About Heart and Soul Healing
Dr. Gyoen “Gwen” Soggin is a Licensed Clinical Child and Family Psychologist with over 35 years of experience.
Dr. Soggin completed her Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and Early Childhood Intervention in 1988, while living in beautiful northern Colorado. In 1992, she had her first experience in Sand Tray therapy and began collecting figurines for her favorite form of play therapy for all ages.
She earned her doctorate from the American School of Professional Psychology in Honolulu, after completing her pre-doctoral residency at Kapiolani Women and Children’s Hospital in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1996. She focused on the psychology of trauma early on, conducting her clinical research on post-traumatic stress in adolescents on Kauia, in the aftermath of Hurricane Iniki in 1991. Later she completed a post-doctoral fellowship in the treatment of Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD) and is now certified in EMDR at a master level.
After relocating to northern Virginia, Dr. Soggin studied Imago Relationship Therapy, significantly broadening her clinical repertoire with couples and families. In Imago Relationship Therapy, she discovered a transformational therapeutic technique which encourages couples to use empathic awareness of each other's childhood experiences to better communicate their needs to one another. She is a certified Advanced Imago Therapist through Imago Relationships International.
Dr. Soggin has dedicated a large part of her career to serving military and civilian professionals and their families in preparation for deployment to war zones and reintegration into their families and communities following their return. During her 20 year career with the US Government, she developed special programs to support military, police, fire, emergency medical personnel, and their family members.
Dr. Soggin recognizes the powerful impact animals can have in therapy and healing. She completed advanced training in Equine Assisted Therapy (EAGALA). She has selected and trained therapy dogs for over 15 years. She currently has a 7 year-old Aussiedoodle, her therapy assistant, and an 1 year-old Aussiedoodle in training. These hypo-allergenic dogs provide positive social interaction and physical touch that is calming and helps clients remain present in therapy.
“I am not what happened to me, I am who I choose to become.”
~ Carl G. Jung