TREATI Faculty Trainers

Steve Brown, Psy.D., is the Director of the Traumatic Stress Institute of Klingberg Family Centers, (370 Linwood St. New Britain, CT 06052; 860-243-4416 x 237); steveb@klingberg.org) and Coordinator of the Risking Connection Training Program for the Trauma, Research, Education and Training Institute (TREATI).  He specializes in work with at-risk youth, especially children and teens with sexual behavior problems.  He is also a sexuality educator/trainer and author of Streetwise to Sex-Wise: Sexuality Education for High Risk Youth,  a sexuality education curricula used nationally by agencies and schools serving high risk youth.  He is the current Chair of the Board of Directors of Stop It Now!, a ground-breaking national sexual abuse prevention organization whose unique programs challenge adults, not children, to take responsibility for preventing child sexual abuse.

Patricia Wilcox, LCSW (Klingberg Family Centers; 370 Linwood St. New Britain, CT 06052; 860-832-5507; patw@klingberg.org) is the Vice President of Strategic Development at Klingberg Family Centers in New Britain, Connecticut. Her career in child and family treatment has included the state child welfare system, the Superior Court, private practice and Newington Children’s Hospital Day Treatment. At Klingberg she has been a clinician and the Clinical Director before obtaining her current position in 2005. She specializes in treatment of traumatized children and their families and has presented extensively on this topic. She is the creator of the Restorative Approach, a trauma and relationship based approach to congregate care treatment of children. She is the current Executive Director of the Trauma Research Education and Training Institute (TREATI) and is a trainer for the Risking Connection® trauma training program. She has presented at NASW, the International Conference on Violence, Abuse, and Trauma. The American Association of Children’s Residential Centers, the Alliance for Children and Families, The Child Welfare League of America, and the Black Administrators on Child Welfare.

Laurie Anne Pearlman PhD. is a clinical psychologist and independent trauma consultant based in Massachusetts. She is a member of the complex trauma task force of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies; a fellow of the Trauma Division of the American Psychological Association; senior psychological consultant for the Headington Institute; past president of the Trauma Research, Education, and Training, Institute; and co-founder and former co-director of the Traumatic Stress Institute/Center for Adult & Adolescent Psychotherapy. She has received awards for her clinical and scientific contributions from the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS) and the Connecticut Psychological Association; for her work in media and trauma from ISTSS; and for contributions to professional practice from the American Psychological Association Trauma Division. She is currently collaborating on a book for therapists and counselors about treating traumatic bereavement. Since 1999, she has been collaborating with Professor Ervin Staub on promoting trauma recovery and preventing violence in east Africa.

Dr. Karen Saakvitne (Sock-quit-knee) is a clinical psychologist and former clinical director of the Traumatic Stress Institute in South Windsor CT where, with Laurie Anne Pearlman, she wrote the two original books on Vicarious Traumatization (Trauma and the Therapist, and Transforming the Pain).  She is the lead author of Risking Connection and the author of the teaching manual for that curriculum (Relational Teaching, Experiential Learning), and of a parenting resource handbook written for survivor parents and available online, Support for Survivor Parents:. With Laurie Anne Pearlman, she is the recipient of the APA Division of  Trauma Psychology 2008 award for Outstanding Contributions to the Clinical Practice of Trauma Psychology.   She is president of the Trauma Research, Education, and Training Institute (TREATI) and has a private practice of psychotherapy and clinical consultation in Northampton,  MA.

Robert Davis, PsyD. For the past ten years, Dr. Davis has served as the Director of Clinical Services at Devereux as well as the Chief Psychologist of Devereux’s APPIC-approved Predoctoral Clinical Training Program.  He also is a Faculty Trainer for the Risking Connection Training Program for which he has trained multidisciplinary staff from congregate care settings throughout the country.  Dr. Davis is trained in EMDR and DBT, is a past recipient of a National Center for Child Abuse and Neglect (NCCAN) Research Grant and adjunct faculty member at Antioch University New England.  Dr. Davis has trained at the National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Boston and completed post-doctoral fellowships in both trauma and behavioral medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Leeora Netter, LCSW is the former Director of Community Based Group Care at Klingberg Family Centers.  She worked at the Agency for ten years in its Acute, Residential and Group Home settings where she pioneered and implemented an attachment and trauma based approach to treatment.  Leeora was previously employed as a psychotherapist in New York City working with adults and children at a mental health clinic, day treatment program and at a battered women’s shelter. She was a board member of the Connecticut Association for the Treatment and Training of Attachment in Children. She has presented at numerous conferences in the Northeast in the area of trauma and attachment and has worked privately as a consultant to other agencies.  She is also a trainer for the Risking Connections Trauma Training Program.

