Chelona Edgerly, Ph.D.
Chelona Edgerly, Ph.D. has founded and managed a number of mental health groups. After over 20 years of clinical practice and management in the private sector Chelona became the Executive Director of a not-for-profit social services organization, Cornerstone Foundations for Families, in Quincy, Illinois. After serving in that position for over two years she resigned to become the Coordinator for Non-Traditional Programs at Quincy University. Concurrently she also teaches at QU and at Culver-Stockton College in Missouri. Also, she is busy helping Quincy University open a graduate program in counseling.
In Psychology, Chelona began her career conducting brain wave biofeedback research at Calvin College. Later she went on to direct the biofeedback laboratory at Las Encinas Hospital in Pasadena, California. She has also served as a Staff Psychologist at St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise, Idaho. In 1985 Chelona started her private practice in Boise, Idaho. For over 20 years she maintained an active general practice in individual, couples and group psychotherapy. Women and power, gender equity in institutions, the use of physical action in personal change and power balancing in relationships are her primary areas of interest.
Chelona earned her B.S. from Calvin College (1977) in Psychology and Chemistry/Biology. She went on to earn her M.A. in Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary (1981) and her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Fuller Graduate School of Psychology (1984). She completed internships in clinical psychology at Kaiser Permanente in Los Angeles and at Northwest Nazarene College in Idaho. Since then she has gone on to obtain her certification in Interactive Guided Imagery, certification as a practitioner in Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) from NLP Santa Fe and has studied extensively with Nelson Zink. Chelona is licensed as a Clinical Psychologist in Illinois, a Psychologist in Idaho and as a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPCC) in New Mexico.
As a speaker Chelona has a national reputation having led over 400 classes and workshops in 10 states. In the 1980's many of her presentations were on Recovery from Religious Abuse. In the late 80's her presentations began to focus on women and empowerment. In 1995 Chelona started Untaming Programs with her Break Through Fear classes. These classes, combining Psychotherapy and Kickboxing, led to the current Untaming the Tamed Woman programs that Chelona has presented in 6 different states. Presentations of Untaming Programs have been to such groups as the International Association of Women in Psychology, the National Coalition Against Sexual Assault, the New Mexico Counseling Association and the Southeastern Association of Women in Psychology. Untaming Programs have also been featured on local and regional television news programs as well as in several newspapers.
As a writer Chelona has developed several therapeutic workbooks. These include the Untaming the Tamed Woman workbook, Recovery from Religious Abuse and Untaming Relationship Workbooks that she co-authored with her husband. Chelona also wrote a chapter in the book, Nishkamakarma. She has a forthcoming book Untaming the Tamed Woman. Michael Larson of the Larson/Pomada Literary Agency in San Francisco now exclusively represents her writing.
The practice of Martial Arts is Chelona's favorite activity. She has trained and fought in full contact kickboxing, has been a student of street fighting and Kenpo karate. She particularly enjoys sparring against men and has a vicious left hook.
Chelona has lived in Boise, Idaho with her husband Dave and their two dogs and two cats. In June of 2001 she relocated to Quincy, Illinois to pursue new dreams for herself and her husband. In her new position as Coordinator of Non-Traditional Programs at Quincy University she delights in the opportunity to help the University and students create new opportunities. While those opportunities are wide, most recently she has been busy helping Quincy University open a graduate program in Counseling.