Dr. Liz DeBetta

Dr. Liz DeBetta is an award-winning scholar-artist-activist, trauma-informed educator, and the founder of Migrating Toward Wholeness™, LLC, a healing-centered organization rooted in storytelling, embodiment, and narrative reclamation. With a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Studies from Union Institute & University, she has spent over two decades weaving together creative writing, performance, and feminist critical theory to support adoptees, trauma survivors, and marginalized communities. Her groundbreaking methodology, Migrating Toward Wholeness™, empowers individuals to reclaim their voices, transform their pain into purpose, and cultivate deeper self-awareness through creativity and connection.

Dr. DeBetta’s journey into adoption advocacy and healing began through her own story. While exploring her adoption experience in a creative writing class, she discovered the power of narrative to confront trauma and foster emotional integration. This led to her acclaimed solo show, Un-M-Othered, which explores identity, loss, and belonging through the lens of adoption. The show not only won Best Autobiographical Show at the United Solo Theatre Festival in 2022 but also became the foundation for her doctoral dissertation and the creative blueprint for Migrating Toward Wholeness™. Her book, Adult Adoptees and Writing to Heal, expands on this work by offering practical frameworks for narrative transformation and embodied healing.

Today, Dr. DeBetta is a sought-after speaker, facilitator, and advocate whose work bridges art, education, and social justice. She leads workshops, retreats, and performances that foster emotional safety and creative exploration while advancing conversations around adoption, gender equity, and trauma recovery. Beyond her professional achievements, she finds joy in cooking, gardening, and reading historical fiction. Guided by the belief that “healing through storytelling is a revolutionary act,” Dr. Liz DeBetta continues to inspire others to reclaim, rewrite, and heal—one story at a time.

• Rudd Adoption Research Scholar

• Union Institute & University - PhD

• Best Autobiographical Show at the United Solo Theater Festival (2022)

• Alliance for the Study of Adoption and Culture
• Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning
• National Women's Studies Association
• Association of Writers & Writing Programs
• National Council of Teachers of English

• Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women USA
• Utah Women in Higher Education
• Gender Based Violence Consortium
• Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning
• Act Risk No More