Seeking Safety Associate Trainers

There are currently five associates who have been trained by Lisa Najavits to conduct the same training that she does (i.e., same slides, videos, content, format).  The associates have conducted Seeking Safety for many years, have supervised a wide variety of clinicians on it on various projects, and have conducted the Seeking Safety trainings all over the country.  They are described below. 

Please note that various other people around the country conduct training on Seeking Safety that they have developed, but these have not been reviewed or supervised by our group, and thus we cannot determine their quality.   

Please note: if you have an interest in having one of them conduct a training, please contact info@seekingsafety.org or 617-731-1501. See also the section Training on this website for more.

Martha Schmitz, Ph.D. offers continuing education workshops and supervision in the treatment of PTSD and substance abuse to clinicians throughout the United States.  She has worked with Lisa M. Najavits, Ph.D., author of Seeking Safety:  A Treatment Manual for PTSD and Substance Abuse, since 2000.  Dr. Schmitz has held a Staff Psychologist position at the V.A. Pittsburgh Healthcare System and a joint appointment as Assistant Psychologist at McLean Hospital and Instructor in Psychology at Harvard Medical School.  She received her doctorate in Counseling Psychology from the University of Missouri at Columbia after earning her master’s and bachelor’s degrees from the University of California at Davis.  She has collaborated on several research projects in both the United States and France.  Her clinical and research interests include posttraumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, and resiliency in survivors of trauma.  She is based in San Francisco, CA. 

Kay M. Johnson, LICSW has 20 years experience as a director, supervisor, clinician and consultant/trainer in outpatient and residential substance abuse and mental health programs.  She specializes in treating people with trauma and addiction.  She currently works at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Crime Victims Treatment Center in New York City and is a senior associate for Lisa M. Najavits, PhD of Harvard Medical School/McLean Hospital.  For the past nine years she has used Seeking Safety Therapy for PTSD and Substance Abuse in both outpatient and residential treatment settings. She has presented workshops and staff training in the United States and Canada, on PTSD, addiction, and Seeking Safety for the past four years. She is based in New York, NY. 

Karen E. Krinsley, Ph.D. has been leading Seeking Safety groups since 1999 and conducting training/supervision on the model for several years.  She is the PTSD Section Chief for the VA Boston Healthcare System.  She is also affiliated with the National Center for PTSD; and the Center for Returning Veterans at VA Boston, and is Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine. She received her master’s and doctorate degrees in clinical psychology from Rutgers University.  Dr. Krinsley has 18 years of clinical experience working with trauma survivors who also have substance abuse problems, and has presented trainings to both professional and community audiences.   She has collaborated on research projects involving trauma and substance abuse, and the impact of multiple traumas across the lifespan.  She is based in Boston, MA.   

Laurie A. Storm, LCSW, CASAC has 15 years experience treating clients, both mandated and voluntary, in outpatient substance abuse and mental health settings. She is currently a Research Clinician in the Safe Steps study at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital using Seeking Safety, and has extensive experience presenting trainings on topics including harm reduction counseling skills, bereavement, ethics, and substance abuse among older adults.   Laurie is a former Chair of the Addictions Committee of the New York City Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW).  She is based in New York, NY.

Kevin Reeder, PhD currently serves as the Program Manager of the Returning Veterans Residential PTSD Program, for the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System. He is involved in the planning and provision of treatment for returning veterans in the residential program where he provides individual and group therapy. He specializes in the provision of treatment services for veterans dually diagnosed with PTSD and substance use disorders. He has used Seeking Safety:  A Treatment Manual for PTSD and Substance Abuse with veteran populations in both outpatient and residential treatment settings for the past four years. A veteran of the United States Marine Corps, he completed his Pre- Doctoral internship at the VA Tennessee Valley Veterans Healthcare System in Nashville, Tennessee. He completed his Postdoctoral Residency at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Kansas City, Missouri. His clinical interests include posttraumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, and readjustment issues of returning veterans. He is based in Little Rock, AR.