Stephanie S. Covington

Stephanie S. Covington, PhD, LCSW, is an internationally recognized clinician, organizational consultant, lecturer, author, and pioneer in the fields of addiction and trauma. For more than thirty-five years, she has created gender-responsive and trauma-informed programs and curricula for use in public, private, and criminal-legal settings, across the US and globally.  

Dr. Covington’s experience with addiction began with her own life: she became a social drinker who woke up numerous times over the years to no recollection of the night before. On one of those mornings, she woke up afraid, confused, and finally able to acknowledge to herself that she needed help. Thus began day one of a transformative recovery journey, 45 years and counting, that fixed her on a goal of helping other women reclaim their lives as she had. 

Her extensive experience includes consulting for and developing programs for numerous US and international agencies and designing women’s services at the Betty Ford Center. She has published extensively, including ten gender-responsive, trauma-informed treatment curricula and the first manualized treatment program for substance use disorder treatment. Educated at Columbia University and the Union Institute, Dr. Covington is based in La Jolla, California, where she is co-director of the Institute for Relational Development and the Center for Gender & Justice.