I am a clinical social worker  and ordained minister who has many years of experience as a clinical social worker in Boston, North Jersey, New York City and Maine. I have worked with most populations including people with serious and persistent mental illnesses and/or addictions. In the mid 1980’s I worked with over 600 people who died of AIDS and did bereavement work with their  family members. In 2011, I worked both short term disaster assistance and long term therapy work with trauma victims and bereaved family members of the Twin Tower attack.

Life is extremely hard at times and we all can  grow and benefit from being in therapy. I believe counseling to be a creative, collaborative spiritual  journey towards growth, adaptation, and healing. I look for and focus on strengths that  foster resiliency. I integrate theory and practice  with a caring  humanistic, existential philosophy. I am deeply  concerned with justice issues. I worked first in the Marshal Islands in pre-Peace Corps conditions. Then, for 25 years as a person with privilege, I both lived and worked in inner cities of Boston, Newark, Jersey City and Paterson.  I have also worked in small, remote rural communities where people are isolated without resources.

These experiences  give me a valuable perspective on life for Black, Indigenous and Other People of Color,  and all others who are  treated unjustly and/or are victims and survivors of abuse and violence.

I am certified nationally as a nonviolence trainer and have worked for peace and justice issues at peace vigils and given talks throughout New England states about my two educational tours in Palestine and subsequent witness trips.

It is a privilege to journey nonjudgmentally to help others identify and work on goals, overcome obstacles and find joy, meaning and purpose. I  model,  facilitate, and help to  discover new ways of being, of coping, and of behaving.

I  have certifications in Dialectical Behavior Therapy  (DBT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), CBT for Insomnia (CBTI),  and Motivational Interviewing (MI).

Education and Career  Background

• Hood College, BA
• Boston University School of Social Work, MSW
• Drew School of Theology, M.Div.
• 3 units of Clinical Pastoral Care: New England Deaconess Hospital,  University Hospital, Newark and St Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital, NYC
• Member,  Academy of Certified Social Workers (ACSW)   1978 to present
• Member, Diplomate of Clinical Social Workers (DCSW)  1993 to present
  

Current Appointed Volunteer Positions

• Chairperson, Ethics Committee, and Chairperson, Branch B, National Association of Social Workers (NASW) – Maine Chapter
• Member, Racial Justice Council, Episcopal Diocese of Maine