Gretchen Casey
President, Florida Restorative Justice Association
Former Director of Restorative Justice Outreach and Advocacy for the River Phoenix Center for Peacebuilding, Gainesville, Florida
Gretchen began working as an advocate and counselor for victims and survivors of violent crime in 1985, working with Alachua County Victim Services, the Attorney General's Office and Project Payback. She developed the first county park for victims and survivors of crime in Florida. She is also the creator of Unshame, a social media platform for anyone who has been personally impacted by rape or is interested in supporting survivors of rape. Gretchen wrote the 2007 screenplay for the acclaimed video, "Somewhere Beyond." She was the Director of Victim Services for the State Attorneys Office-8th Judicial Circuit from 2009 -2017. Gretchen is a graduate of the University of Florida. She is an avid fused glass and mosaic artist (caseyrobertsonart.com).
Gretchen is a primary training associate with Dr. Ogawa in Morita Therapy, having participated in her first Intensive Residential in Charleston, South Carolina in 1995. Since then, she has assisted in a number of Morita residentials, including in Atlanta for state-wide domestic violence program directors; Savannah for victim advocates; Seattle for counseling students and professionals; and Gainesville for therapists and advocates. She has conducted a number of workshops and made numerous presentations on Morita Therapy related to trauma response, crime victimization, school shootings, and restorative justice.
“I feel fortunate that I was introduced to Morita Therapy early in my career as a victim advocate in Florida. For more than 2 decades, Dr. Ogawa has been an instrumental teacher and a significant role model for me through the professional and community workshops and Morita Therapy Residential Intensives he offers. Learning Morita Therapy early in my career (in the field of victim services, juvenile restitution program management, staff and volunteer supervision, restorative justice and peacebuilding) has grown my awareness of the experiences that people over-attend or under-attend to after conflict. As a result, I have shared experiential Morita approaches to guide people who suffer a "loss of purpose" to accept the range of emotions and thoughts that often follow tragic events. Practicing Morita principles in my roles as a mother, partner, and daughter has been the greatest personal gift-- helping me notice and clarify what I am paying attention to in my daily living and way of being.”
Gretchen wrote the screenplay for this award-winning true-story video of prison-based mediation between a sexual assault survivor and the incarcerated offender.
Gretchen with her horse, “Bo” and Morita residential students in Gainesville, Florida during an experiential activity in caring for and connecting to Nature.