I have  20 years of experience of working with families in a clinical social work setting. In 1993, I obtained my BA from The Ohio State University.  That year, I started my career in social work as a paraprofessional at The Huckleberry House, an emergency crisis shelter for runaway teens. 

 

After receiving my Master’s Degree in Social Work in 1997 from The Ohio State University, I went on to provide clinical services for families in The Wilson Clinic at The Hannah Neil Center, a local community mental health agency.  I attended EMDRIA's training seminar in 1998 and received my EMDR Level I practitioner certificate. In 2000, I had the wonderful opportunity of joining The Attachment and Bonding Center of Ohio, working with families with traumatized children with Reactive Attachment Disorder and adoption issues.  In that same year I also began providing mental health services for adults with psychiatric needs in an emergency department setting.   Most recently, I attended eegER's seminar to be a neurofeedback clinician and have found this intervention to be invaluable when treating trauma.

 

I have given presentations at Catholic Social Services for adopting parents and for The Coalition for Adoptive Families, a local grassroots organization in Columbus, Ohio.  Very recently, I participated in a podcast with The Coalition for Adoptive Families regarding identity formation in adoptees.  I am a member of The National Association of Social Workers, EMDRIA, and an affiliate of EEGER as a neurofeedback provider.  

 

When treating hurt children, I use supportive challenging, humor, and knowledge of effective research information as my main tools in the healing process.  Most recently, I have added neurofeedback as another tool to help traumatized individuals learn to self regulate and to feel more confidant being present.  I  will meet your child or teen at their developmental level for their own process. Over the years, I have found that abused and neglected children have a narrow perspective of what has happened to them and how life is for them in the present; they have difficulty translating their current experiences through the trauma lens.  Healing begins with children knowing they are safe and have permission to own their story which helps them to widen their perspective, to decrease self blame, and to help them to develop positive ways to cope with their losses.  Most importantly for both parents and child, I want them leaving a session knowing and believing that I understood them.

 

Treatment is focused upon providing education and therapeutic support to adoptive parents because you are viewed as an integral part of the team for helping your child, and to assist your child in creating a narrative of his/her life which helps to ease the ache of grieving of losing their birth family.  These two treatment goals are extremely important because symptoms from both issues can derail parental attempts in providing nurturing parenting and the cultivation of healthy family dynamics.