Central Office Staff

Ed Tick, PhD, Director

Edward TickEdward Tick, Ph.D., is Founding Director of Soldier’s Heart: Veterans’ Safe Return Programs. Honored for his groundbreaking work in the spiritual, holistic and community-based healing of veterans and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Dr. Tick has been a psychotherapist for 38 years, specializing in working with veterans since the 1970s. He is the author of Sacred Mountain, The Practice Of Dream Healing, The Golden Tortoise, Wild Beasts and Wandering Souls and the award-winning book War And The Soul. Ed's next book The Warrior's Return will be published in 2014.

Michael Lembke and Ed Tick

Dr. Tick [right] with Chaplain Col. Michael Lembke, command chaplain, Ft. Bragg

Dr. Tick is an internationally recognized educator and expert on veterans, PTSD, and the psychology of military-related issues and has conducted trainings, retreats and workshops across the country and overseas. He has lectured and trained staff and worked with wounded warriors at West Point, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Fort Hood, Fort Knox, Altus Air Force Base and other Dept. of Defense facilities. The Department of Defense now uses his pioneering work and he is the U.S. Army’s 2012 trainer for its annual Chaplain Sustainment Training in PTSD.

He is a tireless advocate for war-healing and peace-making, lecturing around the world and leading semi-annual educational, healing and reconciliation journeys to Viet Nam and Greece.

Dr. Tick is a gifted healer, teacher and guide specializing in using psycho-spiritual, cross-cultural, and international reconciliation practices to bring healing and hope to veterans, communities and nations recovering from the traumas of war and violence.

Kate Dahlstedt

Kate Dahlstedt, MA, LMHC, Co-Director, Acting Executive Director


Kate Dahlstedt, LMHC has worked with veterans and their families for over 27 years. She founded Soldier’s Heart with her husband and partner Dr. Edward Tick after his book, War and the Soul was published in 2005.  Together, they have created the Soldier’s Heart Model, which they continue to shape and adapt. Kate shares the Soldier’s Heart Model in her anthology chapter, “Burying the Stone” in Beyond Forgiveness: Reflections on Atonement.

Kate currently directs the Soldier’s Heart Women and War project, connecting women from around the country through teleconferencing for support and to share the impact of war on their lives. She co-leads intensive veteran healing retreats and healing journeys to Vietnam and Greece with Dr. Tick, and provides consultation, training, supervision and advanced education to other professionals and clergy, organizations, communities and colleges on veterans’ emotional and spiritual concerns.

Kate holds a master’s degree in clinical psychology as well as post-graduate certification from the Hartford Family Institute. She has maintained a private practice for nearly three decades, is an experienced group leader, and has additional clinical experience in sexual assault, Hospice and college counseling. She is a published writer of journal articles, poetry and anthology chapters and has also been an adjunct professor at Russell Sage College in Troy, NY.

The daughter of a WWII veteran, Kate spent many hours as a child asking her father about his army experiences. She is grateful that even though war broke his heart it did not break his spirit.