Archives: Authors

Allen Berger, PhD is a psychotherapist who has been helping men and women discover the best in themselves for over forty years. He has written extensively about the experience of recovery, emotional sobriety, integrating modern psychotherapy and the 12 Steps, and the psychological forces operating in the Twelve Steps. He is the author of the recovery mainstay 12 Stupid Things that Mess Up Recovery and 12 Smart Things to do When the Booze and Drugs are Gone: Choosing Emotional Sobriety through Right Action and Self Awareness. His other books include: 12 More Stupid Things that Mess Up Recovery, 12 Hidden Rewards of Making Amends, and Love – Secrets Revealed. You can learn more about Dr. Berger and his work at www.abphd.com. 

Allen Frances, MD, is an American psychiatrist best known for chairing the DSM-IV taskforce, and later roundly criticizing the DSM-5 and American psychiatry for their roles in manufacturing mental illnesses and the epidemic of over-overdiagnosis. His early career was spent at Cornell University Medical College, and he later became chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at Duke University School of Medicine. He founded the Journal of Personality Disorders and the Journal of Psychiatric Practice; and is an outspoken critic of the industrial-medical complex and the marginalization and mistreatment of disenfranchised consumers of medical care. His recent publications include Saving Normal: An Insider’s Revolt Against Out-of-Control Diagnosis, The DSM-5 and Big Pharma, Twilight of American Sanity: A Psychiatrist Analyzes the Age of Trump and Essentials of Psychiatric Diagnosis, Revised Edition: Responding to the Challenges of DSM-5.

Allen E. Ivey, EdD is Distinguished Professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He is past-president and Fellow of the Society of Counseling Psychology of the APA and was founding director of the National Institute for Multicultural Competence. The author of over 40 books and 200 articles, he and his wife Mary Bradford Ivey are co-authors of the popular Intentional Interviewing and Counseling, and Theories of Counseling and Psychotherapy: A Multicultural Approach, both in their 6th editions.

Amanda Ann Gregory, LCPS, is a trauma psychotherapist renowned for her work in complex trauma recovery, notably as the author of You Don’t Need to Forgive: Trauma Recovery on Your Own Terms. With a keen focus on the specific needs of trauma survivors, Gregory's expertise spans over 16 years in clinical practice. Gregory holds clinical licenses in Illinois, Missouri, and Texas, alongside EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) and National Counseling certifications. Her writing has been featured in publications such as Psychology Today, Psychotherapy Networker, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Highlights Magazine, and more. She practices in Chicago, Illinois, and lives in the city with her partner and their sassy black cat, Mr. Bojangles.

Amanda Ann Gregory, LCPC, is a psychotherapist, national speaker, and author. She specializes in the treatment of developmental trauma, attachment, and anxiety. She holds licenses in the states of Illinois, Texas, and Missouri, as well as an EMDR certification, and a National Counselor Certification. Amanda Ann has provided individual, family, and group therapy for 15 years in outpatient and residential settings Her published work has appeared in Psychology Today, Psychotherapy Networker, Happiful Magazine, Addiction Professional, Adoption Today, All Creatures, and Highlights Magazine. Sign up to receive her free e-book 25 Anxiety and Trauma Coping Hacks and read her popular blog Transforming Trauma.

Amy Lepore, LCSW is a licensed clinical social worker with 25 years of experience in the mental health profession. She is certified as an Advanced Alcohol and Drug Counselor (CAADC), Advanced Grief Counselor, and Acceptance and Integration Training (AAIT) practitioner. Currently serving as a psychotherapist, supervisor, and site manager at Mosaic Counseling & Wellness, she draws from psychodynamic and family systems theories, with a trauma-informed and strengths-based approach to working with adults and families facing a range of challenges. Amy also developed The Therapy Group for Therapists, an 8-week therapeutic, virtual support group for therapists dealing with personal problems who seek connection and support among other therapists.

Having navigated her child’s mental health challenges while maintaining her clinical practice, she is uniquely positioned to address the complexities therapists encounter when balancing professional responsibilities with family and personal well-being.  

Amy Urdang, MA, LCPC made a hard choice between pursuing horticulture or becoming a therapist and figured her back would give out before her mind would. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor currently working in Baltimore, Maryland and formerly practiced as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in California. After Graduate School at John F. Kennedy University, she devoted herself for many years to the Existential-Humanistic work of Jim Bugental, as well as to in an intense study of the Enneagram with Helen Palmer and has a deep trust in the relationship between meditation and therapy. She is currently a candidate at the Baltimore Washington Center for Psychoanalysis. She can be reached at 410-889-0800 or through her website in the therapist section www.psychologytoday.com.

Anastasia Piatakhina Giré was born and raised in Saint Petersbourg (Russia), and, before moving to Paris, lived and studied in Italy, Great Britain and Spain. Her experience of evolving abroad, together with her multicultural marriage and trilingual family, makes her particularly sensitive to the sort of issues experienced by people living in a different country than that of their origin, or those who are part of a mixed couple. Life away from home and family brings along quite specific psychological challenges. An emigrant herself, she is passionate about fellow travelers. In the past she wrote for television and cinema, and has always felt fascinated by people’s stories. She offers online therapy as well as in-person sessions in Paris. Her book about online therapy during the Covid pandemic was released in US in April 2022. See her website at www.expatstherapy.com.
 

Anastasia Piatakhina Giré was born and raised in Saint Petersbourg (Russia), and, before moving to Paris, lived and studied in Italy, Great Britain and Spain. Her experience of evolving abroad, together with her multicultural marriage and trilingual family, makes her particularly sensitive to the sort of issues experienced by people living in a different country than that of their origin, or those who are part of a mixed couple. Life away from home and family brings along quite specific psychological challenges. An emigrant herself, she is passionate about fellow travelers. In the past she wrote for television and cinema, and has always felt fascinated by people’s stories. She offers online therapy as well as in-person sessions in Paris. Her book about online therapy during the Covid pandemic was released in US in April 2022. See her website at www.expatstherapy.com.
 

Her experience of evolving abroad, together with her multicultural marriage and trilingual family, makes her particularly sensitive to the sort of issues experienced by people living in a different country than that of their origin, or those who are part of a mixed couple. Life away from home and family brings along quite specific psychological challenges. An expat herself, she is passionate about fellow travelers. As a writer, she has been writing scenarios since 2006 for television and cinema, and has always felt fascinated by people’s stories. She offers online therapy as well as in-person sessions in Paris. See her website at www.expatstherapy.com.

Joseph Burgo, PhD, has practiced psychotherapy for more than 30 years, holding licenses as a marriage and family therapist and clinical psychologist. He earned his undergraduate degree at UCLA and his masters and doctorate at California Graduate Institute in Los Angeles. He is also a graduate psychoanalyst and has served as a board member, officer and instructor at a component society of the International Psychoanalytic Association. He is the author of Why Do I Do That? Psychology Defense Mechanisms and the Hidden Ways They Shape Our Lives (New Rise Press, 2012) and The Narcissist You Know: Defending Yourself Against Extreme Narcissists in an All-About-Me Age (Touchstone, September 2015).

He currently writes the popular blog, After Psychotherapy, where he discusses personal growth issues from a psychodynamic perspective. Working with clients all over the world, he also practices face-to-face video psychotherapy on a secure internet platform.