About PATH

Our Story

The Program for the Advancement of Trauma Healing (PATH) was founded in response to a simple but persistent problem: far more people need specialized trauma care than there are providers trained to offer it.

Awareness of psychological trauma has grown enormously over the past several decades. But access to trauma-specific therapy and assessment remains limited in many communities — especially for people affected by complex trauma, dissociation, interpersonal violence, childhood maltreatment, systemic oppression, and other forms of adversity. PATH exists to help close that gap.

We are based in Everett and West Seattle, Washington.

Our Mission

Our mission is to expand access to trauma-responsive care by training the next generation of mental health professionals in evidence-based, dignity-centered approaches to healing — and by providing that same quality of care directly to the individuals and communities we serve.

Our Philosophy

Healing is about more than symptom reduction. We understand trauma recovery as fundamentally about freedom — the freedom to understand and value your own identity, relationships, passions, and sense of purpose, and to move through the world from that place. Adversity can narrow what feels possible. Healing is about expanding those possibilities again.

You have inherent worth and wisdom. We don’t ask “what’s wrong with you.” We ask how your experiences have shaped you, and what strengths and insights you’ve developed along the way — including the ways you’ve learned to survive. You are not defined by a diagnosis or by the coping strategies you’ve needed.

Context matters. Psychological pain doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It’s shaped by culture, history, relationships, identity, and the systems we all live within. We take that context seriously in how we understand your experience, not just the symptoms in front of us.

Care should be culturally responsive and non-pathologizing. We work to bring humility to every part of our practice — recognizing the limits of any one framework, and staying open to the many forms of knowledge and lived experience that shape how people heal.

Our Team

PATH’s clinical team is led by licensed psychologists with deep specialization in trauma, dissociation, and complex trauma treatment.

Charles Benincasa, PsyD — Founder & Executive Director
A clinical and forensic psychologist whose work focuses on complex trauma, dissociation, and the effects of early childhood adversity. Dr. Benincasa has served in leadership roles with the Washington State Psychological Association and in editorial roles for national journals on trauma and psychological injury.

Tyson Bailey, PsyD, ABPP — Board Chair & Director of Operations
A board-certified clinical psychologist specializing in trauma reactions and the intersection of psychology and identity-based discrimination. Dr. Bailey is a past president of the American Psychological Association’s Division of Trauma Psychology and has helped shape national practice guidelines for trauma assessment.

Elizabeth Scriven, PsyD, SUDP — Director of Advancement
A licensed psychologist who brings an integrative, strengths-based approach informed by narrative therapy and trauma-informed care, with particular experience supporting LGBTQ+ people, BIPOC communities, Disabled people, and those managing chronic health conditions.

Additional clinicians on our team bring further specialization in areas including EMDR, DBT, feminist therapy, work with first responders, psychedelic-assisted therapy, and trauma related to chronic illness and pain.

See our Clinicians page for full biographies.

Our Commitment

PATH is committed to providing culturally responsive, anti-oppressive, and dignity-based care to everyone we work with — regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, or socioeconomic background.

We also believe training is part of how we advance our mission. PATH is a training site for doctoral-level psychology interns, which means the care we provide today is helping build a larger, better-trained workforce of trauma-informed psychologists for tomorrow.