Dr. Adam Reynolds
My own exploration of my identity and some challenging situations I’d experienced happened in the theater. After many years singing and acting for fun and professionally, I received my Master’s in Fine Arts in Theater from Columbia University. As an actor and a performer I was able to explore the stories and identities that I had concealed and avoided in my ‘real’ life – acting like everything was “okay.” Onstage, I was able to explore feelings and stories that seemed impossible to share.
I realized that my own experiences in theater could be used to help others and I began training as a drama therapist. As I worked with children, adolescents, and adults in crisis at a number of New York hospitals, I ultimately went back to school and received my Masters in Social Work at the Silberman School of Social Work
at Hunter College.
While I was running the inpatient group therapies program at Mt. Sinai Hospital, I realized that clients who were dealing with traumatic events were not having their stories and experiences fully witnessed in the hospital. My journey to understand why institutions were often scared to address this critical experience ultimately spurred my return to school where I received a Doctorate in Social Welfare from the CUNY Graduate Center. My research there focused on the experiences of people who have experienced traumatic events when they seek help from institutions. My dissertation focused on Vicarious Resilience – the positive impact that comes when clinicians work with people who have experienced traumatic events.
Adam with a group of drama therapy students
Nowadays I divide my time between seeing clients privately and teaching Research Methods, Advanced Research Analysis, and Creative Arts in Social work Practice at Hunter College. I run the Institute for Developmental Transformations training programs for practitioners in New York City and Taipei, Taiwan.
I am deeply passionate about helping individuals address the impact that traumatic experiences have had on their lives. I have also grown to love working with institutions who are experiencing their own forms of trauma and helping them grow and chance through that difficult process.