Biography

“The best way out is always through.” — Robert Frost

Amy C. O’Neill, DHSc, MS, LPC

Clinician, Consultant, Educator, and Survivor

Amy O’Neill, DHSc, MS, LPC, is a clinician, consultant, and educator with more than 30 years of experience at the local, national, and international levels. As a survivor of the Boston Marathon Bombing, Dr. O’Neill’s combination of lived and learned experience is especially relevant to and resonant with victims of mass violence. She has developed learning communities, presented at national and international conferences, and provided trauma-informed care, support, and consultation to individuals and communities affected by terrorism and mass violence, including Nashville, TN, Perry, IA, and Allen, TX.

Dr. O’Neill is a member of the consultant networks for NMVC (National Mass Violence Center), OVC VOCA Center, and OVC TTAC (mass violence response). She has served on various committees and advisory groups, including the NMVC Survivors & Providers Steering Committee, the Crisis Emotional Care Team for Vibrant Emotional Health providing support for Afghan evacuees, the advisory committee for the Disaster Distress Helpline peer support task force, the Disaster Mental Health Team for the American Red Cross, and the Survivors of Tragedy Outreach Program for Tuesday’s Children.

Dr. O’Neill is a member of the European Union Hub of Experts on Victims of Terrorism and contributed to the development of the United Nations Model Legislative Provisions for the Rights of Victims of Terrorism, especially with regard to the importance of access to justice for victims of terrorism. At the First Global Congress for Victims of Terrorism at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, she presented on the importance to victims of remembrances and memorials.

Dr. O’Neill maintains a private counseling practice in Doylestown, PA, and is an Adjunct Instructor for the graduate Counseling Psychology Program at Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A graduate of Old Dominion University with a Master of Science degree from Chestnut Hill College, she holds a Doctor of Health Sciences degree with a mental health concentration from Bay Path University in Massachusetts, where her dissertation focused on perceived social support in communities impacted by hate-motivated mass shootings, the findings of which are being prepared for publication.