Dr. Stephanie Covington
Co-Director/International Consultant and Clinician, Center for Gender and Justice, United States
Dr. Stephanie S. Covington is an internationally recognized clinician, author, organizational consultant, and lecturer.
She is a pioneer in the fields of addiction, trauma, and recovery. She has developed an innovative, gender-responsive, and trauma-informed approach that results in effective services in public, private, and institutional settings. Her presentations, staff-development seminars, and technical assistance focus on systems change and the development of caring, compassionate, and empowering therapeutic environments. They provide professionals an opportunity to learn new skills for dealing with personal, institutional, and societal changes and are always in demand, both nationally and internationally.
Dr. Covington served as a workshop chair for the Women’s Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP), published by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and was a member of the Advisory Council for Women’s Services at SAMHSA. She is also a former chair of the Women's Committee of the International Council on Alcoholism and Addiction. Her clients include the Betty Ford Treatment Center, the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment in Washington, D.C., and numerous others. She 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.
For twenty-five years, she has also provided training and consulting to help institutions and programs within the criminal justice system develop effective, gender-responsive, and trauma-informed services. These include the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the National Institute of Corrections, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, numerous other state and local jurisdictions, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the Ministries of Justice in England, Scotland, and Switzerland, as well as the Correctional Service of Canada. She was the featured consultant and therapist on the Oprah Winfrey Network docu-reality show, “Breaking Down the Bars.” She is also the co-author of a three-year research project, Gender-Responsive Strategies: Research, Practice, and Guiding Principles for Women Offenders, for the National Institute of Corrections. This publication received the University of Cincinnati Award for its outstanding contribution to the field of corrections in the U.S. and Canada. Based in Del Mar, California, Dr. Covington serves as co-director of the Institute for Relational Development and the Center for Gender & Justice, which aims to expand gender-responsive policies and practices for individuals under criminal justice supervision.
Educated at Columbia University and the Union Institute, Dr. Covington has served on the faculties of the University of Southern California, San Diego State University, and the California School of Professional Psychology. She is a board-certified Diplomate of the National Association of Social Workers and the American Board of Sexology. She is a member of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy and the American Psychological Association.
Among the many articles and books written by Dr. Covington is the best-selling recovery book, A Woman's Way through the Twelve Steps. One of her latest publications, Hidden Healers: The Unexpected Ways Women in Prison Help Each Other Survive, has been widely praised for its insightful portrayal of women’s experiences behind bars. She has also published trauma-focused training materials for staff development and organizational change, as well as ten gender-responsive and trauma-informed programs that include curriculum manuals for facilitators and complementary materials for participants.
