My story:
As a new addition to the Counseling faculty, I bring with me a broad experiential base of practical work. I have served the field as a therapist, clinical director, and program administrator in the areas of community mental health, substance abuse treatment, psychiatric hospitalization, and employee assistance. Also, I have taught both adjunct and full-time in Counselor Education and Marriage and Family Therapy programs. I am honored to be a part of this CACREP-accredited program and am thrilled to work side by side with exceptional faculty members, students, and community service providers.
The journey that led me to CU Denver started with earning my bachelor's degree in Psychology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania then my master's degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from the University of Pittsburgh. After these initial academic experiences, I began a career as a counselor, working in community-based mental health and substance abuse treatment programs. While I treated mostly individual clients during this time, I began to recognize the significant systemic influences of families and communities on client problems and enrolled in a Ph.D. program in Marriage and Family Therapy at Florida State University. During my years at FSU, I had the opportunity to work as a counselor in the Vietnam Veteran Families Project and to be involved in research in the Psychosocial Stress Research Program. Both of these experiences ignited a passion and developed my expertise in working with traumatized individuals, families, and organizational systems. Understanding traumatic stress and the context of systemic functioning allowed me to expand from providing clinical services to clinical leadership positions in treatment facilities for troubled adolescents, crisis stabilization/management programs, and private psychiatric hospitals.
Central to my passion in working with traumatized individuals, families, and systems is my passion for teaching emerging counselors. Early on in my career, I began teaching as an adjunct professor at a variety of state universities before settling into the role of Associate Professor and Training Director for counseling programs at Argosy University in Sarasota, Florida. My move to CU Denver has been the fulfillment of a career long dream. I am fortunate to have the opportunity to serve as a classroom instructor, clinical supervisor in our on-campus clinic, and faculty liaison with internship sites in the greater Denver Community.
My students at University of Colorado Denver:
Since arriving at CU Denver I have been continually impressed with the quality of our students. It is a pleasure to work in the classroom and in the counseling clinic with students who regularly demonstrate a passion of learning, are culturally competent, and who possess a strong work ethic. I have found that our motivated and self-directed students promote a classroom environment, where rich discussion emerges from the integration of real world examples and important didactic instruction. It is clear that our students embrace the process of learning how to put theory into practice and develop ethical decision making skills. UCD students are adept at understanding that the development of a personal theory of change or personal model of practice, is best built upon a thorough knowledge of one’s own values, beliefs and biases.
At the University of Colorado Denver I have taught the following courses:
- Techniques of Counseling - CPCE 5100
- Counseling Issues and Ethics - CPCE 5330
- Practicum in CPCE - CPCE 5910
- Internship in CPCE - CPCE 5930
My research interests:
My primary interest is in understanding the systemic influence of trauma on family functioning and in the treatment of traumatized families and systems.
My hobbies:
I am passionate about road cycling and skiing.
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