Institute for Creative Mindfulness

Dr. Jamie Marich (she/they/we) began her career as a humanitarian aid worker in Bosnia-Hercegovina from 2000-2003, primarily teaching English and music. Jamie travels internationally teaching on topics related to trauma, EMDR therapy, expressive arts, mindfulness, and yoga, while maintaining a private practice and online education operations in her home base of Akron, OH. Marich is the founder of the Institute for Creative Mindfulness and the developer of the Dancing Mindfulness approach to expressive arts therapy. Marich is the author of EMDR Made Simple: 4 Approaches for Using EMDR with Every Client (2011), Trauma and the Twelve Steps: A Complete Guide for Recovery Enhancement (2012), Creative Mindfulness (2013), Trauma Made Simple: Competencies in Assessment, Treatment, and Working with Survivors, Dancing Mindfulness: A Creative Path to Healing and Transformation (2015), and Process Not Perfection: Expressive Arts Solutions for Trauma Recovery (2019). Marich co-authored EMDR Therapy & Mindfulness for Trauma-Focused Care along with colleague Dr. Stephen Dansiger in 2018, and their new book with Springer Publishing Healing Addiction with EMDR Therapy: A Trauma-Focused Guide released in 2021. North Atlantic Books published a revised and expanded edition of Trauma and the 12 Steps in the Summer of 2020, and they released The Healing Power of Jiu-Jitsu: A Guide to Transforming Trauma and Facilitating Recovery in 2022. Her latest release with North Atlantic Book, Dissociation Made Simple: A Stigma-Free Guide to Embracing Your Dissociative Mind and Navigating Life came out in January 2023. She has three more projects in the works with North Atlantic Books, including her personal memoir about surviving spiritual abuse called You Lied to Me About God, due out in Autumn 2024. The Huffington Post published her personal story of being out as a clinical professional with a dissociative disorder in May 2023. The New York Times featured Marich’s writing and work on Dancing Mindfulness in 2017 and 2020. 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 also sits on the editorial board of the EMDR Journal of Practice and Research, and she was the 2008 winner of the Poster Research Award at the EMDRIA Annual Conference.

Irene M. Rodriguez, M.S., LMHC, REAT is the founder and director of Mindful Journey Center. She is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Registered Expressive Arts Therapist (REAT) with a Master of Science in Mental Health Counseling from Nova Southeastern University. She is an EMDRIA approved consultant and faculty of the Institute for Creative Mindfulness. She is also Certified Laughter Yoga Facilitator, Traumatic Incident Reduction (TIR) Facilitator/Trainer and certified Dancing Mindfulness Facilitator/Trainer affiliated to The Institute for Creative Mindfulness. Irene has a private office in Fort Lauderdale, Florida where she has been treating adults and children. She specialized in trauma-related disorders, PTSD, and addiction. She enjoys teaching clinicians how to incorporate EMDR therapy, Mindfulness, and Expressive Arts therapy in the services they provide to their clients.