a comprehensive methodology for working with trauma developed by Francine Shapiro.

She has also trained with Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction training program which teaches the practice of paying attention in the present moment non-judgmentally (June 2013).

Jan has extensive group work training and teaching experience for the past 20 years. She is a life-long learner and challenges those who study with her to be effective therapists by doing their own personal work.

Rick has extensively trained and been mentored over the past decade (2004-2016) by Pia Mellody, (Facing Codependence, Facing Love Addiction and Intimacy Factor). He has also trained (2004-2006) with Terrence Real (I Don’t Want Talk about It, How Can I Get Through to You and The New Rules for Marriage) and gone through his Relational Life Training program.

He has completed the three-year Somatic Experiencing training program (December 2016) which is a body-based trauma model developed by Peter Levine (Waking the Tiger, In an Unspoken Voice, Trauma and Memory).

Other treatment modalities that he uses are Cognitive Behavioral, and Gestalt therapy, and has extensive group work training and teaching experience. He was a professor at the University of Cincinnati for five years teaching the core principles of counseling.

He is a lifelong learner and challenges those who study with him with the belief that training is an ongoing exciting experience to be embraced. He is committed to clinical excellence. He also believes that a key component of this certificate program encourages those who go through the training to continually explore their “own story” and thus by going through their own material will be more authentically present with their clients.

#hociifaculty

Core Faculty

Kim Ploussard, LMHC, DARTT

Kim Ploussard is a licensed, mental health counselor with a private practice in New York State. She has a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology and is the Co-Director of Terry Real’s Relational Life Mastery and Coaching program training other therapists in the RLT model since 2015. 

Kim has her certificate in somatic experiencing (SEP) therapy and utilizes body-based practices in all her work. She has over twenty years of experience counseling a diverse population and eighty percent of her Albany-based private practice is with couples. 

In addition to her RLT expertise, Kim has completed Pia Melody’s PIT training and offers Reclaiming Our Power, 3-day intensive workshops for women and men seeking to heal childhood wounds that are impacting them in relationships. 

This workshop is available to clients willing to come to Albany and/or Kim will travel to other locales to lead and mentor other therapists in facilitating this transforming therapy.
Visit Kim's Website
Laura Williams

Laura Williams, LPC-MHSP, EMDR, DARTT

Laura Williams is a licensed professional counselor with a  master’s degree in mental health counseling. She is one of the co-owners of the Be Found Counseling Practice in Brentwood, Tennessee founded in 2017, and the host of “Encountering You,” a podcast based on the basic principles of Healing Our Core Issues. (HOCI)

Laura is EMDR trained and has been mentored and trained extensively by the Healing Our Core Issues Institute for 4 years now and is honored to be part of their core faculty. She believes the focus of the HOCI work addresses our worth as humans, how to grow healthy boundaries for ourselves and in relationships, creating meaning out of the reality that we are human and imperfect, taking responsibility for our needs and wants, creating joy and spontaneity in our lives and learning to grow a secure attachment to ourselves and in our relationships.  

Laura offers 3-day intensive workshops for women and men seeking to heal childhood developmental and relationship trauma. She believes being a counselor is not a profession or a job—it is a calling.  It is a unique opportunity to witness people growing from their healing work.
Visit Laura's Website
Valerie Burns

Dr. Valerie Burns Cathers, LPC, CSAC, NCC, ACS, DARTT, EMDR, SEP-IT

Valerie Burns Cathers is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Madison, Wisconsin, and is the owner and director of Gifts of Emotion Counseling & Consulting, a group practice focused on using the Healing Our Core Issues Model in Madison, Wisconsin. She has a doctoral degree in Counselor Education and Supervision and is an adjunct faculty member of Viterbo University in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. Valerie believes strongly in advancing research in the areas of developmental trauma and serves on the review board for the International Journal of Trauma Counseling and Resilience.

Valerie has been extensively trained and mentored by the Healing Our Core Issues Institute for the past eight years and believes strongly in the power of the Wounded Healer. She is a Certified Advanced Counselor Supervisor through the National Board of Certified Counselors, and with over 10 years of experience counseling a diverse population, her clinical and supervisory focus is now on professionals with Developmental and Relational Trauma.

In addition to being a Developmental and Relational Trauma Therapist (DARTT), Valerie is heavily influenced by Psychodynamic and Interpersonal process psychotherapy modalities. Her certificates in EMDR and pending certification in Somatic Experiencing (SE) therapy also inform body-based practices in all of her work.
Visit Valerie's Website
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