Introduction: First of all, I believe in creating safety by being open, so a client can share anything, not wasting precious time and resources. I probably share more than other professionals as you can see below, but it is so my clients choose well, knowing who they are opening up to, and if I fit their comfort zone.
I don't believe in judgment. To me, life is about learning.
A person soon learns if a counselor fits what they are looking for in a confidante and someone that can offer options and solutions, or a new way to look at their challenges. I truly enjoy lifting roadblocks and clearing confusion. My own life helped to shape my compassion and passion for helping others.
I lean to natural methods of problem solving, and am therefore a Minimalist in my opinions with any medication use since they contaminate healing and clarity, only try to address symptoms which may be situational or from loss, etc., and they deplete nutrients, causing serious physical and mental problems in time. With side effects, tolerance, contraindications in mixing chemicals and dangers of withdrawal, many end up on a list of meds, harming their quality of life and longevity.
I urge people to go to sites like askapatient.com to research results of medications they are either on, or have been prescribed, by reviews of hundreds of others. I encourage informed decisions.
I use the information from hours of research in health and nutrition and my personal recovery from Cancer and Lyme to help those I meet with prevention, healing and avoiding remission. I share CD's on many health problems, so with education, folks can make better choices.
My experience with Sexual Abuse healing/recovery began with facilitating a group for Adults Molested as Children/Parents of Molested Children. Shortly after I began studying Psychology/Admin. Of Justice in college, in 1985. I've worked at an Advocacy Center for children, Sexual Offender Treatment, a Co-Ed Prison, Community Corrections and a Community Counseling Center.
My personal journey included 12-step groups like ACOA (Adult Children of Alcoholic...and other Dysfunctional Families), Co-dependent Anonymous, groups, books and literature, etc.
Many people find they want to develop better communication and problem-solving/conflict resolution skills, and desire satisfying relationships.
I found that many people seeking help have some kind of abuse or trauma in their background, and that addictions like alcohol and drugs are only symptoms of this.
I've worked with Individuals and Groups in my Private practice, counseled Adults and Children in my Social Work Graduate Clinic, ran an Anger Management Group, Co-facilitated 5 Batterer Intervention Groups, offered sliding scale to an agency's individual clients, founded another AMAC group, purposely sought out perspective by seeking Practicum experience in a Co-ed Prison, Community Corrections, Private Sex Offender Treatment along with an Aftercare Group, an Advocacy Center for the worst physically and sexually abused children, attended County-run Adult and Juvenile Sex Offender groups, worked in Chemical Dependency, etc.
I enlisted a supervisor twice to get my LCSW license, and found both agencies were extremely dysfunctional, along with the Licensing Board. Disillusioned at the second agency that wasn't reporting ongoing domestic violence w/ children in the home and dangerous drug parties w/ small children in another home, I was given my individual clients and started my own practice. I cannot be part of looking the other way when it comes to the protection of vulnerable people.
At that point, I decided since the Board said I could not get my own Private Supervisor using the hours from my private practice towards licensure as Counselors do, and as I had been doing with the same individual clients in the last agency, that I would continue my practice and perhaps go back to school at some point to get my Doctorate in Jurisprudence. I would still continue to study and write, and work on publishing a Practice paper on Juvenile Sex Abuse Intervention. 80% of adult offenders began as juveniles. I can work as a Social Worker, Life Coach and Mentor, and give my clients the benefit of my social work/counseling experience.
Web practice opens Counseling up to all the states, and the world. No one can possibly be licensed in every state, so I offer help in my fields of expertise. The more life and counseling experience a person has, the more valuable they are to clients. I'm headed to 62, have been through trauma in childhood, married, Motherhood, divorce, loss, single parenting, student life, earned a BS with High Honors and 5 Scholarships, a Graduate Degree, home owner, Caregiver of my Elderly Father, Cancer Survivor, Poet since second grade, and Lyme survivor, etc.
I took care of my elderly father directly for 3 years, and oversaw his care for 12 years, until my health began collapsing, and I had to take a leave of absence with a cancer diagnosis. With research on nutrition for natural solutions, I found a way I could help my clients in further dimensions, of physical health that affect their mental and emotional health. I love to share recipes and ideas for healthier living. I also provide educational CD's and Nutritional Deficiency Surveys free of charge.
For instance, when the Medical Field's antibiotics have set up resistance, reactions and sensitization, I share knowledge of nature's antibiotics and immune building herbs and nutrients. Marshmallow tea relieves the pain of a Urinary Tract Infection, for instance, and Candida is the base of many health problems such as prostatitis, UTI's, colon issues, etc. The DNA of Candida is Cancer, so diet, sun and exercise are important to bring the numbers down, and things like folic acid delivered at the right time to the right place in your body, can stop Candida from morphing into the fungal form, that will invade your bloodstream, organs, sinus's, etc.
I share my experience and research to let you understand how your food is your medicine, how medications deplete nutrients, how toxins, foreign DNA protein and virus's in vaccines are setting up thousands with Auto-immune diseases, and how to aid your immune system, etc. If I absorb a seminar where I learn that steroids, antibiotics, radiation, chemo, Ibuprofen and many meds turn off your immune system, I share this wealth of information with you....
There are many theories of counseling, and a good Counselor can choose the best approach, but it is advantageous to have an older, experienced Counselor and one that can listen well, without judgment. In today's fast-paced world, being able to summarize and confront the whole picture takes skill, but caring for the best outcome and helping guide discovery of workable solutions often demands a particular caring, knowledgable professional person. I enjoy striving to make that mark in serving others.
I am not beyond growth and human learning myself, and can humbly say that each hour spent with clients enlarges my acumen to share valid solutions. A Social Worker by definition is an advocate for social justice. Each client I have spoken with and each book read has enriched my understanding and ability to help the next person.
Having been in quandaries in my own life, feeling overwhelmed and not knowing whom to trust and having limited budget for counseling after the rest of life's demands, it is satisfying to me to be able to offer a safe haven to others to be heard and to discuss options in working out the concerns and griefs on one's plate. About a third of my practice is reserved for sliding scale clients, as needed.
