I provide individual psychotherapy to adults and adolescents.

As part of a team, I helped facilitate IOP groups for men recovering from substance use disorders. I also conducted outpatient continuing care groups for men recovering from substance use disorders. I also did treatment planning and referrals for the men on my caseload.

As a Therapist, I facilitate psychoeducation groups for adults experiencing substance use disorders. I also provide psychosocial assessments, treatment planning, and discharge planning for my clients. While working at The Brook, I have learned to implement group facilitation techniques I learned in my MSW program. I have also learned how to integrate skills for addressing psychiatric disorders into my psychoeducation groups for substance use. I have adapted my practice for COVID. This includes learning to facilitate groups via telehealth. I completed a practicum for my MSW degree in the Outpatient Mental Health Department at The Brook. During my practicum, I provided group therapy to adults whose primary problem was mental health, not substance use. From my practicum, I learned to apply my clinical skills to a population other than substance abusers. I also learned how to help clients with mental illness use resources available in the Louisville community.

I completed a practicum for my MSW degree at Magazine Street. I worked with the RecoveryZone staff and the ACT Team. At the RecoveryZone, I developed and facilitated psychoeducation groups for adults with SMI. With the ACT team, I went into the community to provide services to adults with SMI. From my practicum experience at Magazine Street, I learned how a multidisciplinary team, over time, helps adults with SMI address their psychiatric symptoms and improve their quality of life. I learned about the programs Seven Counties offers, and I learned about community resources in the Louisville Area.

My experience at Recovery Works Elizabethtown taught me how to function as a therapist at an inpatient facility. When I worked at the RTC level of care, my goal was to help clients stabilize physically, mentally, and emotionally. My daily tasks included psychosocial assessments, group therapy, treatment plans, and progress notes using EMR software. I also did family counseling on a regular basis. When I worked at the IOP level of care, my primary focus was discharge planning. I used my case management skills to link clients with housing and treatment resources. I also educated co-workers on the resources that were available to clients, including the creation of a directory of statewide residential/transitional living programs for therapists to use.

SperoHealth offers medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorders. My role as a case manager was to link clients with community resources and teach them to use those resources to reach their goals. From this job, I learned best practices when using suboxone maintenance to treat opioid use disorders. I continued using my assessment, treatment planning, resource-finding, and referral skills. I helped develop an IOP program for the Louisville clinic and established relationships with community organizations (residential treatment, mental healthcare, primary care, transitional housing, and social services).

Working as part of an integrated treatment team, I provided case management services and ADL skills training to adults with severe mental illness, substance use disorders, and developmental/intellectual disabilities. I also did homeless outreach as part of the PATH program, linking homeless people in Southern Indiana to substance abuse and mental health treatment. From this job, I improved my clinical skills by working with clients whose primary diagnosis was severe mental illness. I worked closely with clients in the community, doing referrals, follow-up, life skills training, and advocacy. I also learned about billing, conducting assessments, and documenting my work using EMR software. By dealing with complex cases (involving substance abuse, multiple co-occurring physical and mental disorders, and trauma), I learned how to handle a wider range of cases. I also learned tools other than 12-step facilitation to help adults with substance use disorders.

Drug court is a court-supervised long-term outpatient treatment program for non-violent drug offenders. As a Case Specialist, I provided most of the clinical services for the participants on my caseload. I worked under the close supervision of an LCADC. From this job, I learned how to do alcohol and drug counseling: individual and group counseling sessions, family counseling, treatment planning, referral and follow-up, documentation, consultation, and advocacy. I developed relationships with local treatment providers and knowledge of statewide recovery resources for addicts. I developed an IOP program, outpatient groups, and 12-Step talks. I did everything a licensed alcohol and drug counselor does except psychosocial assessments.