Duane T. Bowers, is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Certified Wellness Consultant, Presenter, Author and Reiki Master. He assists those who have been exposed to trauma to live their life fully. His work focuses on the fields of missing, and sexually exploited and trafficked persons, nationally and internationally.

In the Media

Duane interviewed by the Prince Albert Daily Herald

Ex-kidnapping victims: Jayme Closs needs space, time to heal

Upcoming Events

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Missing Child Division, Forensic Services Unit – How does the work Affect You? – Webinar – March 4, 2024.

The Forensic Services Unit works with many labs and other forensic agencies in their effort to find information about missing children cold cases. The unit has invited their colleagues of these agencies to attend this webinar about taking care of oneself when working with traumatic subject matter.

Justice Clearinghouse – Working with Survivors’ Need for Control – Webinar – March 5, 2024

This will be my eighth year presenting for the Justice Clearinghouse. I am very much looking forward to presenting this information on the need for control.

Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services – Wellness as a Survival Mechanism in our Work – Charlottesville, VA – March 19, 2024

This is the second of a three location ‘tour’ around the state of Virginia to provided law enforcement personnel information on how their exposure to trauma may be affecting their brain, body and behavior, as well as how they may be impacting those around them. We will also discuss what to do to mitigate the effects and impact of trauma.

Minnesota Alliance on Crime – Intergenerational Trauma & The Importance of Control for Trauma Survivors – Webinars – March 20, 2024

This will be my second time presenting for the Fundamentals 201 training for the Minnesota Alliance on Crime. I am fortunate to be able to present two topics on the same day.

George Washington University Art Therapy Program – First Responder / First on the Scene Trauma – Alexandria, VA – April 10, 2024

I have been fortunate to be asked to guest lecture for the GWU Art Therapy Program as far back as 1997. The Art Therapy Trauma class has been a favorite of mine for the past several years. We will discuss the impact of trauma on first responders, and folks who are first on the scene.

Maryland Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce / Maryland State Police – ICAC Wellness Conference – Columbia, MD – April 11, 2024

This is my ninth year presenting basic information on taking care of oneself when viewing and working with egregious material to law enforcement personnel in Maryland. These are an amazing group of folks and I am fortunate to be able to work with them.

Team HOPE – National Center for Missing and Exploited Children – The Long Term Effects of Your Childhood Trauma; What Can You Do About it Now? – Virtual – May 7, 2024

I have been very fortunate to work with this group of volunteers and consultants for the past 25 years. This training will help to identify the long-term impact of trauma, how to recognize it and what to do to mitigate it.

Justice Clearinghouse – The Four Most Common Feelings of Trauma Survivors – Webinar – May 14, 2024

This will wrap up my eighth year presenting for Justice Clearinghouse. This presentation will focus not only on these four feelings, but what causes them and what we can do to help manage them.

Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services – Wellness as a Survival Mechanism in our Work – Roanoke, VA – June 6, 2024

This is the third of a three location ‘tour’ around the state of Virginia to provide law enforcement personnel information on how their exposure to trauma may be affecting their brain, body and behavior, as well as how they may be impacting those around them. We will also discuss what to do to mitigate the effects and impact of trauma.

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Missing Child Division, Amber Alert Unit – How does the work Affect You? – Webinar – June 18, 2024.

The Amber Alert Operations unit has invited their colleagues and collaborating agencies to attend this webinar about taking care of oneself when working with traumatic subject matter.

Nebraska Missing Persons’ Day – Lincoln, NE – October 17, 2024

I have been asked to be a participant in this annual event by families of the missing. This is a great honor and I hope to be able to provide information and support to the families attending this event.

