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

He also uses Cognitive Behavioral and Gestalt therapy. He 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

Laura Williams, LPC-M HSP, 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 six 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 three-day intensive workshops for women and men seeking to heal childhood developmental and relationship trauma. She believes that being a counselor is not a profession or a job—it is a calling. It is a unique opportunity to witness people grow from their healing work.

Ashley Dunn, LPC-MHSP, EMDR Trained, DARTT

Ashley Dunn is a Licensed Professional Counselor and co-owner of Be Found Counseling in Brentwood, Tennessee. This trauma-focused practice is dedicated to helping individuals reconnect with their authentic selves.


Deeply influenced by her own journey of growth and healing, Ashley is passionate about walking alongside others as they pursue wholeness. She has spent several years being mentored and trained by the Healing Our Core Issues Institute (HOCI) and is honored to serve as part of the institute’s core faculty. Ashley resonates strongly with HOCI’s transformative framework for addressing early wounding and has witnessed its ability to bring about genuine healing and a connected sense of self in the lives of her clients. This model is central to her therapeutic approach and affirms her belief that healing is possible for everyone, regardless of the depth or complexity of their trauma.


Ashley brings a diverse professional background to her work, including experience in private practice, residential addiction treatment, international youth programs, and intensive educational settings, where she previously served as a school psychologist. Now primarily working with adults, she offers individual therapy sessions and three-day intensive workshops for both women and men healing from developmental and relational trauma. She is also trained in somatic-based approaches and attachment-focused EMDR.



For Ashley, counseling is not just a career—it is a calling. She views it as a privilege to guide clients as they uncover their true identity and start to live with greater peace, fulfillment, and hope.

Stephanie Baker, LPCC-S, DARTT, EMDR Trained

Stephanie Baker is a licensed professional clinical counselor with a master’s degree in counseling. She founded her solo private practice, Change Heals LLC, in Mason, Ohio in 2020. In addition to mental health therapy, Stephanie offers wellness coaching, professional consultation and training in the Healing Our Core Issues (HOCI) model, and intensive healing workshops.


Stephanie is trained in EMDR, polyvagal theory, and somatic approaches. Her deepest passion lies in the HOCI model, which helps individuals access true, lasting healing through root-level inner work. Stephanie believes this process supports clients in developing a deeper understanding of themselves and equips them with the tools needed to make meaningful, sustainable change. As clients learn to nurture and love their authentic selves, they often find they can cultivate and sustain healthier relationships with others.


Stephanie offers three-day “Re-growing Your Roots” intensive healing workshops in Mason, OH, and can travel and facilitate these workshops in other communities by request. She would love to connect with you if you're interested in hosting Stephanie in your area.



Above all, Stephanie considers it an honor to walk alongside clients on their healing journeys. She is deeply committed to holding a compassionate, safe space where people feel truly seen and heard—even in the most challenging moments of their work.

Blake Huelsman, MA, LPCC-S, DARTT

Blake Huelsman is a licensed professional clinical counselor and founder of Recovering Life LLC in Mason, Ohio. Over the past eight years, Blake has been deeply engaged with HOCI’s training and mentoring programs, developing a passion for helping individuals heal the relational and developmental wounds at the root of addiction and disconnection.


Blake specializes in addiction recovery, incorporating DARTT (Developmental and Relational Trauma Therapy) to address the core wounds underlying compulsive behaviors. He is also trained in Psychodrama and has extensive experience in experiential and action-based therapeutic approaches. Blake is passionate about helping individuals restore a secure connection to their authentic selves, believing that healing is about reclaiming wholeness rather than fixing brokenness.



Blake offers a powerful, experiential path toward lasting recovery, relational health, and personal transformation through three-day intensive workshops and Psychodrama therapy groups.

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

Valerie Burns Cathers is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Madison, Wisconsin. She owns and directs 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 La Crosse, Wisconsin. Valerie believes strongly in advancing research in developmental trauma and serves on the International Journal of Trauma Counseling and Resilience review board.


Valerie has been extensively trained and mentored by the Healing Our Core Issues Institute for the past eight years and strongly believes in the power of the Wounded Healer. She is a Certified Advanced Counselor Supervisor through the National Board of Certified Counselors. 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 her work.