Richard La Fleur, PhD

After completing my graduate studies at the University of West Georgia and a post-doctoral at the College of the Holy Cross, I am part of the faculty at the University of West Georgia and Director of Counseling at Mount Paran Church in Atlanta, Georgia.  My research, which started with my dissertation, "The Experiential Effects of Combat Zone Deployment on Veterans During the Reintegration Process",  brought me to my current work in Moral Injury, addressing the injury of the soul and beginning the conversation of healing for the Suffering Soul.  This seems to be a spiritual and relational issue that can be addressed directly by broaching the topic of Mattering. These conversations have given me the opportunities to share my work here in the US and globally by invitation as keynote speakers, workshops, conference presentations, and public talks.  

One of the multimodal systems I use for trauma and healing is Therapeutic Enactment.  Therapeutic Enactment uses various forms of psychotherapy to help clients work through deep emotional and psychological issues. It includes role-playing, improvisation, and other dramatic techniques to recreate situations from the client's past or present in a safe and supportive environment.  Finally, I have discovered the power of journaling and taking time to express on paper, the thoughts, ideas, concepts, and feelings that we experience every day. This process is liberating and can be a source of healing the soul.