I am pleased to be able to offer years of experience in both addiction work and psychiatric work with direct patient care before becoming a professional interventionist. For an informed consumer, this work has contributed greatly to my skills at assessing clients' needs and directing them to where I believe they will find the most suitable recovery. As a Clinically Certified Interventionist, I provide professional guidance in helping a family navigate their way through the process of intervening on a loved one who is suffering. In addition to years of experience doing interventions with a very high success rate, I have undergone leading edge training at the Betty Ford Center to become certified in the Love First model. In consulting with each family situation, I will determine the most effective style of intervention, ie. Structured Family Intervention, Executive Intervention, or Invitational Model, based on information provided by the family. This calls upon a keen knowledge of assessment, performing an extensive intake, and utilizing an effective database of options for treatment. One approach does not fit all, and you can rest assured that I will carefully utilize all the information acquired to develop a best strategy and plan to follow.
The most common intervention tyle utilized for drugs and alcohol is the Structured Family Intervention and it allows the whole family dynamic to change. Research shows that addiction is a family disease and that everyone needs to heal from the ripples of damage that loved ones may have experienced. Often these include unsuccessful attempts at reasoning with the addict, anger, frustration, believing the lies, hoping for the best, being disappointed over and over, and eventually, helplessness and hopelessness, Often, individual members of the family and extended family in the form of friends or colleagues, have observed grave consequences of their loved one's addiction - psychologically, legally, financially, relationally, vocationally and within their families. They may have tried everything to stop the disease, but never been able to be successful in getting through to the suffering individual. A formal intervention by a trained professional provides a cohesive plan to orchestrate a well informed and trained unit or team of friends and family working together to battle the disease. This process invites that team as a united group to assert their love for the individual, break through defenses, and provide a plan to begin the recovery process on a path towards healing.
The services I provide and that lead to the most successful interventions are found in preparation, planning and technique. They include:
- consultation through phone or meeting in person
- an updated understanding of the disease of addiction
- a plan of action in performing the intervention
- choosing a treatment facility
- guiding family members through the process of getting help
- rehearsing and executing the intervention
- transporting client to treatment
- planning for aftercare options including possible case management services after rehab
In my work as a Licensed Professional Counselor, I maintain a small private practice and work with a wide range of emotional and behavioral mental health issues as well as addiction. In a comfortable and supportive atmosphere, I offer a highly personalized approach tailored to each of my client's individual needs to help attain the personal growth they're striving for. I am trained in EMDR which is very helpful in treating trauma; I completed Advanced Training in Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples (EFT, Dr. Sue Johnson), based on Dr. John Bowlby's theories of Attachment; I have extensively trained other professionals in Bereavement Care, including Suicide Prevention, Survivors of Suicide, and Crisis Care in families and community settings; and I offer special training in military culture, having served as an embedded clinician for the National Guard Infantry over the past 5 years.
Specializations include:
- Trauma & Post Traumatic Stress in Adults, Adolescents & Children
- Anxiety, Phobias and Panic Disorders
- Relationship Issues
- Depressive and Mood Disorders
- Stress Management and Self-Care
- Addiction
- Grief and loss counseling
- Couples Counseling
- Emotional and Spiritual Care
- First Responder and Military Counseling