Education

Doctoral Student in Social Work, 2007 - current
University Missouri

Master of Social Work, December 2001
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Bachelor of Science, Psychology, May 1999
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Licensure

Missouri Clinical Social Worker (#2003-024524)
Illinois Licensed Clinical Social Worker (#149-010563)

Specialized Training

September 2001-May 2002
Certificate in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
Chester Forensic Hospital, Chester, IL

Awards & Honors

Jane Biederman-Fike Doctoral Fellowship in Social Work 2008
Fellow in the University of Missouri Preparing Future Faculty (PFF) Program 2008
University of Missouri School of Social Work Doctoral Program Graduate Student Association (GSA) Representative 2008

Research Interests

• Healthcare and psychiatric rehabilitation technology
• Social work and technology
• Healthcare quality measurement
• Suicide among the elderly

• Direct practice
• Evidence-based practice
• Human behavior in the social environment
• Theories of personality
• Psychopathology
• DSM-IV TR

December 2007- current

Center for Eldercare and Rehabilitation Technology, University of Missouri. Graduate research assistant: Project funded by National Science Foundation (NSF). Recruitment, screening and enrolling participants, conducting focus groups and monthly evaluation interviews, and developing concepts to utilize technology to assist in maintaining older adults to age in place. Co-PI's Dr.'s Marjorie Skubic & Marilyn Rantz.

October 2007- current

Family & Community Medicine, University of Missouri. Graduate research assistant: Videophone technology assistant, technology acceptance, data collection, & development of concepts related to social work and technology. PI Dr. Debra Oliver.

August 2007-December 2007

School of Social Work, University Missouri: Graduate research assistant: Duties included literature reviews on mental health courts, SPSS data interpretation, & hypothesis development. PI Dr. John Hodges.

January 2000-May 2001

Department of Social Work, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, IL. Graduate research assistant: Research projects included a B-START Grant, a R03 from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and projects funded by the Illinois Board of Education. High risk behaviors, college student sexual behaviors, AIDS/HIV belief scales & mental health consumer satisfaction scales. Data coding. Reviewed preliminary results of data analysis. PI Dr. Donald Scandell.

Teaching Experience

October 2004
St. Louis University School of Social Work, St. Louis, MO.
Guest lecturer: DSM- IV. Psychopathology. Evidenced-based practice. Diagnostic criteria & treatment of individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD). Biopsychosocial theory of mental illness specifically BPD. Evaluated student diagnostic interview skits.

August 2000
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Dept. of Social Work, IL.
Guest lecturer: Generalist practice. Human behavior in the social environment. Treatment inventions. Direct practice evaluations and outcome measures. Stress diathesis model of mental illnesses. DSM-IV.

Practice Experience

June 2004-current

CEO & Clinical Social Worker in private practice
DbtSTL, Columbia, MO.
Consulting and psychotherapy. Mood, psychotic, addiction, eating and behavioral issues. Specialize in DBT with individuals with Cluster B personality disorders/traits. Supervision for social work licensure.

September 2003-September 2007

Licensed Clinical Social Worker
Missouri Department of Mental Health, St. Louis, MO.
Expert witness in civil mental health commitment hearings. Testified in guardianship hearings. Completed emergency room & inpatient assessments as a part of an interdisciplinary team. Generated evidenced-based treatment plans. Facilitated family psycho-education & aftercare/discharge planning groups. Coordinated court paperwork. Orchestrated conditional releases on involuntary patients with severe & persistent mental illness.

March 2003-September 2003

Psychiatric Social Worker
St. Alexius Hospital, St. Louis, MO.
Facilitated discharge planning groups aimed at educating patients on mental illness & substance abuse symptomatology & community resources.

July 2002-March 2003

Academic Counselor & Advisor
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Edwardsville, IL.
Coordinated services for college students with academic, identity & developmental, depression, physical & sexual abuse, substance abuse, & career issues.

March 2001-July 2002

Psychiatric Social Worker
Illinois Department of Human Services, Alton, IL.
Facilitated Mentally Ill Substance Abuse groups. Member on DBT Consultation Team, Family Psycho-Education Committee, Human Rights Committee, & Mental Illness Substance Abuse Committees.

March 1999-March 2001

Crisis Counselor, Early Interventionist
Chestnut Health Systems, Granite City, IL.
Assessed grade school & high school children for risk factors for substance abuse & mental health issues.

Field Supervision

January 2005-September 2007

Social Work field supervisor for Washington University (WU), St. Louis University (SLU) & University of Missouri St. Louis (UMSL).

Presentations

August 2008

Missouri Conference for the Frail Elderly & the Interdisciplinary Center on Aging, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO.

Topic: Suicide in the Elderly. Presented national and state data on suicide among the elderly. Nursing home suicide, demographic trends, risk factors for senior suicide, mental health issues among the aging, and psychosocial interventions.

May 2008

Center for Eldercare and Rehabilitation Technology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO.

Topic: Suicide and the Elderly. Implications for researchers, role of interdisciplinary teams, potential of passive smart home technology, and technology acceptance.

February 2007

George Warren Brown School of Social Work, Washington University, St. Louis, MO.

Topic: Intervention Approaches with Women: A Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Approach. Mindfulness, emotional regulation, distress tolerance and interpersonal effectiveness. Biopsychosocial assessment. Culture and oppression. Crisis intervention v. therapy. Harm reduction.

December 2006

Southern Illinois University School of Business, Edwardsville, IL.

Topic: Starting a private practice: Entrepreneurship and small businesses. Marketing, consulting and relationship building. Jurisprudence and corporate governance. Limited Liability Company (LLC).

April 2005

St. Louis Special School District, St. Louis, MO.

Topic: Treatment for Children & Adolescents: Boundaries & limit setting for from a dialectical behavior therapy perspective.

October 2004

Edgewood Children's Center, St. Louis, MO.

Topic: Jurisprudence & mental health code issues. Mental health & alcohol & drug civil commitment process at the Missouri Department of Mental Health.

Memberships & Committees

Member of The National Scholars Honor Society
Member of Missouri National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI)
Member of National Association of Social Workers (NASW)
Member of the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE)
Psychotherapy St. Louis (PSL) 2003-2007
MO Department of Mental Health patient rights committee member 2006-2007
Board member Illinois NAMI 2003
Board member NAMI Madison County, IL 2003
Funding committee chairman for Illinois NAMI 2003
IL Department of Human Services (DHS) DBT consultation team member 2001-2002
IL DHS family psycho-education committee member 2001-2002
IL DHS human rights committee member 2001-2002
IL DHS mental illness substance abuse committee member 2001-2002