Dr. Wood earned her masters degrees in social work from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale in 1992, and her Ph.D. in social work from Tulane University in 2006. She has been in clinical practice in various settings and fields such as addictions, family preservation, community mental health, and criminal/juvenile justice. In 2003 Dr. Wood was first trained in motivational interviewing, and worked as a research assistant for a project that evaluated the community-wide implementation of MI. By 2005 Dr. Wood began training juvenile justice staff on MI and eventually contributed a book chapter on MI training for paraprofessional staff in juvenile justice settings. For the past 11 years, she has been conducting seminars and workshops for professionals in behavioral health, criminal justice, child welfare, and healthcare settings. Currently, Dr. Wood is a full-time faculty member and Field Coordinator for the social work program at Southeastern Louisiana University, and contributing faculty with Walden University's online social work program.
Dr. Wood strives to create a fun but challenging learning environment. She uses PowerPoint slides to provide information along with video vignettes, activities, and live role plays to help participants learn and experience the spirit of motivational interviewing. Participants will be asked to actively participate in activities, including live role plays.
