Training, consulting, and programming for public agencies, organizations, and institutions.
1201 Camino Del Mar, Suite 204, Del Mar, CA 92014 • 858.454.8528
The Covington Training Institute is proud to be a women-owned organization dedicated to advancing healing-centered, equity-driven systems of care.
© Stephanie S. Covington, PhD, LCSW
September 29 – October 1, 2026
2.5 Days • Bristol, CT
Hosted by the Connecticut Women’s Consortium
This innovative and highly acclaimed conference offers an opportunity to deepen your understanding of gender-responsive and trauma-informed services. The emphasis is on five research-based treatment interventions developed by Dr. Stephanie S. Covington. Each participant selects one curriculum for their in-depth training.
This two-and-a-half-day conference is designed for counselors, therapists, clinical supervisors, correctional professionals, and program administrators. The 2026 Covington Curriculum Conference will be held at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Bristol, Connecticut on September 29 – October 1 (special conference rate is available). Dr. Covington and her approved certified trainers will be presenting as well as available throughout the conference to address individual or organizational inquiries.
Printable Flyer | Conference Agenda
These training workshops are interactive and provide therapeutic tools that attendees can implement in their agencies and use with their clients. The program materials are designed for group work; however, the therapeutic exercises can be adapted for use with individuals.
Dr. Stephanie Covington will present on four occasions throughout this multi-day conference, delivering the opening and closing plenary sessions and offering two optional evening events, each discussing books from early in her career to the current day. She is actively engaged throughout, stopping into all core curriculum training sessions, and is often spotted in the hallways, talking intimately with an attendee, or taking selfies with a group.
Registration Rates:
$495 early bird registration rate (increases to $525 after August 1, 2026)
Student Discount Rate of $400 is available
REGISTRATION WILL OPEN MARCH 2026
Training by Carol Ackley
Over the past forty years our knowledge of women’s lives has increased dramatically, and we have added significantly to our understanding of the treatment needs of those with substance use disorders. Based on Dr. Covington’s evidence-based curriculum Helping Women Recover: A Program for Treating Addiction, this training offers a comprehensive treatment model that integrates theories of addiction, women’s psychological development, and trauma.
Designed to give counselors, clinicians, and program administrators a basic understanding of the essential elements needed for the development of gender-responsive programs, the training focuses primarily on recovery. The emphasis is on the key issues of self, relationships, sexuality, spirituality, and the trauma-informed therapeutic techniques for dealing with these issues. Updates in the 3rd edition include trauma-sensitive yoga exercises, updated gender information, new brain research as it relates to addiction and trauma, and expansion from 17 to 20 sessions. Throughout the workshop, your trainer also discusses how the special edition of the Helping Women Recover program materials is used with those in the criminal justice system.
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Training by Eileen Russo and Maggie Young
This training introduces the evidence-based Beyond Trauma: A Healing Journey for Women program materials. The second edition incorporates the insights of neuroscience with the latest understanding of trauma and PTSD to assist both new and seasoned group leaders. Cognitive-behavioral techniques, mindfulness, expressive arts, and the principles of relational therapy are integrated in this strength-based approach. The curriculum also has a psycho-educational component that teaches what trauma is, its process, and its impact on both the inner self (thoughts, feelings, beliefs, values) and the other self (behavior and relationships, including parenting). The focus of this training is on interactive exercises that demonstrate techniques that counselors can use to help clients develop coping skills, as well as emotional wellness. In addition, the end of each of the twelve sessions has information on adapting the material for youth.
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Training by Candice Norcott
Built on a foundation rooted in Resiliency Theory and experiential learning, Voices: A Program of Self-Discovery and Empowerment for Girls (2nd Edition) is designed to encourage girls and young women to find and express themselves. This training describes the needs of youth, as well as provides an overview of the elements needed for creating gender-responsive services. It was created to address the unique needs of adolescents with modules about self and connecting with others to exploring healthy living and the journey ahead. Today we are hearing more about bullying, the pressures of social media, early puberty, gender exploration, human sex trafficking, and binge drinking. Texting, social media, and online or “in real life” (IRL) friends are part of the changes in their social lives.
