The Trainers

Joseph Hovey

Joseph Hovey, LCSW, CGP, is a Certified SAVI® Trainer, psychotherapist and supervisor in Brooklyn, NY. He provides individual, relationship and group therapy, specializing in work with LGBTQ+ folks and youth. He serves on the faculty of the Eastern Group Psychotherapy Society (EGPS) Group Therapy Training Program and supervises clinic-based clinicians. He integrates the tools and insights of SAVI in his psychotherapeutic work, and in other contexts, both personal and professional. In 2019, he published an article in the journal Group, Communicating About Politics in Group: Is There Room for a Difference?, which in part explored applying SAVI to conversations involving political differences.

Verena Murphy

Verena Murphy, PhD, a Certified SAVI Trainer, has been training in SAVI since 1998. Professionally, she has been introducing SAVI as an organizational behavior consultant in the academic, management, and business sector. She also devised a curriculum that includes SAVI in her Dynamics of Leadership classes at Kent State University, where she was Assistant Professor at Kent State University (2007 -2013). She has worked with individuals and groups since 1994. She uses SAVI personally in her own family and every other context in which clear information transfer is a goal.