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 has been in recovery forty-five years and counting, which has fixed her on a goal of helping other women reclaim their lives as she has.  

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 twelve gender-responsive, trauma-informed treatment curricula and the first manualized treatment program for substance use disorder. Educated at Columbia University and the Union Institute, Dr. Covington is the codirector of both the Institute for Relational Development and the Center for Gender & Justice, which are located in Del Mar, California.