The focus is on interactive exercises that demonstrate the strategies that service providers can use with adolescent girls and young women (as well as those who are gender diverse). The topics covered include developing a positive sense of self, building healthy relationships, problematic substance use, physical and emotional wellness, sexuality, and planning for a positive future. Pathways to the criminal justice system and the experiences once they become involved are also addressed.
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Training by Patricia Esparza
NEW EDITIONS! We live in a world where anger and violence are all around us, including in the news, our television shows and motion pictures, and our families and relationships. Anger is often connected to violence and, in some cases, leads to violence. Even though anger is a common emotion, many people find it difficult to understand and regulate their anger. Beyond Violence+ and Beyond Anger and Violence+ are programs for those who struggle with issues related to anger and/or violence. Beyond Violence+ focuses on women, transgender, and nonbinary people who are involved in the criminal justice system and Beyond Anger and Violence+ focuses on those in community programs. There are many overlaps in each approach; this combined training will also review the differences between the two programs.
The training is designed to explain and explore the topics of anger and violence on multiple levels: the personal level; the relationship level, including anger and violence directed toward them; the intersections of anger, violence, and substance use; and the effects of anger and violence in our communities and society at large. This is an interactive training that integrates the evidence-based practices of cognitive-behavioral, relational, mindful, and expressive-arts therapeutic techniques into a holistic approach to anger and violence prevention.
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Training by Shane Pugh
This training presents the 2nd edition of Helping Men Recover, a gender-based, trauma-informed treatment program for substance use disorders that has been expanded to twenty-one sessions. The curriculum addresses what is often missing in prevailing treatment models: a clear understanding of the impact of male socialization on the recovery process, a consideration of client's relational needs, and a focus on the issues of abuse and trauma. Existing models often provide little direction in helping those to establish a healthy sense of self outside of stereotypical masculine scripts. In contrast, this is one of the primary goals of Helping Men Recover. It is suitable for men, trans men, and nonbinary people who have a masculine experience of the world.
Helping Men Recover integrates a theory of addiction, a theory of trauma, and a theory of male psychosocial development. The program materials consist of a facilitator manual and a participant workbook. There is a community version and a criminal justice version. This presentation provides a historical overview of the history of men’s treatment and the research that establishes the foundation for this new curriculum. However, the main focus of this training is on the interactive exercises drawn from the curriculum.
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By Vanessa Carlisle
Sexuality is an integral part of human health and healing. Yet, it can be a trigger for relapse and remains one of the most overlooked and silenced aspects of women’s recovery. Therapists, recovery programs, and mutual help groups all struggle to adequately support women and gender-expansive people who are ready to address sexual issues in their lives.
This presentation explores concepts and interactive exercises from the new book Awaken Your Sexuality: A Guide to Connection and Intimacy after Addiction and Trauma and the Awaken Your Sexuality Workbook, written by Dr. Stephanie Covington and Dr. Vanessa Carlisle. The material can be adapted for use in treatment programs, individual counseling and therapy, and mutual help groups, or by individuals using a self-help model. Exercises range from reflective writing to somatic (body-based) practices and are designed to be inclusive of gender identity and sexual orientation, with a focus on the experiences of women and nonbinary people.
by Eileen Russo
Healing Trauma+: A Brief Intervention for Women and Gender-Diverse People and Exploring Trauma+: A Brief Intervention for Men and Gender-Diverse People programs are six-session evidence-based trauma interventions designed for people who have experienced abuse and trauma. Our understanding of gender has shifted from the binary male-female model to a more inclusive and expansive model. In order to reflect these changes, the definition of gender responsive has been expanded to include the experiences of transgender and nonbinary people. These materials have inclusive pronouns, as well as examples of traumatic events and focus questions specific to this group.
