Mental Health Counselor (Licensed)

Career Summary

Licensed Professional counselor with outstanding communication and empathetic listening skills. 5 years of Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) experience working with abused and neglected children and their families. 1 year of counseling experience with Domestic Violence survivors dealing with various addictions, behavioral and personality disorders. Skilled at helping individuals, families and therapy groups work toward recovery and wellness. Highly skilled in finding resources for clients with specific needs.

Core Counseling Skills

Counseling Summary

Clinical intake / Initial Evaluation

Child Victim Advocate

Diagnostic Interview

DCFS and Social Services Liaison

Treatment Population: Adults, Adolescents and Families

Juvenile Court Reporting

Treatment Focus: Depression, Anxiety, Trauma, Addictions and Dual Diagnosis

Domestic Violence Survivor Counseling

Treatment Orientation: CBT, Integrative

Group and Family Counseling

Suicide Prevention Trainer

Elder Abuse Intervention Trainer

Counseling Experience

Zacharias Sexual Abuse Center, Gurnee, IL March 2018 – Present

Medical Advocate and Counselor

Responsibilities:

Therapeutic intervention and support to individuals regarding acute anxiety, depression and anger post sexual assault trauma. Further assessment of cognitive and emotional functioning.

Community outreach and sexual abuse prevention education sessions were executed for one primary school and one high school reaching more than 100 students.

Wings Program Inc., Palatine, IL August 2016 – June 2017

Counseling Intern

Responsibilities:

Customized diagnostic interviews and therapeutic skill building resulting in thorough information gathering

Individual, family and group therapy sessions with Cognitive Behavioral and evidence-based practices for a caseload of 18-20 clients coping with trauma, anxiety, addictions

40% of clients served learned to manage independent life with personalized survival life skills.

Counseled a client with suicidal ideation and helped her make positive changes for her and her daughter.

Established Presenter for State of Illinois approved 40-Hour Domestic Violence training (Suicide Prevention and Elder Abuse Intervention)

CASA Lake County, Vernon Hills, IL September 2011 – April 2015

Advocate for Abused and Neglected Children

Effective evaluation and assessment resulted in prompt acting and removing a child from an unsafe and neglectful environment

Direct communications with DCFS office, social services and foster family to ensure a safe and healthy environment for the CASA child

Reported directly to the Lake County juvenile court judge for welfare of CASA children

Work Experience

Protocol Link Inc., Vernon Hills, IL January 1998 - Present

Employee relations with successful conflict resolutions resulting in 100% employee job satisfaction and high morale with 95% employee retention rate

Sage Global Staffing., Vernon Hills, IL January 2005 – August 2015

Built a successful relationship with the parent company and fulfilled 80% of contract staffing

Abbott Laboratories, North Chicago, IL August 1988 – September 1997

Provided global technical support in managing on-market product performance, customer support services and complaint handling resulting in early product launch

Created performance matrix for management presentations

Volunteer Experience:

Condell Hospital – Volunteer

Volunteered in the Teenage Triage Psychiatric Unit

American Cancer Society – Volunteer

Coordinated fund raising and group activities for Relay for Life Events

Earthquake Relief in India

Collected $25,000 through family fund-raising and provided earthquake relief support

Education:

M.A. Counseling Psychology July 2017

The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, Illinois

B.S. Medical Technology June 1986

Rush Medical Center, Illinois

B.S. Microbiology April 1979

Gujarat University, India

Licensure:

State of Illinois Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) December 2017

Certifications:

40 Hour Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Training

40 Hour Domestic Violence (DV) Training

40 Hour Sexual Assault Crisis Intervention Training

Languages:

Verbal and Written fluency in

English

Hindi and Gujarati (Indian)

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