T’Kai G. Howard, LCSW is the Coordinator of the Nia Sage House, a therapeutic group home operated by Klingberg Family Centers in Wethersfield, Connecticut, specializing in Dialectical Behavior Therapy for adolescent females.   She received her social work degree from the Whitney M. Young, Jr. School of Social Work at Clark Atlanta University.   Prior to her current position, T’Kai’s work with children and families has included the state child welfare system, probation, outpatient child guidance and residential treatment.  She is a trainer for the Risking Connections ®  trauma training program.

Marji Vitale, Psy.D. (The Bridge Family Center, 860-956-8845, Marji@bridgefamilycenter.org) is a licensed clinical psychologist in the state of CT who specializes in working with youth and adults exposed to trauma.  She was trained as a facilitator of the Risking Connection curriculum six years ago by the creators of the curriculum during her time as an outpatient therapist at The Traumatic Stress Institute.  The RC curriculum has been fully implemented into the therapeutic group home for adolescent girls where she is currently the director.  She is also an adjunct faculty member at The Graduate School of Professional Psychology. 

Pamela Deiter-Sands, Ph.D, co-founded Adult and Adolescent Psychological Services in Glastonbury, CT in 1998. Her clinical work is focused on both general psychological concerns and trauma-specific issues. She provides professional consultations and supervision to colleagues, and conducts psychological evaluations and assessments specializing in trauma and forensic matters. She completed her Doctorate at the University of Rhode Island in 1994, and became a Post-Doctoral Fellow, and later, Staff Psychologist at the Traumatic Stress Institute in South Windsor, CT. She has published articles and chapters, most recently in the area of trauma and self-injury, and has presented in many professional settings. Pam is very pleased to be a Risking Connection Trainer, and enjoys working with other providers to deepen our shared understanding of trauma.

Joe Mangine, Ph.D. is in private practice in Amherst, Massachusetts, where he provides psychological services to adolescents, adults, and families. He has treated trauma survivors for 25 years, using individual and group therapy, behavioral medicine, CBT and DBT frameworks. His career has included work in and consultation to public school systems, hospitals and health systems, currently serving as Principal and Vice President of Summit Performance Group.  Prior to work in mental health, Dr. Mangine was a high school teacher and coach.  He has researched, presented, and published on adult children of alcoholics and presented to and supervised clincians treating dual diagnosis clients.  He is an Adjunct Faculty member in the Clinical Psychology Department at the University of Massachusetts and a Faculty Trainer for the Risking Connection® trauma program.

Elizabeth Vermilyea is an independent consultant specializing in traumatic stress consultation, training and program development. Previously, Elizabeth served as the training director and trauma specialist at The Sidran Institute. Prior to joining the Sidran staff in 1999, Ms. Vermilyea had worked in the Sheppard Pratt Health System, Trauma Disorders Service Line in Baltimore, MD and the Master’s & Johnson Sexual Trauma Program in New Orleans, LA.Elizabeth has created and delivered traumatic stress education programs and consultation to audiences including: child and adult mental health, public and private school systems, sexual assault and domestic violence settings, providers working with the homeless, corrections, developmental disabilities agencies, crime victim’s assistance agencies, and substance abuse programs across the US and in Canada. Ms. Vermilyea is the author of Growing Beyond Survival: A Self-Help Tool Kit for Managing Symptoms of Traumatic Stress. She is also one of the authors of Risking Connection in Faith Communities. Ms. Vermilyea has served as faculty for the University of Maryland Trauma Certificate Program and is an Illuminations Facilitator. She consults on trauma related matters with school-based mental health programs, faith-based trauma support programs and other service providers seeking to increase their knowledge and expertise in the support of trauma victims and survivors.