AREAS OF EXPERTISE

Bilingual English/Spanish | Non-profit Organizations | Healthcare Management | Psychotherapy | Mediation | Public Speaking Psychology | Mental Health | Mind-body Medicine | Clinical Hypnosis | Crisis Intervention | Therapeutic Humor | Program Management & Development | Client Satisfaction | Patient Safety | Hospitals | Research | Presentations | Counseling | Therapy

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PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND

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02/2022-PRESENT: ADJUNCT PROFESSOR-COUNSELING

ST EDWARDS UNIVERSITY, AUSTIN, TX

• Educating graduate students pursuing masters degrees in counseling 

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12/2021-PRESENT: COUNSELOR

TRANSCEND HEALTH SOLUTIONS, AUSTIN, TX

• Ketamine assisted psychotherapy.

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09/2021-PRESENT: COUNSELOR

AUSTIN MINDFULNESS CENTER, AUSTIN, TX

• Individual, couples, and family counseling in a group practice setting.

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05/2021-PRESENT: DIRECTOR AT LARGE

Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, Rockford, Il

• Membership committee liaison 

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10/2019-PRESENT: ADJUNCT PROFESSOR-PSYCHOLOGY

HUSTON-TILLOTSON UNIVERSITY, AUSTIN, TX

• Adult Degree Program and traditional undergraduate students.

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11/2019-11/2020: COUNSELOR

AUSTIN TEEN THERAPY, AUSTIN, TX                                                                                                                             

• Individual teen and family counseling in a group practice setting.

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07/2019-07/2021: COUNSELOR

AUSTIN STRONG RELATIONSHIP BUILDING CENTER, AUSTIN, TX                                                                                   

• Individual, couples, and family counseling in a group practice setting.

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07/2019-11/2019: RESOLUTION COUNSELOR I

LIFEWORKS, AUSTIN, TX               

• Facilitate BIPP groups for adult males

• Conduct weekly orientation to determine group eligibility and enrollment.

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04/2019-07/2019: ADOLESCENT THERAPIST

GEORGETOWN BEHAVIORAL HEALTH INSTITUTE, AUSTIN, TX

• Provided individual, group, and family therapy for adolescents ages 12-17 who were admitted to the hospitals inpatient program.

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12/2018-04/2019: MANAGER OF HEALTH LITERACY & PROMOTION

EL BUEN SAMARITANO, AUSTIN, TX                                              

• Managed an interdisciplinary staff of seven (7) in addition to managing the health literacy department

• Oversaw the daily operations of the food pantry, mobile food pantry, community garden, dietician, and team of community health workers.

• Performed training, supervision, and budget management. 

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07/2018-05/2019: COUNSELOR

THERAPY AUSTIN, AUSTIN, TX                                           

• Provided individual and couples counseling as a contracted therapist in a private practice setting.

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01/2018-12/2018: CHILD & FAMILY SERVICE CASE MANAGER

AUSTIN TRAVIS COUNTY INTEGRAL CARE (ATCIC)

• Provided Wraparound therapy to youths with severe emotional/behavioral disorders

• Worked with youth and parents to identify needed services (mental, social, etc)

• Coordinated Wrap Plan with multi-disciplinary team and community providers also devised safety plan for crisis prevention.

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09/2017-12/2019: CRISIS HOTLINE OPERATOR

AUSTIN TRAVIS COUNTY INTEGRAL CARE (ATCIC)

• Handled crisis calls by providing telephone intervention and risk assessments

• Provided callers with information on Integral Care services as well as community support services

• Linked callers with service providers and helped schedule appointments.

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01/2017-09/2017: CRISIS RTC COUNSELING INTERN

THE INN, RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT FACILITY, AUSTIN, TX

• Assessed client's mental impairment and developed preliminary plan to meet stated needs for achieving maximum level of independent functioning.

• Services included developing skills necessary to obtain/ maintain employment or housing, or to obtain services such as medical care, dental care, food, clothing, utilities, financial assistance, transportation, legal assistance, or any other basic human need and the coordination of these services to assist the client in obtaining these services.

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11/2014-01/2018: CHILD FIND COORDINATOR

INTEGRAL CARE (ATCIC), AUSTIN, TX

• Presented to outside agencies with the goal of engaging more community partners.

• Developed promotional materials describing scope of First Steps services

• Coordinated screening events with community partners such as United Way, SSP Learning Center, and AVANCE

• Screened infants ages 0-3 for developmental delays in fine motor, gross motor, speech, and/or problem solving

• Offered education in early childhood development for parents and teachers

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05/2014-11/2014: QUALITY MANAGER

HEALTH INTEGRATION PROJECT, INTEGRAL CARE (ATCIC), AUSTIN, TX

• Led InShape program (one staff member: exercise and whole health specialist)

• Directed and oversaw health mentor staff (four staff members: physician, nurse, medical assistant, scheduling clerk) also supervised case management staff (one staff member: psych-rehab clinician)

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07/2013-04/2014: REHABILITATION SPECIALIST

INTEGRAL CARE (ATCIC), AUSTIN, TX       

• Work consisted of psycho-social rehab skills training, case management, assessments, and creating  treatment plans
   

07/2012-04/2013: REHABILITATION CLINICIAN

MHMRA HARRIS COUNTY/HOUSTON, HOUSTON, TX

• Work consisted of psycho-social rehab, case management, assessments, and algorithms

 

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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Quality Matters: Specially a certificate in Independent Applying the QM Rubric (APPQMR): (Statewide Systems)

Tobacco Treatment Specialist, Rutgers University (2014)

Suicide Safety Planning Instructor, Integral Care to new-hire clinicians (2016)

Trauma Informed Care Instructor, Integral Care to train new hire clinicians (2016)

Mental Health First Aid Instructor, National Council for Behavioral Health (2014)

Advances Clinical Hypnosis-Saybrook University

CPR, First Aid, AED

 

AFFILIATIONS & MEMBERSHIPS

• Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor

• American Psychological Association

• Connections Networking

• Early Childhood Council

• Family Support Network

• Tejano Genealogy Society

• Knights of Columbus

• YMCA Former Board Member

 

 

PRESENTATIONS

• Coping Skills for Parents with Special Needs Children  (11/2015)

Created and presented for audience of twenty through College Living Experience, Austin, TX

• The Art of Care  (4/2017)
  Created and presented for an audience of 500+ employees through Integral Care, Austin, TX

• Daily Impact of PTSD  (4/2017)
  Created and presented for an audience of 500+ employee through Integral Care, Austin, TX

• Resources and Mental Healthcare  (2016-2017)
  Created and presented for an audience of 30+ through Connections Networking, Austin, TX

• The Importance of Integrated Health  (2014-2017)
  Created and presented various times to new-hire gatherings through Integral Care, Austin, TX

• Humor in the Workplace  (2019)
  Created for the specific needs of employees in attendance. Austin Energy, Austin, TX

• Trauma Keynote (2019)
  Keynote speaker at the Association for Applied Therapeutic Humor conference, Chicago, Il

• Humor to Increase Productivity  (2019)
  Created for specific needs of employees in attendance,  Austin Energy, Austin, TX

• Burnout Through the Lens of Learned Helplessness  (2019)
  Exploring and defeating burnout in healthcare professionals, TNOYS Conference, Houston, TX