J. Ryan Kennedy Chair of the Department Director, Body Psychotherapy Program BA, University of Oregon
MA, The Naropa Institute
PsyD Candidate, Capella University
LPC, RN, BC-DMT, CAC III
J. Ryan Kennedy graduated from Naropa University in 1993 with a master's degree in Somatic Psychology and has been continuously on faculty since 1996. He is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), a Registered Nurse (RN), a member of the Board Certified Dance/Movement Therapist (BC-DMT), a Level Three Certified Addictions Counselor (CACIII), and a Certified Massage Therapist (CMT). Mr. Kennedy's clinical background includes extensive work with chronic and persistent mental illness, trauma and dissociative disorders, addiction and recovery, domestic/family violence and living with life-threatening illnesses. He has also completed specialized trainings in Gestalt psychotherapy, Jungian psychotherapy, marriage and family therapy, human sexuality, domestic violence prevention/intervention, massage therapy and bodywork, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), the Laban/Bartenieff system of movement observation and analysis (LMA) and in the Kestenberg Movement Profile (KMP). Mr. Kennedy is currently completing a doctorate in clinical psychology and maintains a private psychotherapy and consultation practice in Denver, Colorado.
Zoë Avstreih Director, Dance Movement Therapy Program
BA, State University of New York, Albany
MS, Hunter College
LPC, NCC, BC-DMT
Zoë Avstreih is a licensed professional counselor and a member of the Board Certified Dance/Movement Therapist. She is also a licensed psychoanalyst and licensed creative arts therapist in New York State. She is the founder/director of the Center for the Study of Authentic Movement and founder and former director of the graduate Dance Movement Therapy Program at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. A pioneer in the development of Authentic Movement, she lectures and teaches internationally and has published widely.
Christine Caldwell BA, University of California, Los Angeles
MA, University of California, Los Angeles
PhD, Union Institute
Christine is the founder and former director of the Somatic Counseling Psychology Department at Naropa University in Boulder, where she currently teaches coursework in somatic theory and skills, and in birth and death imprinting. Her work began twenty years ago with studies in anthropology, dance therapy, bodywork and Gestalt therapy; and has developed into innovations in the field of body-centered psychotherapy. She calls her work the Moving Cycle. This system goes beyond the limitations of therapy and emphasizes lifelong personal and social evolution through trusting and following body energy and wisdom. The Moving Cycle work spotlights natural play, early physical imprinting, the transformational effect of fully sequenced movement processes, the practice of dying, the opportunities in addiction and a trust in personal essence. She has taught at the University of Maryland, George Washington University, and Santa Barbara Graduate Institute; and trains, teaches and lectures internationally. Her books include Getting Our Bodies Back, and Getting In Touch.
ADJUNCT FACULTY:
Wendy Allen
MA, Naropa University
LPC, BC-DMT
Wendy Allen is a licensed professional counselor and a member of the Board Certified Dance/Movement Therapist. Wendy's clinical experience includes facilitating dance/movement therapy groups with children, adolescents and adults and directing an intervention program for at-risk youth in the Denver area. With more than fifteen years of experience as a dance educator at the university and community levels, Wendy also teaches modern dance, improvisation, ballet and choreography while continuing to pursue her lifelong love of dance and performance. In addition to being adjunct faculty at Naropa, Wendy is a part-time professor of psychology at Metropolitan State College.
Jackie Ashley, MA, BC-DMT, LPC
Jackie Ashley is a body-based psychotherapist, a registered Dance Movement Therapist and also holds a Level 1 certification in Equine Assisted Psychotherapy. Her work is based on the Windhorse Model of treatment, which emphasizes the healing powers of community and contemplative practices. She has worked extensively with those suffering from chronic and persistent mental challenges, as well as acute psychosis, throughout the life span. She has also worked with autism, closed head injury, personality disorders, trauma and depression. She is interested in the integrations of the arts, the environment and community in the healing process and in the training of those who hope to be of service to others. Through the use of movement, body awareness, contemplative practices and the creative process she helps her clients and students to further integrate their emotional and physical experience. She is adjunct faculty in the MA Somatic Counseling Psychology and BA Contemplative Psychology departments at Naropa University. She is a student of the late Ven. Tulku Urgen Rinpoche and now studies with his son Ven. Tsogni Rinpoche in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.
Leah D’Abate, MA, LPC, BC-DMT
BA, Hobart and William Smith Colleges
MA, Naropa University
Leah D’Abate, MA, LPC, BC-DMT, is a somatic psychotherapist in private practice in Boulder County and a registered dance/movement therapist. She has ten years of experience facilitating groups and individuals using experiential, somatic and creative arts modalities to work with addiction, trauma, violence prevention, communication, grief and loss, relationship building and self actualization. In addition to her private practice, Leah has worked as a therapist in wellness clinics, mental health centers, residential treatment centers, public schools and in community facilities emphasizing the importance of movement and body based awareness in the cycle of healing. Leah has presented her work at the American Dance Therapy Association Annual Conference and the Colorado Behavioral Health Conference and continues to consult and conduct in-service presentations on Somatic Psychotherapy at area universities. She currently serves as academic advisor, admissions coordinator, adjunct faculty, community-based learning co-coordinator and faculty director of the Somatic Arts Concert for the MA Somatic Counseling Psychology Program.
Avani G. Dilger, M Ed, MA, LPC, BC-DMT, CACIII Clinical Practicum and Internship Coordinator
MEd, University of Cologne, Germany
MA, Naropa University
Avani G. Dilger is a licensed professional counselor, a certified addiction counselor supervisor, a somatic psychotherapist and a registered dance/movement therapist, who has specialized in substance abuse treatment with adults, teens-at-risk and their families. She is part of a community-based learning initiative at Naropa University and is interested in the development of the socially engaged therapist or “Citizen Therapist” model. Avani has developed a substance abuse prevention and treatment program called “Natural Highs—Healthy Alternatives to Drugs and Alcohol,” which she facilitates in Boulder high schools. She is a trainer and consultant in the criminal justice system, and facilitates trainings for probation, parole and corrections officers in Motivational Interviewing and evidence-based practices throughout the United States. She keeps a private practice as a substance abuse counselor for teens and adults in Boulder.
Adjunct Faculty also includes:
Katie Asmus, Julie Dolin, Jenny Epstein, Joseph Gillan, Kimberly Lubguin, Pat Ogden, Doug Radandt, Deryk Sanchez Standring, Sarah Steward, Heather Sutton, Tara Topper.
Staff also includes:
Catherine Tenedios, Kimberly Townsend, Erin Wolfe.
J. Ryan Kennedy
Zoë Avstreih
Christine Caldwell
Wendy Allen 
