Dr. Wendy Harris is a cutting edge, innovative Addiction and Trauma Specialist. She integrates the Compassionate Inquiry psychotherapeutic approach, yoga and meditation, and evidence-based practices in her work. Her intention is to create safe, welcoming spaces to support deep healing and connection.
Dr. Wendy has a doctorate in clinical psychology from APA-accredited California School of Professional Psychology, published Beyond Addiction: Kundalini Yoga and Mindfulness Meditation for Recovery from Opioid Dependence (2015), and completed a 2-year post-doctoral internship in Dialectical Behavior Therapy. She created and is the Director of the Addiction and Recovery Specialization at Antioch University Los Angeles where she is a core faculty member and expresses her passion for training therapists. She is also a founding facilitator and Compassionate Inquiry practitioner basing her work in private practice on Gabor Maté’s approach.
She enjoys golfing, snowboarding, spending time with her dogs, dinner parties, and traveling.
COMPASSIONATE INQUIRY
FOUNDING FACILITATOR & CERTIFIED PRACTITIONER
Compassionate Inquiry is a psychotherapeutic approach created by Dr. Gabor Maté and Sat Dharam Kaur, N.D. Dr. Wendy has led over 20 year-long professional trainings since the on-line course began January 2019. She enjoys supporting participants and her teams of interns throughout their transformational journey together.
She works individually with people who would like to experience the deep process that uncovers core wounds and traumas at the root of addictive behaviors and what lies beneath the appearance we present to the world. Dr. Wendy also presents on the use of Compassionate Inquiry in the treatment of addiction and trauma at international conferences.
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Group Facilitation
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Individual Sessions
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Public Speaking
ADDICTION + RECOVERY
MASTERS IN CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY PROGRAM
CORE FACULTY, DIRECTOR
Dr. Wendy is dedicated to preparing students to understand the complexities of addiction and to compassionately treating those who suffer through a multi-dimensional framework. From the time she was invited to create this cutting edge and innovative graduate-level specialization, she has been committed to providing an inclusive, welcoming environment in the classroom and sharing her passion for an integrated approach to understanding and treating addiction. The many factors that cause and maintain addiction along with various entry points for intervention are included in the ongoing curriculum development for the Addiction and Recovery Specialization. Her courses are academically rigorous, theory-based, experiential, and process oriented.
DR. WENDY TEACHES THE FOLLOWING:
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Assessment and Treatment of Addictive Disorders
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Integrated Treatment of Co-Occurring Disorders
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Understanding and Treating Addiction: Biological Perspectives
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Understanding and Treating Addiction: Psychological Perspectives
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Understanding and Treating Addiction: Socio-Cultural and Political Perspectives
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Understanding and Treating Addiction: Systems Perspectives
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Trauma and Its Effects, Awareness and Recovery
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Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT)
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Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
BEYOND ADDICTION
RETREATS
INTERNATIONAL TRAINER AND FACILITATOR
Dr. Wendy has been a Level II IKYTA certified teacher of Kundalini Yoga and Meditation since 2010 and launched the first community-based Kundalini Yoga for Recovery program at Golden Bridge Los Angeles at the same time. When she returned to school for her doctorate in clinical psychology, she focused on the intersection of two topics she was most passionate about: Kundalini Yoga and recovery. She went on to publish her dissertation on the topic and presented Beyond Addiction workshops for many years at the east and west coast Sat Nam yoga festivals leading up to the pandemic.
As an International Trainer and facilitator for Beyond Addiction: The Yogic Path to Recovery, Dr. Wendy leads retreats around the world and especially enjoys co-facilitating the course every year in Canada with BA founder and her personal mentor Sat Dharam. The course includes a 9-day immersion and is followed by 4-months of integration where participants are supported by weekly facilitated zoom meetings. She creates a safe and inclusive container and from this space, there is a beautiful healing that takes place in support of a deep connection to self, Spirit, and one another.
PRIVATE
PRACTICE
ADDICTION & TRAUMA SPECIALIST
Dr. Wendy supports an international clientele with her integrative approach that includes Compassionate Inquiry, Beyond Addiction: The Yogic Path to Recovery, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). Many of her clients are healing from substance abuse and behavioral addictions rooted in trauma and through their work together, move toward sustainable recovery by healing the pain that seeds self-defeating patterns. Those who are looking to improve their daily lives by uncovering blocks that interfere with optimal functioning will gain beneficial skills and insight with her individualized approach.
SPECIALTIES INCLUDE:
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Psychedelic integration
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LGBT affirmative psychotherapy
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Codependency
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Relational trauma
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Recovery coaching