Instructors

Dr. Lahab Al-Samarrai

Institute Founder, Executive Chairman

Dr. Lahab Al-Samarrai is a licensed clinical psychotherapist with a Master’s Degree clinical psychology and PhD in clinical psychotherapy with a sub-specialty in child and adolescent psychotherapy. He has been practicing for over twenty-one years in residential, clinical settings, schools, universities, and private settings. Dr. Lahab has worked extensively with children, adolescents, and adults, providing individual therapy, couples therapy, family therapy, and group therapy, as well as lecturing and providing clinical supervision to new professionals.

Dr. Lahab serves as the Founder and Director of the Institute for Conflict, United States. The Institute For Conflict is focused on the healthy emotional and psychological development and treatment of the whole person. The IFC has a weekly Podcast called The IFC Individuation Podcast where topics on depth psychology and treatment are covered. The IFC is also consulting, teaching, and providing clinical interventions and we host an annual international conference. This year our 3rd annual conference is titled One World Theory: Reunification of the Opposites Unus Mundus (The Unified Cosmos) & The Inception of JAMP™. The IFC works on successful conflict resolution strategies at home, in schools, in hospitals, and companies around the world.

Dr. Lahab developed a propriety trauma treatment named Jungian Advance Motor Processing™ (JAMP™). The IFC’s JAMP™ treatment is revolutionary in the treatment of trauma, complex trauma, and complex PTSD. We at the Institute For Conflict have trained and certified 18 JAMP™ Transformational Coaches to date.

The IFC in the US is a sister Institute of successful Zurich-based organization (www.IKM.ch), focused on teaching, clinical interventions, and international conferences about successful conflict resolution strategies in schools, hospitals, and companies.

Dr. Lahab has attended and presented at several international conferences on clinical psychology and on conflict in North America and in Western Europe, and has lived in and visited several countries in the Middle East, Europe, and North Africa. He is versatile, bilingual (in Arabic and English), and has been studying and exploring psychology, philosophy, political science, and multicultural issues for the past 28 years.

Dr. Lahab is the past President of Washington Counseling Association.

Dr. Karen Appel

Executive Business Partner, JAMP™ Transformational Coach

Karen is a naturopathic medical student at Bastyr University. Before seeking a career in natural medicine, Karen served 14 years in the United States Coast Guard (USCG) including earning her BS in Electrical Engineering at the USCG Academy. Also while serving as an officer, she earned her MBA from the University of Washington Foster School of Business. She completed her military career as a Certified Public Accountant and Budget Officer for USCG operations in the Pacific Northwest.

Passionate about empowering people to take charge of their health, Karen also worked as a Crossfit Level 1 trainer and nutrition counselor for her neighborhood gym. She has competed in local weightlifting events, practices yoga, and is a strong believer in the power of meditation. To recharge, Karen loves traveling to tropical destinations to soak up the sun and scuba dive. During shorter breaks, you can find her day hiking, cooking delicious meals, and playing with three rambunctious cats.

Dr. Eric Tomlinson

Vice President & Research Lead, JAMP™ Transformational Coach, IFC Team

Dr. Eric S. Tomlinson M.S., Ph.D. has earned a Doctorate in Psychology. He spent 30 years in therapeutic services and has received the 2014 Paul E. Hoffner Outstanding Service Award and the 2015 Chicago Campus Faculty of the Year award. He served as the Director of the College of Social Sciences for the Chicago Campus, University of Phoenix.

He has earned five different certificates in children and adolescent functioning, assessment, and training, and served as a university intern supervisor for the campuses of the University of Chicago, the Jane Adams school of Social Work, Loyola University and the Illinois School of Professional Psychology, as well as developing their training curriculum.

Dr. Lisa Hong

Brand Manager, JAMP™ Transformational Coach, IFC Team

I support individuals who desire to make a transformational change in their lives toward freedom. I believe that within us is the strength and grace to release ourselves from whatever roadblock has presented or presents before us.

My mission, as your transformational coach, is to provide a safe and powerful platform of self discovery, movement and release so you can embrace yourself, wholly, and live a life of possibility.

Sarah Wortman

President

Sarah Wortman is a former university professor and current professional services marketing professional who has helped several successful firms grow. She has also served on the boards of several non-profit organizations focused on personal and professional growth.

Her role in the Institute brings together her lifelong interest in personal development and emotional health with her experience in business.

Taylor Barnett

Consultant, JAMP™ Transformational Coach, IFC Team

Taylor Barnett has lived and traveled all over the world, as a teacher and therapist. While living in Alaska she gained knowledge of how connection can assist people in their mental, physical, and emotional growth. Working with these students allowed her to connect to not only herself, but others, and laid the foundation for how she wanted to contribute to the rest of the world. She felt drawn to deeply intimate, interpersonal work that occurred with kids, adults, and families, and decided to complete a Masters in Counseling Psychology with an emphasis in Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute. Taylor has worked in domestic violence, foster care, schools, and outpatient treatment centers in both Washington and California.

Currently, Taylor works as a Certified Coach and Psychotherapist. At her practice, she offers Conscious Breathwork, Jungian Advanced Motor Processing, and integrates Somatic psychology and Mindfulness into her clinical work. Taylor is a responsive, reflexive, and embodied counselor that allows for the performative aspect of the body to enter the therapeutic space.

Her mission is to light a spark in the souls of those she works with. This spark guides them back to their truth, warms their heart in love, and energizes their body so they can continue to pass on the spark to others.

“The divine spark within me honors the divine spark within you.”

Virginia (Gigi) Alcalde

JAMP™ Transformational Coach

Gigi (MA, LMHCA, RDN, CD) is a registered dietitian nutritionist, therapist, yoga and mindfulness teacher, and JAMP™ coach. From an early age she became very curious about the nature of the human condition and fascinated by the mind-body-spirit connection. Gigi’s formal education includes earning a Bachelor of Science degree in dietetics and nutrition from Florida International University, completing a dietetic internship, and a Master of Arts degree in counseling psychology at Bastyr University in 2021. During her master’s degree, Gigi trained in Jungian Advanced Motor Processing (JAMP™) under the guidance of Dr. Lahab Al-Samarrai. Gigi has also completed multiple yoga teacher trainings in mindfulness, meditation, and in hatha and vinyasa styles of yoga.

Gigi works in her private practice, Embody Nutrition & Integrative Therapies, based in Seattle, Washington which provides services in-person and through telehealth. Her practice offers nutrition counseling, medical nutrition therapy, mental health counseling, embodiment, and mindfulness practices, and JAMP™ therapy. Gigi specializes in disorder eating, eating disorders, food behavior, and body image and works with both adolescents and adults.

Gigi originally from Venezuela, is bilingual and offers therapies in Spanish and English.