Mentor & Advisor:
Ernest Rossi, Ph.D FAPA
Ernest Rossi is the author of two dozen professional books on psychotherapy, including The Psychobiology of Gene Expression: Neuroscience and Neurogenesis in Hypnosis and in the Healing and Arts published in 2002, and A Dialogue with Our Genes, 2004. “As an author, researcher, teacher, and innovator, Dr. Rossi has advocated the benefits of clinical hypnosis, has raised the bar of scientific excellence for optimizing performance and healing in psychotherapy, therapeutic hypnosis, the arts, humanities, and spiritual traditions.” Dr. Rossi currently conducts training workshops sponsored by the nonprofit Ernest Lawrence Rossi Foundation for Psychosocial Genomic Research. He is a Fellow in the American Psychotherapy Association.
Lifetime Achievement Awards:
2008: Lifetime Achievement Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Field of Psychotherapy: The American Society of Clinical Hypnosis, Bernauer Newton Trust
2003: Lifetime Achievement Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Field of Psychotherapy: The American Association for Psychotherapy
1986: Lifetime Achievement Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Field of Psychotherapy: The Milton H. Erickson Foundation
Advisors and friends:
Devorah Coryell
Deborah Coryell has worked in the health field for more than 25 years and is co-founder and executive director of the Shiva foundation, an organization dedicated to education and support for those dealing with loss and death. She conceived and directed the wellness education program at Canyon Ranch in Tucson, Arizona, one of the nation’s foremost and innovative health resorts. Based on a wellness models she developed, the program embraced a full spectrum of life patterns and resources that influence health — including the capacity to grieve.
The Shiva foundation, a nonprofit organization is committed to developing resources in offering support and the grieving process.
Jim Rodgers, MD
Dr. Rodgers, is a Board Certified Psychiatrist who received his Medical Degree from Brown University and completed his Psychiatric Residency at Harvard University’s Massachusetts Mental Health Center Program. While serving as Chief Resident in Psychiatry at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Dr. Rodgers learned the ‘Relaxation Response’ under Herb Benson, MD.
Dr. Rodgers has worked with seriously and persistently mentally ill patients for 15 years. He has extensive experience with geriatric psychiatry. The early focus of his career was with somatic therapies including psychopharmacology and convulsive therapies. In addition, Dr. Rodgers is certified in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy.
Over the past several years Dr. Rodgers interest in the processes of psychological and spiritual transformation has led him to the study of Western esotericism and the Hermetic Arts of alchemy, astrology and mysticism. He has published several papers on the processes of transformation in mysticism and alchemy and astrology. These recent studies have renewed his interest in the mind body connection and the use of imagery for personal growth and healing.
Larry Cammarata, Ph.D
Larry Cammarata is a clinical psychologist specializing in mindfulness-oriented psychotherapy and mind-body medicine. He is a Lead Faculty Area Chair of Psychology forUniversity of Phoenix. Larry has practiced psychology for over 30 years and has expertise in the areas of mind-body medicine, clinical hypnosis, stress management, interpersonal relationships, depression, anxiety, mindfulness, and issues of midlife. Along with Jack Kornfield, Tara Brach, Dan Siegel, and other leaders in the mindfulness field, Larry is a co-author of a book entitled, A Year of Living Mindfully: 52 Quotes & Weekly Mindfulness Practices. He is a professional speaker and workshop presenter who has made contributions to local, national, and international retreats and conferences. In recent years, he has provided professional training to health professionals in Asheville, NC, San Diego, CA, Santa Fe, NM, La Jolla, CA, and Bali, Indonesia. In addition to his involvement in the profession of psychology, Larry is an instructor of Tai Chi Chuan and Qigong. He is also a professional musician and performance artist who has performed locally, nationally, and internationally.
Leslie Davenport, MS, MFT
Leslie Davenport is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, and holds Master’s Degrees in the arts and psychology. In addition, she is an ordained interfaith minister in the Sufi tradition. She has more than twelve years teaching experience at universities including Cal Sate University Hayward, Mills College, Holy Names College, the University of San Francisco and JFK University.
Leslie was the founding director of the Marin General Hospital Humanities Program, and is recognized for establishing guided imagery programs at five Bay Area hospitals. She is currently supervising the imagery arts students for our in-hospital education program. Leslie is the author of Healing and Transformation through Self-Guided Imagery.She also writes a blog on the Huffington Post
Lee Irwin, Ph.D
Lee Irwin, Ph.D., is chair of the religious study department at the College of Charleston, South Carolina. His areas of expertise are Native American religions and western esotericism, particularly in hermetic spirituality and its relationship to Eastern religious traditions. He also teaches in the areas of the tracks personal religious experience, incarnational spirituality, and on the importance of the Divine feminine — particularly around themes connected to dreams and visions. He is vice president of the international Association for the study of esotericism, and gives frequent presentations at the Sophia Institute, the Institute for dream studies.