These two six-session interventions focus on the three core concepts that both staff and clients need to know: an understanding of what trauma is, its process, and its impact on both the inner self (thoughts, feelings, beliefs, values) and the outer self (behavior and relationships). Topics include: the process of trauma, power and abuse, grounding and self-soothing, and healthy relationships. There is a strong emphasis on grounding skills.
by Shane Pugh
Adolescents who have a masculine experience of the world live in a world that is complicated as they attempt to navigate their psychological and physical development. The typical adolescent male is caught up in a maelstrom of hormonal, social, and cultural shifts that would be difficult to deal with even in ideal conditions. Chances of atypical or disordered development increase exponentially in the midst of troubling experiences. This can lead to trouble in critical thinking, trouble in reconciling emotional events, and antisocial behavior.
This introduction is based on the trauma-informed curriculum, A Young Man’s Guide to Self-Mastery. This is a gender-expansive program designed for a wide range of youth, including those who are transgender. This program focuses on the effects of adversity and trauma on the lives of adolescents and transitional age youth and is designed to help them to mitigate some of those effects, such as problematic use of alcohol and substance use. The techniques described in this curriculum are meant to create an atmosphere of safety and of mutual learning. Some of the topics included are: cyber-bullying, substance misuse, emotional development, process of trauma and what it means to be a man in today’s world. This training provides an overview of the elements needed for creating gender- and trauma-responsive services. The focus is on interactive exercises that demonstrate the strategies that counselors can use with boys and young men. The issues of boys in the juvenile justice system are also addressed.
by Tammy Rothschild & Christina Cicero-Villatoro
The TIER System is a research-based, gender responsive, and trauma-informed alternative to compliance-focused behavior management systems in residential and custodial settings. The TIER System reduces staff focus on traditional compliance methods and teaches skills to redirect unsafe and unhealthy behavior. The System teaches skills that are more effective in motivating positive behavior than traditional points and level systems. The key principle of the TIER System is creating and maintaining a safe program culture, which is an empowering paradigm in which many residents can learn helpful life skills and improve conditions of safety in facilities.
This introductory training will present this program model where personal and program safety is developed by reinforcing positive, safe behaviors by applying innovative practices that are relational, trauma informed, and strengths-based. Negative, destructive behaviors are diminished through supportive techniques that teach residents the necessary skills to manage their own challenging feelings, thoughts, and attitudes. The TIER System is not built on teaching compliance; it is built upon teaching people meaningful skills so they may individually contribute toward a safe environment.
In addition, there are evening programs that will be presented by Dr. Stephanie S. Covington:
Presented by Stephanie S. Covington
This presentation focuses on the most invisible women in our society… women in the criminal justice system. By sharing her over thirty years of experience working with this system, Dr. Covington recounts her journey as well as those of the women. Her book Hidden Healers: The Unexpected Ways Women in Prison Help Each Other Survive is based on over twenty interviews with formerly incarcerated women. It documents the 1) overwhelming need for help and healing, 2) how prisons and “the system” do not provide this, and 3) how women- even those who have their own struggles- are moved to help others. The inspirational anecdotes from the book are accompanied by challenging questions for us all.
Presented by Stephanie S. Covington
The focus of this evening’s event is on the best-selling book, A Woman’s Way through the Twelve Steps. This book empowers women to take ownership of their recovery and to grow and flourish in sobriety. The life stories included in this new 30th anniversary edition are rich in diversity - reflecting differences in age, race, and ethnicity, class, gender, religion, geographic location, occupation, choice of partner, and role as mother. Dr. Covington discusses some of the interactive exercises from the workbook and facilitator guide. She also highlights how women use the Steps and she shares their wisdom and inspiration. To register for only this evening event, please visit the A Woman's Way event page.
Training, consulting, and programming for public agencies, organizations, and institutions.
1201 Camino Del Mar, Suite 204, Del Mar, CA 92014 • 858.454.8528
The Covington Training Institute is proud to be a women-owned organization dedicated to advancing healing-centered, equity-driven systems of care.
© Stephanie S. Covington, PhD, LCSW