Trauma-Informed Resources for Writers
We’re curating a variety of support systems for writers working in the trauma space. From a helping professionals directory to worksheets offered by retreat and workshop facilitators to select guided meditations, we hope these resources will offer light during dark writing days.
Note: The coaches and therapists listed in our directory below have all been through extensive trauma training and nearly all have worked at or attended a Rebecca Dykes Writers retreat. However, Rebecca Dykes Writers is not representing or responsible for anyone on this list. Proceed at your own discretion.
Currently, we are only looking for certified therapists to add to this directory, as we are unable to vet coaches who haven’t worked directly with us. *****If you’re a certified therapist or social worker who has experience working with creatives and would like to be added, please reach out!
Helping Professionals Directory
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Bethany Walker
Bethany Walker is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and author. She writes in a variety of genres including flash fiction, picture books, and novels. She is a member of Julie Hedlund’s 12x12 Picture Book Challenge, th Society of Children’s Writers and Illustrators, and a Rebecca Dykes Writer.
Bethany's work was recognized as a finalist for YA in the 2022 Kids' Choice Kidlit Writing Contest and as Honorable Mention in the 2022 Picture Book Party. Most recently, her debut independently published picture book “Lena & the Dragon, was awarded the 2023 SCBWI Spark Honor Award.
In addition to her writing, Bethany is passionate about working with children, teens and families. Her mental health clinic, Empowered Family Services, focuses on empowering families in all walks of life by providing education, mental health services, and support to children and teens, caregivers, families, and support systems. She is currently pursuing her doctorate in Traumatology.
Bethany is available for individual therapy for ages 7+ as well as parenting or family therapy sessions. Bethany also offers coaching sessions for writers looking to approach trauma related topics in their writing for children.
Email: contactbwalker@gmail.com
Phone: 903-242-8306
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Dia Rivers
Dia Rivers is a psychotherapist (MA in Counseling, LPC) who has spent the past 15 years working in the mental health and wellness field.
She is experienced in working with a variety of cultures in the US and Kazakhstan, Indonesia, India, and Egypt - she believes an integral part of the therapeutic process is feeling understood, and learning to love yourself as you are.
Dia is a 500RYT Yoga Teacher and a certified Meditation Teacher and Soul-Alignment Coach. She loves working with people from all walks of life ~ any sexual orientations and backgrounds are most welcome. She uses the pronouns she/her and identifies as soul-amorous, which means she loves people based on their souls, not their gender identity. Dia was raised in a Conservative Christian household and is happily married to her wife Ashley, and obsessed with their Goldendoodle awkward tween named Sundance!
Dia is available to support you through life's challenges by providing a safe space, a listening ear, as well as offering coping skills support like EFT tapping, breathing exercises, nature based therapy, and tools to help you experience relief ASAP.
Reach out to Dia for a Free Discovery Consult - she prides herself in replying quickly to inquiries from fellow humans in need.
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Michelle Hazen
I'm Michelle, a certified book coach, editor, and author with nearly a decade of experience in the mental health field.
I'm here to help with editorial packages for all budgets, as well as ongoing support, mentorship, and coaching for writers at every phase of their journey. I edit completed manuscripts, can help with planning out your next book, and offer career counseling for those who just aren't sure what they want to do next. Let's chat about what you like to write and how I can help!
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Heather Demetrios
Heather Demetrios is a critically-acclaimed author, writing coach, and certified meditation teacher based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Her publishers include Simon & Schuster, Macmillan, and HarperCollins. Her work has been translated into Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, German, Dutch, and Romanian.
Heather works with writers on integrating mindfulness into their writing practice, process, and life. She has a special interest in working with authors writing about traumatic material and is the founding Program Director of Rebecca Dykes Writers. In addition to being a professor, meditation teacher, and Zen practitioner, she holds certificates in Trauma Sensitive Mindfulness and Integrative Somatic Parts (IFS) Work. She is currently pursuing her Master’s in Social Work.
Find out more about Heather at heatherdemetrios.com.
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Emma Goldman-Sherman
Emma Goldman-Sherman (she/they) is a neurodivergent writer and coach whose plays have been produced on 4 continents.
Publications include several podcasts, Brooklyn Publishers, Smith & Kraus, and Next Stage Press. She has an MFA from University of Iowa and several certificates as a holistic health counselor and coach from IIN, Columbia University and others. Emma runs www.BraveSpace.online and believes in the power of language to confer healing and agency. Best contact: emmagoldmansherman@gmail.com
Resources from our 2022 Retreat
Dia Rivers, our on-site therapy support, offered instruction throughout the retreat on using the Tapping technique to reduce stress. Listen here to learn the sequence.
Heather Demetrios offered meditation sessions each day, focusing the most on the R.A.I.N. method. You can listen to her meditations for writers here.
Rebecca Dykes Writers x The Well
“We have to belong to ourselves as much as we need to belong to others. Any belonging that asks us to betray ourselves is not true belonging.”
In our first Well x RDW Gathering, we looked at practices you can begin right away to support working with material that is painful or traumatic, whether you are working with personal experience or fiction. This workshop was led by our program director, Heather Demetrios.