I am an experienced mental health counselor, assessment specialist, crisis interventionist, drug and alcohol brief interventionist, supervisor, and trainer. I have worked with the Wisconsin Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) project as a health educator, treatment liaison, and MI trainer and coach. My experience encompasses a variety of settings ranging from rural community mental health agency to metropolitan 210‐bed private behavioral health inpatient hospital, from emergency department to primary care clinic, and from university grant‐funded projects to employee assistance programs. I have worked with populations ranging from pediatric to geriatric, and have direct experience working with Hispanic families experiencing homelessness, individuals with severe and persistent mental illness, individuals with problematic substance use, people facing life-threatening illnesses, and parents of children with behavioral health concerns. I hold a BA in International Service and an MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Valparaiso University.
MI has been useful in organizing my thinking about the principles that guide my clinical practice. I find that this has allowed me to operate with increased intentionality and to systematically utilize skills and strategies that clearly map onto the spirit I am attempting to embody. It has certainly led to a decrease in personal frustration and burnout, and led to improved outcomes for my patients as well. I thoroughly enjoy working with other helping professionals to enhance their willingness, skills and knowledge about MI and other techniques to partner with others and facilitate change. In my work to facilitate others' learning about and of MI, I have found decreased resistance to change and rapid and sustained reduction in non-productive clinician behavior and adoption of desired clinician behaviors when I approach those I coach and supervise from a stance that is strongly situated within the spirit of MI.
