Wounded Healers Institute
Where the collective unconscious is our teacher
Our Mission Statement
As a independent training, consultation, coaching, advocacy, and research institute, our mission is to explore areas of posttraumatic growth and performance enhancement on individuals, families, communities, systems, societies, and cultures when healing or recovering from normative to pathological trauma, dissociation, and addiction through the Addiction as Dissociation Model (ADM)).
Action Statement
We will execute the mission statement through experiential education, personal development, professional growth, advocacy on integrated findings, and provide an independent check on the foundations of qualitative and quantitative research.
Social Equity Statement
We believe that all humans deserve individual freedom of choice to live their life according to their values, personal philosophy, and traditional reasonings. We acknowledge the importance of anti-racism and anti-oppression work is imperative for all life and is a pillar of trauma-focused care; However, we believe that in order for one to be truly trauma-informed, one must understand the unconscious processes of dissociation and addiction.
Open letter from WHI board
This open letter highlights the basis, context, purpose, intention, justification of creating such an institute. We will briefly outline the professional services that we will perform and, as a declaration of transparency, this letter will address the dynamic that is outlined in the Addiction as Dissociation Model (ADM) (O’Brien & Marich, 2019; Marich, 2012/2020; Marich & Dansiger, 2021) (foundational research performed by Adam O’Brien’s doctoral research (O’Brien, 2023). Thank you for your interest in this endeavor.
The wounded healer is symbolic of the transformation of consciousness that leads to taking action in one’s life. The archetype has a long history as a psychological profile, professional identity, and represents the dualistic nature of the healing process. As healer’s, we become fascinated by how what was once insurmountable pain, indiscernible dis-ease, or what felt like the absolute certainty of fate, we awaken to a new day that we get to live again. Like after a storm passes, a new profound sense of understanding emerges. The wounded healer concept is also symbolic of the lived-experience, which supports our qualitative and phenomenological style, philosophy, and approach. When one finds a new freedom through a process of healing and recovery, they want to share it with the world. We wish to learn from this intrinsic wisdom and help apply it to the world.
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