About AEDP

Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP)

Developed by Dr. Diana Fosha, the author of the The Transforming Power of Affect, AEDP (Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy) is an ever-emergent model, ever-growing through the ongoing contributions of the AEDP faculty and the members of the AEDP community.

Crisis and suffering provide opportunities to awaken extraordinary capacities that otherwise might lie dormant, unknown and untapped. AEDP is about experientially making the most of these opportunities for both healing and transformation. Key to its therapeutic action is the undoing of aloneness and thus, the establishment of the therapeutic relationship experienced as both safe haven, and secure base. Once that’s established, we work with emotional experience, working experientially toward healing trauma and suffering, and toward expanding emergent positive transformational experiences.

Our Mission

The AEDP Metro DC’s mission is to bring together a community of psychotherapists who have an interest in AEDP. We are committed to creating an inclusive community where we can come together to share our experiences, questions, and knowledge regarding our growth and development as experiential therapists. Our intention is to create a safe, expansive and inclusive forum for psychotherapists who have a passion for AEDP to learn from each other and share our process together.

About the Metro DC Steering Committee

Leslie K Rogers, LCSW (Co-Chair)

Leslie K Rogers, MSW, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and is a Level II trained AEDP therapist in private practice in McLean, VA and Washington, DC. As a member of the AEDP Metro DC Steering Committee, she takes great pleasure in seeing the AEDP community grow. Her background includes extensive training in Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy and EMDR, which also reflect the experiential, relational and emotional aspects of AEDP. She especially identifies with the AEDP core value that humans are innately hard wired to heal and grow. She works with individuals and couples and has in-depth experience with trauma. Her previous work experience includes substance abuse, parenting and community organization. She was an adjunct professor at Fairfield University graduate school teaching trauma and crisis intervention.

She can be contacted at lesliekrogers@gmail.com

Gail Schumann, LCSW-C (Co-Chair)

Gail Schumann, MSW, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and a Certified AEDP practitioner in private practice in Silver Spring, Maryland. She earned her master's degree from the University of Maryland. She has also completed a two-year clinical psychodynamic program at the Washington School of Psychiatry and has done extensive training in Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples (EFT) and Families (EFFT). Her AEDP journey began in 2014 with the Immersion Course, then Essential Skills I and II, Core Training, and Supervision for working with both individuals and couples. She is a member of the AEDP Metro DC Steering Committee and is excited to share her learning with others. Previously she enjoyed a twenty-year career in documentary film. She has raised two sons and several dogs.

She can be contacted at gailschumann@comcast.net

Mary Ann Dutton, PhD

Mary Ann Dutton, PhD is a Licensed Psychologist and Professor and Vice-Chair for Research in the Department of Psychiatry at Georgetown University Medical Center. She maintains a clinical practice in the Adult Outpatient Clinical of the Department of Psychiatry, Medstar Georgetown University Hospital (MGUH). She has offered adult individual and couples’ therapy for over 30 years. Dr. Dutton works clinically from an experiential, emotion-focused, attachment and strength-based perspective. AEDP strongly influences her work with both individuals and couples. Dr. Dutton’s research focuses on developing and studying community-based holistic and transformative approaches to building resilience in the face of chronic adversity and trauma. Mary Ann is honored to join the AEDP Metro DC Steering Committee and the exciting momentum of the AEDP Metro DC community.

She can be contacted at mad27@georgetown.edu

Dawn K. Morgan, LCSW-C

Dawn K. Morgan is a licensed clinical social worker in the state of Maryland since 1980 and a Certified AEDP practitioner since 2019. She has been in private practice in Annapolis since 2005, providing therapy to adolescents (formerly) and adults of all ages in individual and couple therapy. She completed advanced training and supervision in EFT for Couples, as well as mediation training. Dawn was drawn to AEDP in 2014 because of her desire to deepen her work with clients, as well as increase her effectiveness based on a solid theoretical model that aligned with her values and relational style. She feels very lucky to have the opportunity to engage with her clients in a way that is rich with meaningful connection and has a transformational impact on clients’ lives. She feels privileged to have the support of the AEDP professional connections she has established and function as an experiential assistant in training modules. She feels very pleased to become a member of the AEDP Metro Steering Committee and is excited about expanding the community of therapists who appreciate the model and further developing a network and connection with those practitioners. Apart from her profession, she is a sailing enthusiast, adoring grandmother, and enjoys experiencing different cultures and environments.

She can be contacted at dawnmorgan1117@gmail.com

Roger Sandberg, LCPC, LPC, LMFT

Roger Sandberg is Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor in Maryland. He received a Master of Science Degree in Clinical/Counseling Psychology from California State University, San Bernardino. In addition to his LCPC license in Maryland, he holds licenses as a Professional Counselor in Virginia, and a Marriage and Family Therapist in California. For the past 25 years he has worked in various settings; including academia, community mental health, with active duty military, Employee Assistance Programs, and in Private Practice. Roger’s trek into experiential psychotherapies began with training in EFT. His AEDP journey commenced in 2016, when he attended an Immersion Course with Diana Fosha, followed by a deep dive into extensive AEDP training. Roger counts it a privilege to join the AEDP Metro DC Steering Committee, and longs to see AEDP grow and prosper in the Metro DC region, and around the world. Roger works with individuals and couples, and does volunteer work at a counseling center in Turkey, serving faith-based Aid and Relief workers in the Middle East, Central Asia and North Africa.

He can be contacted at roger@springoakpsychsvcs.com