DAWN - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Developmental Psychologist
Crystal is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who has passionately helped individuals and families move from surviving after trauma to finding post-traumatic growth. Crystal received her Doctorate in Behavioral Health from Arizona State University in 2021, which followed her Master's degree from Ottawa University in 2013. Over the past decade she has since enjoyed helping families and individuals understand the impact of trauma and find resiliency and healing.
Crystal is a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional. She is trained in EMDR, Somatic Experiencing, Forward Facing Trauma Therapy, Theraplay, Sand Tray Play Therapy, and Brainspotting. She is currently receiving training in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy. While she has a strong neurological approach to understanding trauma, she utilizes different modalities of therapy to best fit each individual. She is honored to walk alongside families and individuals as they find empowerment in their healing process.
Crystal believes strongly in community awareness and has dedicated her time and support to help train a variety of professionals and volunteers working with individuals who have experienced trauma. She has been the keynote speaker at several conferences to support this cause. She has trained national audiences including foster and adoptive families, mental health professionals, law enforcement personal, attorneys, school staff and board members, and medical staff. In addition, she has published articles in Adoption Today and Foster Families Today.
Kaitlin is a Clinical Intern who has a passion for helping individuals, couples, and families move toward healing and growth in their lives. She completed her master's degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and graduated from Fuller Theological Seminary in June of 2023. Kaitlin's training enables her to view each individual as a product of
their many relationships and cultural contexts, which they have experienced over the course of their lifetime. She has a passion for working with couples and families and helping to enable her clients to engage in relationships in life-giving ways. When working with clients, Kaitlin often helps individuals to reflect on patterns and dynamics from their first families to identify underlying wounding and open opportunities for systemic healing. Kaitlin also works with children of all ages and their parents through a play-based, attachment focused approach to psychotherapy.
She has received training in Sand Tray Play Therapy, Emotionally Expressive Interventions, and is scheduled to start training in Somatic Experiencing in January of 2024. Kaitlin also utilizes mindfulness and guided imagery techniques to deepen emotional processing and enhance coping for her clients.
Within her work, Kaitlin has developed a passion for working with individuals and families with disabilities. Kaitlin has developed and led trainings at Dawn Institute specifically addressing loss within disability diagnoses. She has also conducted research on the effects of disabilities on the family as a whole and has published articles in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy.
Job Titles:
- Back Office Consulting and Solutions
Sheena holds a Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy from Fuller Theological Seminary and is driven by a strong desire to assist individuals in feeling seen, heard, and safe. She understands the impact of trauma on our self-perception, beliefs about others, and our ability to thrive, often keeping us stuck in survival mode. This can significantly affect our relationships and overall well-being. Sheena is dedicated to helping individuals recognize their inherent value and break free from survival mode to live fully, allowing them to be present for themselves and their relationships.
In Sheena's perspective, healing from trauma involves addressing both the mind and body. She employs interventions and theories that enable individuals to understand their own narratives, emotions, and experiences. By doing so, they can make sense of the past and process how their bodies respond, leading to transformative changes in their lives. Sheena utilizes attachment-based approaches like Emotionally Focused Therapy and Restoration Therapy, as well as expressive and experiential techniques like mindfulness and sand tray therapy. Sand tray therapy is beneficial for both children and adults. With children, Sheena focuses more on expressive methods that allow for symbolic processing.
Recognizing the significance of relationships as a fundamental human need, Sheena is passionate about helping couples, families, adults, teens, and children overcome the barriers of trauma that hinder their relationships and sense of belonging