About Me

About Dr. Donna Bevan-Lee, author of Iron Legacy

About Donna Bevan-Lee, Ph.D.

I began my professional life specializing in mental health issues specific to women, founding an organization dedicated to helping victims of sexual assault. Before long, however, my principal focus shifted to trauma, which affects men and women equally. As a pioneer in the treatment of childhood trauma, I helped develop a workshop for adult survivors, versions of which have been running for more than thirty years and have helped thousands of survivors. My own Legacy Workshop is one of those versions. I have also been in private practice for almost forty years, most of them in western Washington, where I live with my wife.

As you may infer from the photographs on this site, I am an avid hiker who loves climbing mountains. Growing up in Utah, I used to trail my long-legged grandfather as he retrieved weather data from mountainside stations. He made no allowances for a child’s pace, so I developed the fast, sure gait of a mountain goat so that I’d be sure of his welcome. I never lost that gait, which has taken me to the top of some of the world’s most beautiful mountains, including Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro and, just this summer, California’s Mount Whitney, where I’m standing in the photo at the top of my blog. The other photos were taken on the small-but lovely Cougar Mountain near my home in Issaquah.

Below you’ll find an abbreviated resume.

Experience (selected)

Private Practice Psychotherapist, 1982 – present

Issaquah, WA

Offering treatment, consultation and education in all addictions, domestic violence, sexual assault, incest, child abuse, co-dependency, gay/lesbian/transgender issues and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Hypnotherapy and EMDR Level 1 and Level 2 certification.

Consultant, The Meadows, 1979 – present

Wickenburg, AZ

Assistance in program development and ongoing evaluation.

Consultant, World Health Organization, 2004 – present

Geneva, Switzerland

Case evaluation in areas of child abuse, domestic violence, mental health and addiction.

Participation in HIV/AIDS and Violence Against Women projects.

Practicum Supervisor, 2004-present

Antioch University

Seattle, WA

Crisis Intervention Responder for Critical Incidents, 2003-2006

Crisis Care Network and International Critical Incident Stress Foundation

Ellicott City, MD

Guest Lecturer, 2003-2005

University of Washington Graduate School of Social Work

Seattle, WA

Co-Chair, Seattle Commission for Gay, Lesbian and Transgender People, 1991-1993

Created and facilitated an anti-homophobia program for the city of Seattle and for the Washington State Police Academy.

Practicum Supervisor, 1991-1993

University of Washington

Seattle, WA

Education

Doctorate in Human Science, 2000

International University Graduate Studies

New York NY

Doctoral Studies, 1980-1986

Saybrook Institute

San Francisco, CA (now located in Oakland, CA)

Advanced to candidacy: 1986

Master of Social Work, 1975

Concentration: Clinical Social Work

University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT

Bachelor of Arts, 1972

Major Psychology; Minor Sociology

University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT

Recent Conferences

Keynote Speaker, 2010 – 2019

Codependents Anonymous Annual Conference

Seattle-Bellevue Area

Speaker, 2009, 2012, 2017

Sex and Love Addicts Women’s Retreat

Indianola, WA

Keynote Speaker, 2014, 2016

Sex Addicts Anonymous Annual Conference

Portland, OR