Biography

Dr. Michele DeMarco is an award-winning writer, a world-wise strategist, and a spirit-savvy, soul-centric storyteller with more than 20 years experience in human-good-facing organizations, including higher education—both as an administrator and faculty, non-profit, healthcare, and professional services. Her passion (at least one) is how stories are told, what makes them matter, and how they affect a person or group’s lived life, and how those experiences affect the world in which we live. 

A native Bostonian, Michele holds a Ph.D. in Psychology from California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), master’s degrees in World Religion and Ethics, Comparative Culture and Conflict, and Psychology, via a consortium comprising Harvard University, Boston College, and Boston University, a bachelor’s degree in religion from Boston College, and professional certificates in Conflict Transformation and Mediation, respectively. She also studied Marriage and Family therapy at Antioch University and has done further academic coursework in marketing and communications, business, education, criminal justice, and law. 

At CIIS, Michele heads the Division of Internal University Relations, overseeing the Office of Strategic Communications & Relations, Campus Experience & Events, and the Office of the President, respectively. During her tenure, CIIS has won 20 higher education awards for marketing and communications campaigns, including gold for CIIS' new state-of-the-art website from the Academy of Interactive & Visual Arts (AIVA), which hosts the prestigious annual w3 Awards to celebrate the best in web and social media, as well as gold, silver, and bronze from the Education Digital Marketing Awards (EDMA), which celebrate excellence, specifically in higher education, including two record-breaking Giving Tuesday campaigns, CIIS’ first-ever donor wall, the University’s newsletter, The Beacon, among others. She also oversaw the development of CIIS’ new branding and website. Michele further served on CIIS’ Board of Trustees and has taught Creative Nonfiction and Conflict Transformation.

Outside of CIIS, Michele is a professionally trained therapist, clinical ethicist, and trauma researcher, specializing in moral injury and moral distress. She is one of Medium’s Top Writers for Mental Health and Health, respectively, and the author of the Psychology Today blog “Soul Console: Healing from Moral Injury.” Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, POLITICO, The Hill, The Boston Globe, The Daily News, Psychology Today, The War Horse, Forge, Elemental, One Zero, and Partners HealthCare journal. She has been featured as a psychology and spirituality expert for MindBodyGreen, The Daily News, WebMD, Integrated Practitioner, Bloomberg/WNBP Radio, Partners HealthCare, and the American Heart Association. Her non-fiction books include Holding Onto Air: The Art and Science of Building a Resilient Spirit and Writing the Wrongs: A Guided Journal for Healing Moral Injury (Summer 2024). Her upcoming novel, About Others, won the Mystery Writers of America’s Helen McCloy Award for Mystery Writing. In the Black Hours, also an upcoming book (early 2025), brings to bear a decade of clinical work and research in trauma, specifically moral injury.

Research Interests 

Michele’s research spans the fields of moral injury, psychology, trauma, neuroscience, and somatic and creative art therapies, respectively, conflict transformation, and world wisdom and spirituality. Out of this research, she has developed a new therapeutic approach to healing moral injury called embodied disclosure therapy (EDT). This work builds upon previous academic research in the religio-cultural dimensions of resilience; the role of belief in health and wellness; the nature of human motivation and potential, specifically around distinctions between needs, wants, and desires; attachment and belief; aspects of self/identity, the nature of time and perception and cognition; narrative ethics, narrative health, narrative psychology, and narrative therapy.

Education 

PhD, California Institute of Integral Studies

MTS, Boston University | Harvard University | Boston College  (Joint degree)

MSC, The New Seminary

MFT, Antioch New England Graduate School, (degree program)

BS, Boston College

Professional Certificate in Conflict Transformation, Boston Theological Institute

Professional Certificate in Mediation, Woodbury Institute at Champlain College

Publications

• DeMarco, M. J. (2024). Writing the wrongs: A trauma survivor's guide for uncovering and healing moral injury. New Harbinger. 

• DeMarco, M. J. (2023). Holding onto air: The art and science of building a resilient spirit. Berrett-Koehler.

• DeMarco, M. J. (2022). Embodied disclosure therapy: Writing from a place of Safety and Connection: A novel approach (29997548) [Doctoral dissertation, California Institute of Integral Studies]. ProQuest.

• DeMarco, M. J. (2023). Beneath belief: Reconsidering the mechanisms underlying moral injury, implications for study and treatment. Manuscript submitted for publication.

• DeMarco, M. J. (2023). Reconsidering Maslow: Human motivation and flourishing is not understood by needs alone. Manuscript submitted for publication.

Select Articles

• DeMarco, M. (2023). That powerless you feel Is called "moral distress": Cultivate moral resilience instead. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/soul-console/202301/that-powerlessness-you-feel-is-called-moral-distress

• DeMarco, M. (2023). How to cultivate moral resilience: Moral resilience is the antidote for the powerlessness felt from moral distress. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/soul-console/202301/how-to-cultivate-moral-resilience 

• DeMarco, M. (2023). How to make writing a sacred practice with 'scriptio divina': A modern twist on this ancient contemplative practice helps heal 'soul wounds'. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/soul-console/202303/how-to-make-writing-a-sacred-practice-with-scriptio-divina 

• DeMarco, M. (2021). When it comes to painful emotions, don’t think — just feel. Elemental. https://elemental.medium.com/when-it-comes-to-painful-emotions-dont-think-just-feelcab4d9ef9a6a#7710

• DeMarco, M. (2020). The PTSD-like affliction that’s traumatizing health care workers: The invisible wounds of moral injury run deep for those on the front lines. Elemental. https://elemental.medium.com/the-ptsd-like-affliction-thats-traumatizing-health-careworkers-1864be616086.

• DeMarco, M. (2020). Unraveling? Your stress levels are likely beyond your ‘window of tolerance'. Elemental. https://elemental.medium.com/unraveling-your-stress-levels-arelikely-beyond-your-window-of-tolerance-f696a78f9257.