Ruzanna Avetisyan, LMFT
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (MFC #47985)
Van Nuys, CA 91401
818-***-**** (Cellular)
********@*****.*** (Email)
SUMMARY
Over ten years of experience in various mental health positions, including Program Management, Clinical Supervision, Assessment, Mediation, and Therapy. Special depth in:
• EMDR trained
• Assessment methods Infant Mental Health
• Special Needs Treatment Plan Development
• Reflective Supervision Community Training
• Crisis Intervention
• Family Counseling-Couple’s Therapy
• Domestic Violence
• Pregnancy and Postpartum
• Substance Abuse/Addictions
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Casa Pacifica Wraparound Department, Camarillo, CA 12/08/2014 – Present Clinical Supervisor
• Supervise 8 staff comprised of three roles (Family Facilitator, Family Specialist and Parent Partner)
• Assess clients referred from HSA, Probation, or VCBH
• Develop Master Treatment Plans for all clients referred to the program
• Coordinate with Ventura County Referring Parties to streamline client’s services
• Collaborate with Social Workers, Clinicians, as well as Casa Pacifica’s Campus service providers
• Attend Team Decision Meetings, CART meetings, IEPs, CFTs as needed
• Observe staff during face to face meetings
• Organize case reviews for staff once a month
• Write and conduct introductory and annual reviews for all supervisees
• Review all documentation, including CFT minutes, Safety Plans, Plan of Cares, 3 or 6 month reviews, discharge plans
• Read, check, and co-sign staff’s mental health as well as social service notes
• Be on-call 24/7 and every three weekends
• Have assisted the CIRT (Children’s Intensive Response Team) with crisis intervention for kids ages 10-17 who presented with suicidal or homicidal ideations. Has put a child on a psychiatric hold due to suicidal ideations.
Family Court Services Department LA Superior Court, Downtown, CA 02/24/2014 – 06/30/2014
Family Court Specialist, Mediation
• In depth training on how to mediate between a separated or divorced couple regarding child custody visitation, which included supporting families with their decision on how to share physical and legal custody as well as holidays and any other time spent with their child/children.
• Mediated over 200 cases
• Assessed for safety for all individuals, making appropriate referrals, educated about child development, provided a thorough safety plan for domestic violence victims, reported child abuse, which was disclosed during mediation, and wrote detailed agreements all within a very brief time period spent with each family
• Understanding the law and implementing all assessments, inquiries, and decisions from a legal framework.
• Addressed and intervened the following during mediation: mental health issues, substance abuse, prior incarceration, history of domestic violence and/or presently had restraining orders, move aways to another state or country, different age groups, as well as various cultural and religious backgrounds.
St. John’s Child & Family Development Center, Santa Monica, CA 05/2012- 02/14/2014
Partnerships For Families Department, In Home Counselor
• Provided services to families referred for mental health, parenting, child development, and couple’s work.
• Services were geared towards supporting families who have children 0-5 years of age.
• Worked with at risk pregnant women suffering from mental health issues and/or addictions
Child Development Institute, Woodland Hills, CA 2005-2012 Assessment Program Specialist and Clinical Supervisor
Assessed over 100 children using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Mullen Scales of Early Learning, and The Functional Emotional Assessment Scale, Battelle Developmental Inventory
Supervised 5 Master’s level interns as well as 16 Bachelor or AA degree interventionists
Collaborated and consulted with the North Los Angles Regional Center coordinators and psychologists
Collaborated and consulted with LAUSD teachers, as well as assistant principals
Wrote annual progress reports as well as assessment reports for clients
Ensured that all client goals are tailored to individual needs as well as abilities and are in correspondence with the Regional Center requirements
Trained new staff/interns on Stanley Greenspan’s DIR Model, including Floor Time Therapy as well as in depth knowledge of developmental milestones for children 0-5
Training Assistant in the community with Barbara Stroud, Ph D on various screening tools such as the ASQ-Ages and Stages Questionnaire and PEDS
Co-developed a movement and music group for children with special needs
Led parent support groups and provided additional resources as well as referrals
Led Social Skills groups for children 0-5 years old
St. Anne’s – Full Service Partnership with the Department of Mental Health (trained in DMH paperwork) Became a part of a pilot project at St. Anne’s to create a strength based relationship and to increase social emotional attachment among teen moms and their babies from 2006-2008
Marina Adult Day Health Care, LA, CA 2002-2005
Social Worker Assistant
• Conducted assessments in order to formulate, implement, and adjust psychosocial treatment plans
• Provided individual and group counseling sessions
• Translated needed paperwork from English to Russian and vise versa for the participants and assisted in various social services
Life Start Adult Day Health Care, LA, CA 2001-2002 Social Worker Assistant
• Performed assessments to provide proper assistance to severely disturbed individuals diagnosed with Schizophrenia, Psychosis, Bipolar, Dementia, Alzheimer’s Disease, Major Depression and Anxiety Disorders
• Identified resources and developed treatment plans
• Maintained liaisons with client’s primary care giver including board and care, family and personal physician
PROFESSIONAL TRAINING
Specialized Training in Reflective Supervision and Facilitation 2008-2014 Participation in training and consultation in the model of Reflective Supervision including basic skills and advanced use of this model as both a participant and supervisor. Training and consultation provided by Dr. Barbara Stroud as well as Victor Bernstein. Infant-Family and Early Childhood Mental Health (IFECMH) Endorsee and RPF II
(Reflective Practice Facilitator).
Evidenced Based Practices 2012-2014
Initial three day trainings in IPT (Interpersonal Psychotherapy) and TF-CBT (Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Psychotherapy)
Seeking Safety
CPP – very interested in going through this training formally, although I have done a lot of work with parents and children and supervised clinicians who have worked with parents and children of special needs (DIR Model/Floortime) Completed Levels I, II, and III in Gottman Method Couples Therapy 2010-2012 Trained by John and Julie Gottman to accurately identify the specific problems and strengths in the dynamics of a couple’s relationship with assessment tools provided by these trainings. Have completed Levels I, II, and III and is in the process of completing the last level, which is video conferencing and consultation before getting certified. Trained & Certified in the Program for Infant Toddler Care Modules I, II, III & IV 2012-2013
Participated in two weeks of extensive training provided by the PITC in order to become a certified trainer in the following topics: Brain Development in Infancy, Discoveries of Infancy, Special Needs, Language Development, Communication and Culture, as well as Cultural Diversity, Family, and Providers. Modules I and II included topics on Social Emotional Growth and Socialization and Group Care. EMDR Trained – 2016
Participated in two weekends for a total of 48 hours of training and additional 10 hours of consultation to become a trained EMDR therapist. Will be pursuing certification in order to become a certified EMDR therapist.
EDUCATION
Bachelor of Arts – Sociology
California State University of Northridge, CA, 2001 Honor Student: Member of Golden Key National Honor Society at CSUN Dean’s list for maintaining a high GPA
Masters of Arts-Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy Pepperdine University, CA, 2006
Graduated with Honors and GPA of 3.8
LANGUAGES
Trilingual: English, Russian, and Armenian; Academic knowledge in French and has studied Spanish from September of 2012 until October of 2013.