About Thom Harrigan

Thom Harrigan, MSW, LICSW, ACSW is a psychotherapist in private practice.

Trained as an educator and clinical social worker, the primary focus of his work for over two decades has been the dysfunctional family in its myriad forms. During this time, Mr. Harrigan has worked with thousands of families and individuals in settings ranging from prisons to community based agencies, from the public sector to private practice. He has lectured extensively on child abuse and victimization as human rights issues.

Before joining The Next Step Counseling and Training Center in 1987, Mr. Harrigan was deeply involved in community based programming for social service systems, helping to develop curricula and training packages for public service social workers in Massachusetts. As a supervisor in the Massachusetts Department of Social Services, he was responsible for clinical decision making on hundreds of foster care and adoption cases arising from serious abuse and neglect.

Since joining The Next Step his focus has become the complex challenges facing survivors of dysfunctional families, and he now works closely with Mike Lew on the development of effective strategies for recovery.

He teaches at Brandeis University and The New England School of Acupuncture and is faculty at Simmons College Graduate School of Social Work.

Thom Harrigan has consulted to various agencies, organizations and groups nationally and abroad, and is currently working to broaden understanding of child abuse and recovery in an international and cross-cultural perspective.

Send E-mail to Thom or phone 617-277-7172, extension 3.

About Mike Lew

Mike Lew, M.Ed., a psychotherapist and group therapy leader in the Boston, MA area, is co-director of The Next Step Counseling and Training Center.

As a cultural anthropologist specializing in the field of Culture and Personality (Psychological Anthropology), he worked with the late Margaret Mead and Colin Turnbull. After further training in Counseling Psychology, he became a leading expert on recovery from sexual child abuse, particularly issues of male survivors.

Mike Lew has worked with thousands of men and women in their healing from the effects of childhood sexual abuse, rape, physical violence, emotional abuse and neglect. The development of strategies for recovery from incest and other abuse, particularly for men, has been a major focus of his work as a counselor and group leader.

He conducts public lectures, workshops for survivors, and trainings and consultations for mental health, medical, human service, clergy, law enforcement, and other professionals throughout the United States and Canada and in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.

Mike has taught at The City College of New York, Quinnipiac College, The College of New Rochelle and University of California at Santa Cruz.

His publications include Victims No Longer: The Classic Guide for Men Recovering from Sexual Child Abuse (Second Edition, Revised and Updated Quill, 2004). The first book written specifically for men recovering from sexual child abuse, Victims No Longer continues to earn praise for both its clinical expertise and compassionate tone, educating survivors and professionals about the recovery process, speaking to the pain, needs, fears and hopes of the adult male survivor.

Mike's second book is Leaping Upon the Mountains (Small Wonder Books and North Atlantic Books, 1999).

Mike Lew has consulted to the National Institute of Mental Health, National Resource Center on Child Sexual Abuse, Childhelp USA/National Child Abuse Hotline, People Against Sexual Abuse and many other organizations in the United States and abroad. He has been on the editorial board of the Journal of Child Sexual Abuse and the review board of the Journal of Interpersonal Violence.

Mike has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Sally Jessy Raphael, People Are Talking and many other television and radio programs.

Send E-mail to Mike or phone 617-277-7172, extension 2.