I am
a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. This means that I am a counselor who
believes that people are best understood when we look at all of the things that
can affect them (parents, family, school, friends, etc). It also means that I teach people how to use their
inner-strengths to get through life’s tough parts.
What
I Believe:
- Every girl is the expert on her own life
- Every girl needs someone to talk to
- Every girl can write (and re-write) her own story
- Every girl has strong parts inside of herself
- Every girl can learn to use those strong parts to get through the toughest of times
- The relationship girls have with their counselor is the most important thing about counseling
- Counseling is a choice (If you are mandated to come to see me, we will talk about this)
How
I Work With Girls:
I
work together with girls to find their voice, their story, their wishes, their
dreams, their strengths and their courage. I also work together to make change
in the areas that are challenging and that are not working. I feel that creativity is a powerful tool and
I encourage girls to use it when learning about themselves or when solving
problems. Some of the creative things I do with girls are photography, collage,
journals, story-telling, vision boards, story-writing, listening to music,
making art journals and writing songs. Sometimes I like to meet with girls and
their families together. Sometimes I like to meet only with parents (when they
need to hear parenting things that could really help you out). By law, there
are certain things we have to tell parents and authorities (we can talk about
what they are), but, otherwise, I keep confidences and work to help girls be as
safe and healthy as possible.
What
I Am Like:
I
think I am dependable, calm and approachable as well as funny, smart and
creative. I believe I am fair and kind and have really good counseling skills
too. Girls that I work with say that they like that I listen to them and that I
understand how they feel. They also say that they appreciate that I am very
honest and stick to my word (even when it means being uncomfortable for a bit).
They also say I help them grow in they ways that they choose to grow.
School:
I
have two college degrees that helped me learn to be a counselor. In
school I studied things about girls and women as well as things about
feelings, behaviors and choices, as well as how to help people make
changes when they want to. I also had to study a lot of things
I wasn't very interested in, but I decided it was worth it to get to
where I wanted to be (here with you!). These days I study things about counseling girls and women...just because I love to.
Jobs:
I have worked in a lot of places
with a lot of different kinds of people. I’ve worked in a juvenile department, in
doctor’s offices, in jails, in homeless shelters, in places where adults get
counseling and in a hospital. I like owning a business and working in my office
with you the most!
Other
Work Stuff:
I have to have a license to be a counselor. I earned my
license by getting my college degrees and then doing a lot of work with people,
which was followed by taking a big state test. I had to study a lot for the
test because I’m a terrible test taker. I was really nervous, but I prepared well
and I passed! My license has a number, which is: L5325.