Kate Ouimette Wedell

Facilitator

Kate completed the Narrative Focused Trauma Care® (NFTC) Level III training through the Allender Center and brings more than 16 years of experience working with survivors of trauma, exploitation, and complex relational harm. She is the author of EXPOSED: Surviving the Commercial Sex Industry and the host of The Cherished Lounge podcast, where she creates space for conversations around story, healing, resilience, culture, and the voices of survivors and those working for change. Her work has also included survivor advocacy, human trafficking training and consultation, support-group facilitation, and years of direct outreach to women in the commercial sex industry. Kate’s own lived experience deeply informs her commitment to ethical storytelling and her belief in the dignity and sacredness of every person’s story.

Kate lives in Southern California and is a mother of two adult daughters and one teenage son, she also has two little grandsons that know her as Gigi. When she isn’t working, she loves spending time with her family and friends, being near the ocean, traveling, music, good food, laughter, and meaningful conversations around a table.

What most excites Kate about facilitating with the Allender Center is the opportunity to participate in the kind of work that has profoundly shaped her own life. She believes there is something sacred about being entrusted with another person’s story and that healing often begins when we are met with curiosity and kindness rather than judgment or shame. She is inspired by The Seattle School and the Allender Center’s commitment to engaging trauma, story, theology, and relationships with depth and courage and considers it a privilege to help create spaces where others can discover greater freedom, connection, and hope.

Areas of focus: Human Trafficking & Commercial Sexual Exploitation Familial Trafficking & Intergenerational Exploitation Complex Trauma / CPTSD Covert Sexual Abuse / Covert Incest Grooming, Gaslighting & Coercive Control Domestic Violence & Narcissistic Abuse Cult, High-Control Group & Ritual Abuse Spiritual Abuse & Religious Trauma Betrayal Trauma & Trauma Bonding Attachment, Relational & Developmental Trauma Identity Fragmentation, Shame & Self-Contempt Reentry, Reintegration & Post-Exploitation Trauma