More about Marlene Winell, Ph.D.

Summary of Professional Background:



Education and Professional History


Dr. Winell's undergraduate studies were in Social Ecology at the University of California, Irvine, where she focused on mental health and juvenile justice. She went on to earn the Masters in Social Ecology, with a special study of marriage and family relations.


After a counseling internship, Dr. Winell worked for a number of years in the mental health field. This included social work primarily with adolescents, needs assessments for program development, residential therapies, hotline work and training, workshops, and continuing education classes on numerous topics. A highlight was leading the establishment of a shelter home for adolescents, including a family counseling program.


Following this, Marlene earned her Ph.D in Human Development and Family Studies from Penn State University. Her area of special study was adult development - the changes people experience from late adolescence to old age. She also studied methods of enhancing personal skills, particularly communications in families and helping skills for paraprofessionals. Her graduate research was on the subject of personal goals and "self-direction." This continues to be an area of study, and coincides with the notions of personal responsibility and freedom that she emphasizes in therapy.


Dr. Winell's academic teaching began at Penn State and continued at Colorado State University, where she taught courses in adult development. At Boulder Graduate School and University of California, Santa Cruz, she taught communication skills for personal relationships and skills for living in a diverse society. At the University of Queensland in Australia, during the International Year of Tolerance, Marlene led a group which examined diversity issues as they applied to teaching and learning at the university. Part of this project was to write and direct a short film, using a comedy-drama to look at how and why people have multiple perspectives on reality.  Upon returning to the United States in 2001, Dr. Winell taught at the University of California, Santa Cruz and then moved into private practice and filmmaking.


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Psychotherapy Practice


Dr. Winell has had a private practice since 1987, including counseling with individuals, couples, families, and groups. It has also been her privilege over the years to supervise other therapists and teach subjects in psychotherapy. Her approach as a therapist can be described as "existential/humanistic." This involves a healthy and trusting therapist/client relationship which recognizes that we all need to examine with courage the key challenges of being human. Marlene generally avoids extensive, over-long therapy which can be a dependency in itself. Her clients learn to draw on their own innate strengths, and she collaborates with them to develop skills for their own lifelong application.


In addition to "talk therapy," Dr. Winell frequently uses interactive clinical guided imagery. Beyond simple visualization, this approach includes a variety of methods which must be integrated with psychotherapy. These powerful techniques are very effective for facilitating deep and lasting changes in a relatively short time. She has received advanced training in this area and has taught these skills to individuals, groups, and therapists. As appropriate, she also uses expressive therapies such as art and movement.


Over the years, Marlene has worked with many people and many issues, so her practice is a general one with one speciality area (below). Clients have consulted her in areas such as depression, anxiety, grief, career questions, parenting, love relationships, and sexual issues. Sometimes clients want to make positive adjustments to life changes they are experiencing such as moving to a new community, changing jobs, divorce, or leaving their religion.


Dr. Winell's work on religious recovery is based on both personal and clinical experience. As she wrote about her own experiences growing up in Christian fundamentalism, she worked with clients who had experienced a variety of damaging religious influences. Next, she interviewed widely on this subject and developed her first book, Leaving the Fold. Since then, Marlene has specialized in this area of work - counseling, teaching, and leading therapy groups for people coming out of various religions. She has found groups to be especially effective and supportive.


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Workshops, Art, Film


Dr. Winell is also involved in facilitating groups and workshops, using expressive therapies and guided imagery along with discussion.


As an outgrowth of using  art therapy in her work, Marlene also created artwork of her own which addressed religious issues. With the help of others, she organized artists and clients to exhibit artwork with her on the topics of religious damage, recovery, and reclaiming spirituality. The art exhibits have been well-received in Colorado, California, and Australia.


Filmmaking has also been an interest of Dr. Winell's for some time. Her initial training was while in graduate school. Later she directed two docudramas at Colorado State University. One was The Myth of the Superwoman, which explored the challenges women face in juggling family, career, and personal development. Personal Change: Finding the Courage was the story of an artist who, like many people, struggled with accepting herself and pursuing her dream. In Australia, Marlene continued work in educational film and screenwriting. 


At present, Dr. Winell is in private practice and continuing her work in religious recovery. She is also working extensively with couples.  In the filmmaking domain, she is producing two social-issue documentaries.


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A brief personal history


¤I was born and raised overseas by missionary parents. As a child I believed in Jesus with all my heart and sought to meet my emotional needs in the "family of God." As a teenager, I became immersed in my faith. I especially appreciated the church home I found when we moved to unfamiliar California.


¤As I matured, however, I moved away from Christianity. I attribute this to a number of factors: exposure to other worldviews, my emerging feminism, non-Christian friends who were intelligent and happy, disappointment with church rigidity, discovery of dancing and other worldly activities that were actually life-giving, and new methods of emotional fulfillment. A big revelation in my professional training was that humans can learn skills for living and relating. We don't have to be desperate for a miracle of God to make us decent.


¤Letting go of my faith was a long, wrenching experience. I struggled to hang on but it became a matter of integrity. I couldn•t live with the logical inconsistencies and more importantly, I was tired of all the judgement and intolerance. When I left the church, I missed the security of having all the answers and the comfort of my cosmic companion, but the relief was also intense. I came to treasure my freedom to think and feel, to respect and love people, to care for this world, and to live now.


¤My education led to studies in psychology and human development. As I wrote in my journal about my own spiritual journey, I also listened to my therapy clients talk about their religious wounds. I began a book about recovery. In therapy, we used guided imagery and art therapy to tap deeper processes and find healing from within. I worked on my own art projects and invited others who have joined me in art exhibits. We have expressed angry and hurt feelings, but most of all, the shows have been about liberation--choosing life and love instead of righteousness and judgment.


¤I have been in private practice now for fifteen years, in Colorado, California, and Australia. One of my greatest joys has been to work with people from various religious backgrounds, all healing and moving toward a fuller engagement with life - here and now in this world instead of the hereafter. My own life has taken me around the world and through many experiences, some very challenging. My two children are blessings that I cherish. Learning to be a parent was a leap forward in my personal growth and my recovery from fundamentalism. I think the way we think about and treat children is a key to how we approach life. More about this in my next book.


¤I am enjoying the freedom and creativity that comes with experience. In recent years I have also enjoyed working as a filmmaker - writing and directing. A subject close to my heart is creation - giving birth, living fully, having the courage to push limits. The creator is us.´


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Radio and TV programs:

Changing Woman; Fort Collins, CO
The Peter Boyles Show; Denver, CO.
The Big Red Chair, BRIZ 31, Brisbane, Australia
Australian Broadcasting Corporation:
- The Search for Meaning with Caroline Jones
- The Religion Program with Rachel Kohn
- Australia Talks Back with Sandy McCutcheon
- Life Matters with Geraldine Doogue
- Haydn Sargent (4QR)
- Late Night Live with Phillip Adams
- The David Busch Program

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