Nurses who work closely with patients going through a traumatic experience often witness events that can lead to emotional distress and/or PTSD. This episode centers pathways to healing from secondary or vicarious trauma. Our guests Krysta Dancy and Dr. Ashley Winch discuss how to recognize and get help.

Krysta Dancy, MA, MFT, CBD(CBI), Certified Provider Educator

Krysta Dancy is a licensed trauma therapist and certified provider educator with more than 20 years of experience in the fields of psychology, trauma and birth. She’s the founder and CEO of Dancy Perinatal Counseling, a nationwide mental health support system for perinatal families and their caregivers.

As a birth and mental health professional, Krysta holds great optimism and warmth for each person in the birth room. Her passion is to see trauma-informed medical care become the norm and to see providers and patients thrive in the clinical care setting. In her office she treats both patients and professionals for a variety of birth and professional trauma-related concerns.

Ashley Winch, PhD

Dr. Ashley Winch received her PhD from the University of Central Florida (UCF) in Clinical Psychology and is currently a postdoctoral fellow at UCF RESTORES. Her research and clinical focus are in the treatment, education, and prevention of traumatic experiences and subsequent symptoms.

Ashley started her clinical training at the Yale Child Study Center under the mentorship of Dr. Nancy Suchman in substance use and parenting. At UCF, she continued this work as she began her doctoral training. Once she joined UCF RESTORES, she received extensive training in the treatment of trauma symptoms experienced by first responders, veterans, and civilians following significant trauma exposure.

In addition, Ashley was trained in Autism assessment and treatment at Nemours Children’s Hospital. She completed her postdoctoral residency at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and Arkansas Children’s Hospital where she combined her training in trauma and neurodiversity to cater to children experiencing trauma symptoms with comorbid ADHD, Autism, and in-utero substance exposure in outpatient and inpatient settings.

Due to her deep passion for the work being done at UCF RESTORES, Ashley returned to UCF following completion of her PhD.

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