Dr. Jamie Marich (she/they) inspires people and systems to heal the wounds that keep them stuck, allowing for authentic transformation free of shame and stigma. A TEDx speaker, clinical trauma specialist, expressive artist, lay spiritual director, short filmmaker, Reiki master, yoga teacher, and recovery advocate, she unites all of these elements in her mission to redefine therapy. She is a woman in long-term recovery from an addictive disorder and lives with dissociative identities. As a queer woman who survived multiple spiritually abusive experiences in childhood and adulthood, Jamie is passionate about helping people to recognize where religion and spirituality may be causing harm in their lives so that they can chart a course for personalized healing.
Jamie began her career as a humanitarian aid worker in Bosnia-Hercegovina from 2000-2003 teaching English and music. Jamie travels internationally teaching on topics related to trauma, EMDR therapy, expressive arts, and spiritual abuse while maintaining a private practice and online education operations in her home base of Akron, Ohio. Marich is the founder of the Institute for Creative Mindfulness and the developer of the Dancing Mindfulness approach to expressive arts therapy. From her college days until 2012, Jamie was a high school speech and debate coach, and she still enjoys mentoring professionals in the art of public speaking. Jamie led two individual students to Ohio state titles, and she was a coach on two state championship teams (2009, 2011) with Howland High School.
Marich is the author of EMDR Made Simple: 4 Approaches for Using EMDR with Every Client (2011), Trauma and the 12 Steps: A Complete Guide for Recovery Enhancement (2012/2020), Creative Mindfulness (2013), Trauma Made Simple: Competencies in Assessment, Treatment, and Working with Survivors, Dancing Mindfulness: A Creative Path to Healing and Transformation (2015), EMDR Therapy & Mindfulness for Trauma-Focused Care (with Stephen Dansiger, 2018), Process Not Perfection: Expressive Arts Solutions for Trauma Recovery (2019), Healing Addiction with EMDR Therapy: A Trauma-Focused Guide (with Stephen Dansiger, 2022), The Healing Power of Jiu-Jitsu: A Guide to Transforming Trauma and Facilitating Recovery (with Anna Pirkl, 2022), Dissociation Made Simple: A Stigma-Free Guide to Embracing Your Dissociative Mind and Navigating Life (2023), and Trauma and the 12 Steps: The Workbook (with Stephen Dansiger, 2023). Her long-time publisher, North Atlantic Books, is releasing her memoir of spiritual abuse and recovery, You Lied to Me About God, in October 2024.
The New York Times featured Marich’s writing and work on Dancing Mindfulness in 2017 and 2020. HuffPost published a version of her story focusing on being a clinical professional with a dissociative disorder in 2023. NALGAP: The Association of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Addiction Professionals and Their Allies awarded Jamie with their esteemed President’s Award in 2015 for her work as an LGBT advocate. The EMDR International Association (EMDRIA) granted Jamie the 2019 Advocacy in EMDR Award for her using her public platform in media and in the addiction field to advance awareness about EMDR therapy and to reduce stigma around mental health. Jamie sits on the Wisdom Council Board of Abbey of the Arts and is a frequent guest contributor to their programs.
