My Approach to Helping
Counseling and social work have been my vocation for more than 40 years. Areas of expertise include grief, depression, anxiety, relationships, and trauma. I have worked within mental health, medical, and hospice environments, as well as private practice. I am warm, supportive, and respectful and build upon one's strengths in the therapeutic process. I am a strong believer in our ability to cope and adapt to change and have witnessed over and over again the magnitude of human resiliency.
Summary of qualifications:
• Forty years of clinical social work experience
• Significant private practice experience with adult and adolescent populations
• Extensive experience within multidisciplinary care settings, and managed care organizations in providing home-based services to individuals and families
• Exceptional customer service and relationship-building skills with a strong clinical background in both medical and behavioral health settings
Professional experience private practice telehealth August ’20 - Present hospice social worker January ’07 - Feb. ’19 Provide anticipatory grief, loss, and bereavement counseling services, support, and education to patients and families experiencing terminal illness and loss. Contract home-based counselor March ’98 - Dec. ’06 Maintain independent contracts with behavioral health payers including Cigna, Empact, Medicare, United Healthcare, and Value Options to provide home-based counseling services to individuals and families. Organize, manage, and direct patient caseload including assessment and treatment. Provide counseling and community resources to clients and families in need. Behavioral health social worker and administrator October ’86 - April ’97 Held various positions with Maricopa Health System in both clinical and administrative capacities: Inpatient social worker, psychiatric hospital 1086 - 1287 Program manager, outpatient psychiatry 1287 - 1288 Administrator for behavioral health services 1288 - 195 Contract and grant administrator for health system 195 - 497 Hospice social worker June ’81 - March ’86 Provided home-based hospice social work services to patients of Whittier Hospital and Home Health Resource Center. Services included assessment, ongoing, and bereavement services. Lead social worker in the Medicare Demonstration Project for Hospice Services. Represented agency and presented in Washington D.C. Education Master of Social Work, USC 1981