The Therapeutic Tarot

The Therapeutic Tarot is a trauma-informed, inclusive, non-pathologizing, evidence-informed guide for using tarot as a reflective tool for healing, skill-building, and empowered action.

This is not a fortune-telling manual. It is a practical therapeutic framework that integrates the universally recognized visual language of the Rider-Waite-Smith deck with Healing Centered Engagement, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, somatic awareness, and contemporary therapeutic ethics, bridging symbolic wisdom with real-world, evidence-based practice-without mysticism as mandate or diagnosis as destiny.

Each of the 78 cards becomes a structured invitation to explore identity, regulate emotions, strengthen relationships, and build real-world skills-whether you are working on your own healing or supporting others in clinical, coaching, educational, or community settings.

Written by a therapist, educator, clinical social worker, and community advocate, The Therapeutic Tarot offers an intentional, meaning-making approach to working with the cards as mirrors for insight, embodiment, and choice. Each card is explored through a non-predictive lens that centers agency, consent, and cultural context.

Inside you'll find:

• • A trauma-informed, anti-oppressive lens for working with symbolism
  • Thoughtfully framed upright and reversed interpretations focused on empowerment rather than fear
  • Astrological and numerological correspondences to deepen symbolic understanding
  • Clear connections to DBT skills, ACT processes, MBCT awareness, somatic sensing, and meaning-making
  • Guided inquiries for reflection and therapeutic dialogue
  • Practical exercises, journal prompts, spreads, and adaptable worksheets
  • Guidance for therapists, counselors, coaches, educators, and group facilitators, including engaging with individuals in recovery of all forms, addressing trauma, developing cultural competence, applying tarot to best practices and evidence-based frameworks, and working with resistance and ambivalence
  • Inclusive, Queer-, BIPOC-, and disability-affirming interpretations rooted in justice and belonging
  • Ethical considerations for using tarot in professional practice
  • A glossary, reference materials, and a comprehensive index for easy navigation

Designed for both individual exploration and professional use, this book supports flexible, modular engagement. It can be read cover to cover, used card-by-card, or integrated into therapy sessions, coaching, group work, or educational settings.

Whether you're a clinician seeking innovative tools or a seeker looking for structure without dogma, The Therapeutic Tarot offers a way to turn insight into practice, agency into action, cultivate resilience, and reclaim your story-one card at a time..

The power isn't in the cards.

It's in the person holding them.