Education
-Bachelor of Science, Psychology; Minor in Cultural Anthropology
-University of Reno Nevada (1997)
-Master of Arts, Psychology, Marriage Family Therapy
-Chapman University, Sacramento California (2004)
Certifications and trainings
-Crisis Line Training Nevada 58 hours 1997
-Statewide Suicide Hot Line
-Sexual Assault Support Services Training 1998
-Crisis Line Training, Sacramento 2001
-Suicide Hot Line
-Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Training 44 hours 2003
-Equine Assisted Psychotherapy certified by EAGALA since 2006
Background
I was raised in Reno and Tahoe, NV. and spent a good portion of my life in the out of doors. I have been fortunate to gain my educational experience in a wide array of settings that offered differing philosophies and attributed to my development and perspective. I gathered my undergraduate education beginning in 1981 at Sierra Nevada College in Incline Village Nv.; Maui Community College in Maui, HA.; and University of Reno,Nv. My Graduate program was all obtained at the Sacramento campus of Chapman University.
My clinical experience began in 1997 working at the Crisis Hotline in Reno, NV. There I provided crisis services over the phone for suicide prevention, provided community and school outreach for suicide prevention as mandated programs in the school districts, was a member of first responder team for Sexual Assaults to provide advocacy and support for victims. I was also directly involved in training and supporting the vast volunteer program for both the Sexual Assault team and the Suicide Prevention Crisis Hotline program. Upon moving to Sacramento, I worked closely with the Suicide Prevention Crisis Line to assess and revamp their training of volunteers and their training manuals between 2001 and 2002.
Upon completion of my Master’s degree, I provided services to Children and Adolescents in the Foster Care system and Homeless and Runaway youth. For 2 ½ years I worked in a Women’s and Children’s shelter for Battered Women and Children providing therapeutic services to women and their children and conducting groups to educate and support victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. For almost 8 years, I have worked for an agency providing services to children, adolescents, families and transitional age youth. This has provided a wide array of experiences with families in the foster care system, adopted, Grandparents raising grandchildren, domestic violence, childhood trauma and countless diagnoses. While there, I also worked collaborately with families and schools to deliver IEP (Individualized Educational Plan) services, attended IEP meetings, developed behavior support plans and worked as a lesion between parents/children and School Principals, School Psychologists and teaching staff to best support educators and children.