A Woman's Journal

Stephanie S. Covington, Ph.D., LCSW, is an internationally recognized clinician, author, organizational consultant, and lecturer and a pioneer in the field of women’s issues, trauma, addiction, and recovery. With more than thirty years of experience, she has developed an innovative, gender-responsive, and trauma-informed approach that results in effective services in public, private, and institutional settings. Her clients include the Betty Ford Treatment Center, the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment in Washington, D.C., the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Correctional Service of Canada, the Ministries of Justice in England, Scotland and Switzerland, and numerous other treatment and correctional settings. She is the featured therapist on the Oprah Winfrey Network TV show Breaking Down the Bars and the coauthor of a three-year research project, Gender-Responsive Strategies: Research, Practice, and Guiding Principles for Women Offenders, for the National Institute of Corrections. She also has served as a consultant to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and was selected for the federal Advisory Committee for Women’s Services. Educated at Columbia University and the Union Institute, Dr. Covington has conducted seminars for behavioral health professionals, community organizations, criminal justice professionals, and recovery groups in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Europe, Africa, Iceland, Brazil, and New Zealand. She has served on the faculties of the University of Southern California, San Diego State University, and the California School of Professional Psychology. She has published extensively, including ten gender-responsive, trauma-informed treatment curricula. Dr. Covington is a board-certified Diplomate of the National Association of Social Workers and the American Board of Sexology and is a member of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy and the American Psychological Association. She is based in La Jolla, California, where she is co-director of both the Institute for Relational Development and the Center for Gender & Justice.