I’m a “second act” career changer- just like some of my clients. For over 30 years I was in the corporate world, leading large operations and client management teams around the world.
Although I planned to obtain my master’s degree and begin a career in social work right after undergraduate school, circumstances prevented me from doing that. Over time I found I really enjoyed the corporate world. I was also busy with my marriage and raising my children, It looked like my dream of becoming a social worker would not happen.
However, in 2016, I was at a crossroad in my life and decided to fulfill the dream. The opening sentence on my graduate school application was, “It’s never too old to be the person you were meant to be”. How very true! We are always able to re-invent, re-purpose and re-new ourselves if we have the desire to do so.
I received my Master’s degree in Social Work (MSW) with a focus on trauma and interpersonal violence from Simmons University in Boston, MA. Simmons is an important part of the history of social work in the US and was the first college to provide training for clinical social workers.
My clinical work has included community mental health counseling, parent-infant attachment and trauma therapy, and in-home counseling for youths with behavioral challenges. I also have experience working with women in recovery from opioid addiction and complex trauma.
Most recently, I was an adult and youth counselor at a domestic and sexual violence agency where I worked with survivors from all walks of life. I have deep knowledge and understanding about the dynamics of coercive control. This can show up in different ways. The abuse may be physical, verbal, emotional, psychological, sexual, or financial and is often a combination of different forms.
I focus my practice on survivors of interpersonal violence and coercive control, adults who have experienced trauma at any time in their lives, children and teens who are impacted by trauma (which also includes working with their caregiver), and individuals moving forward to the next stage of their lives. I also welcome clients who experience anxiety, depression, and other mental health concerns.
I have worked with individuals from various racial, religious and cultural backgrounds as well as the LGBTQIA communities.
I use different evidence-based therapeutic frameworks and approaches in my practice including:
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy– CBT reveals the relationship between beliefs, thoughts, and feelings, and the behaviors that follow. It is effective in a wide range of mental health concerns.
- Motivational Interviewing– MI is an approach designed to help you find the motivation to make a positive behavior change in a collaborative manner. It is particularly effective for people who have mixed feelings about changing their behavior.
- Narrative Therapy- This approach can help separate out the personal stories from your personal identity. It uses the power of these stories to help you discover your purpose. You are the “narrator” of your own story and get to choose how the story unfolds.
- Psychodynamic Therapy– This approach assists in uncovering the psychological processes that formed during your early life experiences. Once the processes are uncovered, you can begin to understand your motivations and behaviors, which helps alleviate the symptoms.
I also offer specialized trauma treatment where indicated. I was trained and certified at University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine for Prolonged Exposure and at the CARES Institute at Rowan University for TF-CBT.
Education and Clinical Licensure
- Master’s degree in Social Work (MSW) – Simmons University, Boston MA
- Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA)- Fairleigh Dickinson University, Madison NJ
- Certified Professional Coach- Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching, Shrewsbury, NJ
- NJ License # 44SC06072000
- Nevada License # 10010-C