LMHC, 20 years of experience
New to Grow
I am licensed in Florida with more than 20 years of professional work experience. I have been employed with the same community agency for more than 20 years (yeah I'm not a quiter). I have extensive experience in helping clients with stress and anxiety, coping with addictions, anger management, domestic violence, criminal justice issues, relationship issues, and parenting issues. I am a firm believer that you are the expert of your story! You have many strengths that will assist you in overcoming the things that challenge you and collectively WE will identify them and utilized them in achieving ones goal! By taking the first step to sign up for therapy can take courage and for that I am proud of you for getting started!
Developing a rapport with my client's is very important, as such my first session is what I refer to as a "Meet and Greet". I allow the client to asked questions of me. I share my past experience and how they may relate to their issues. I advise of any boundaries that I incorporate and probe them of their boundaries they have.
i'm a people person. I have worked in court order programs for the last 10 years. I start off by telling my client's I am their advocate. I am very light hearty as well as comical. I am a real person that is relatable to many of the issues they bring. I am a "season" Black Woman from the north (New York) and my New York "swag" definitely comes out! I am assertive in a nurting way, and have not had a client complain about my "approach". As for results, I work for a program where my clients have substance abuse/ mental health (domestic violence/co dependency/PTSD/inadequate decision making skills/ criminal-legal involvement) issues. The goal is for the client's to be reunified with their children. I will be attending the graduation of 5 client's that I successfull got their children reunified with them as a result of them meeting their goal and completing the program successfully. In addition to my years of providing therapy, I have years of Case Management experience as well. The importance of that is, I discovered it difficult for client's to focus on therapy when case management issues (housing/ unemployment/ health/ finance) are needed. My knowledge of community resources is a great asset.
Having worked in a comunity agency, my concept of an ideal client has change tremendously. Most of my client's were "force-court ordered", to particpate in therapy. The common goal I shared with the client's were their desire to achieve their goal and my desire to help them achieve their goal (I said I'm not a quiter). With that being said, I have been successful in breaking the "wall of resistance" many of my client's entered therapy with. Addressing the misconception that many client's have about therapy ("I,m not crazy"/"I can't change"/"therapy is for losers") is an accomplishment that I proudly toot my horn!
Incorporating evidence base CBT worksheets (homework) where client are given the tools to enable them to identify their specific area of concern thereby reducing and/ or elimate these concerns.
I have spent the last 7 years utilizing Motivational Interviewing in assessing the cliet's readiness for change, mapping out the "steps" needed to achieved their reported goal. It is this method that I use to formulate a Treatment Plan.
As part of court order treatment I facilitated a Women's gender group consting of 10-12 women who were victims or perpetrators of Domestic Abuse or low self esteem. With a focuse on self esteem/self worth client's learned to identify traits of healthy and unhealthy characteristics and improved their self concept of their positive attributes.