Deb Clement, RN, RNC-OB, BA

Facilitator

My journey to becoming a facilitator with the Allender Center began with my own search for healing. That search led me to my first Story Group and to the experience of bringing a part of my own story—one that had been kept secret for decades—into a room where it was held with tenderness, compassion, and gentle care.

Prior to becoming a facilitator, I spent my career in nursing, working at the bedside, in labor and delivery, and in women’s health while raising four children into adulthood. Caring for women and families during childbirth meant walking alongside people through some of life’s most vulnerable moments—experiences that held both profound joy and heartbreaking loss. Those years taught me the importance of presence when there isn’t an easy answer or something to be fixed.

As I engaged my own story more deeply, I found it transformed not only how I understood myself, but also how I saw and cared for others. It expanded my capacity to remain present—with greater acceptance, curiosity, and hope—and ultimately led me to complete Levels I and II, the Externship (now Level III), and a year-long Internship in Narrative Focused Trauma Care®.

As a facilitator, I hope to create a space where people feel free to bring their stories without needing to have them figured out first. I believe healing often begins when we are met with curiosity, compassion, and the experience of being seen, heard, and deeply known.

I am the mother of four adult children who now have families of their own. One of my greatest joys is embracing my role as “Dolly” to my two grandsons. I remain grateful for the privilege of walking alongside others as they discover the healing that becomes possible through story.