Biography

Duane T. Bowers, LPC

is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Author and Educator in private practice, and hosted the live, call-in internet radio show LET’S TALK IT THROUGH. As a therapist Duane’s specialty is working with survivors of trauma, child and adult exploitation and trafficking which includes providing support to families of abducted, missing, exploited, trafficked and murdered victims as well as professional staff working directly in the field. Duane is responsible for the development of support, clinical supervision and training of staff and volunteers for a variety of organizations that deal with these issues in the US and Canada. He was recently a principle in Project SafeGuard which provides support for the staff of the Exploited Child Division of National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which is responsible for analyzing child sexual abuse material on the internet to assist law enforcement. In addition, Duane provides wellness support to the Trust and Safety Division of Tumblr, Flickr, Word Press, Automattic, Cloudflare, VSCO, MediaLab and Yahoo, the Maryland State Police Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Taskforce, International Justice Mission (IJM) field and headquarters staff, and the staff of local Child Advocacy Centers by creating and facilitating training, support and wellness programs for their staff members. In Saskatchewan province in Canada, Duane works through Caring Hearts providing education and assisting in creating programs focused on trauma informed care, first responder trauma, and supporting families of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. He also serves as a consultant to the Canadian Centre for Child Protection in Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada.

In Washington DC Duane worked as a therapist with members of the military and their families through Military Onesource, and assisted families who identified loved ones at the DC Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, through the Wendt Center for Loss and Healing. He also served as the Director of Training and Education at the Wendt Center for Loss and Healing, and was the Senior Director of Emergency and International Services for the National Capital Chapter of the American Red Cross. Duane spent three months during the summer of 1999 in Macedonia/ Kosovo/Albania supervising a family reunification program in camps with war refugees. In September 2001 Duane responded to the Pentagon immediately following the terrorist attack on September 11th, providing support to rescue and recovery workers. In April 2010 he served as the mental health team leader at the University of Miami field hospital following the earthquake in Port au Prince, Haiti. In 2016 Duane responded to La Loche Saskatchewan Canada to provide trauma support to the first responders following a school shooting with multiple fatalities. Most recently in 2022 Duane provided training for Missing Children Europe which is focused on reuniting Ukrainian children with their families when separated by the war in Ukraine.

As an educator, Duane teaches seminars nationally, internationally and regionally on trauma informed care, intergenerational trauma, support for victims and families and workers in the field of sexual exploitation and trafficking, as well as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Wellness and Self-care and traumatic loss. He has served as an Adjunct Professor of Counseling at Trinity College in Washington DC, and continues to be an invited guest lecturer for national conferences, as well as for graduate and undergraduate classes of various colleges and universities.

Published works (most recent first):

  • Bowers, D.T, (2021). Managing Life While a Loved One is Missing: A workbook for coping. Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada: Caring Hearts.
  • Bowers, D.T. (2020). Being trauma informed and providing trauma informed care. Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada: Caring Hearts.
  • Bowers, D.T. (2020). Practicing self-care and living in wellness. Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada: Caring Hearts.
  • Bowers, D.T. (2020). Surviving Trauma. Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada: Caring Hearts.
  • Bowers, D.T. (2018). Supporting families of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls and other missing persons. Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada: Caring Hearts.
  • Bowers, D.T. (2015). A child is missing: Providing support for families of Missing children. In M.G. Leary, S.W. Cooper, P. Wetterling, D.D. Broughton (Eds.) Perspectives on missing person’s cases (pp. 23-64). Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press.
  • Bowers, D.T. (2009, Summer). Supporting your grieving pet. American Academy of Bereavement News, 2, 6.
  • Bowers, D.T. (2007). A child is missing: Providing support for families of Missing children. Alexandria, VA: National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
  • Greif, G. & Bowers, D. (2007). Unresolved loss: Issues in working with adults whose siblings were kidnapped years ago. The American Journal of Family Therapy, vol. 35, issue 3, pp. 203-219.
  • Bowers, D.T. (2005). Guiding your family through loss and grief. Tucson, AZ: Fenestra Books.
  • Bowers, D.T. (2005) Information for families grieving after the loss of a child, and the professionals who support them. Retrieved February 3, 2005. http://www.missingkids.com/en_US/publications/NC10.pdf