Tactical Recovery: Ethical Strategies for Lasting Resilience

Meet the Presenters

Madeline Roberts Vann, LPC, is experienced in addiction/recovery, trauma (EMDR, CPT, FLASH, ASSYST-trained), grief and loss, and couples counseling. She is the Trauma Program Manager at The Farley Center where she provides 1:1 trauma therapy, facilitates a weekly grief support group, two groups specifically for military and veteran clients, and provide group psychoeducation and activities. In her six years with The Farley Center, she has led small therapy groups in an inpatient addiction setting, provided individual therapy, led a Grief support group and provided grief counseling, served as the primary trauma specialist for part of that time, and provided a range of educations on recovery, trauma and grief, for the patients and to families and friends. She primarily uses Motivational Interviewing and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).  She is also trained in and working on certification for EMDR, and is working on TF-CBT and CPT training for trauma; she prioritize embodied approaches  and the incorporation of mindfulness and yoga where appropriate. She also carries a small private practice caseload.

Brandon Weiss, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and a licensed clinical psychologist. His research examines the effects of psychedelics in individuals with a history of trauma and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, with a focus on the psychological and cognitive health of military Veterans, including those with a Special Operations Forces background. He earned his masters in Psychology in 2015 at Wake Forest University, where he studied the measurement and course of borderline personality symptoms. He earned his doctorate in clinical psychology in 2021 from the University of Georgia where he studied the effects of Shipibo-led ayahuasca ceremony on personality and mental health. He completed his clinical training at the University of California San Diego / San Diego VA, where he specialized in providing Cognitive Processing Therapy and Prolonged Exposure to Veterans experiencing PTSD, substance use disorders, and depression. Brandon also completed a NIDA F32 postdoctoral fellowship at the Imperial College London Centre for Psychedelic Research and Neuropsychopharmacology, where he studied the effects of psychedelic microdosing on mood and the effects of ketamine and NN-DMT on synaptic density.

Dr. Weiss has authored more than 40 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on psychedelic therapy, ayahuasca ceremony, and personality pathology. His work has been featured in NPR and Forbes, among others. Brandon is currently exploring the therapeutic potential of classic psychedelics (psilocybin, 5-MeO-DMT, NN-DMT in ayahuasca) as well as atypical psychedelics (ibogaine, MDMA). One of his main interests is in understanding how therapeutic processes within psychedelic therapy for PTSD differ and/or overlap with conventional psychological and pharmacotherapeutic methods. As part of this mission, he is currently carrying out a clinical trial examining the effect of Psilocybin Therapy on maladaptive cognitive beliefs related to PTSD, and to what degree first-line trauma-focused psychotherapies are useful following Psilocybin Therapy.

April Green, LCSW, stepped into the field born from the shear fascination with how people think and solve problems. She completed her Master’s of Social Work at Norfolk State University. Working alongside marginalized and vulnerable populations spirited her commitment to this field, which led to her being awarded Mental Health Practitioner of the Year for her company of 5,000 employees. Her work in local jails and at the Hampton VA Medical Center has fortified her clinical acumen as they recurrently demanded her greatest skills- clinical assessment, suicide risk assessment, de-escalation, and critical thinking. 

April’s leadership path scaled quickly rising from a clinician to an administrator. Her first leadership role was in corrections as a Health Services Administrator where she was responsible for the overall healthcare service delivery, operations, and financial management of 100 staff with an $11 million budget. Most recently, April was CEO at Safe Harbor. Leading teams and transforming organizations have inspired her to make the biggest impact.

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