I completed my practicum hours and training at Desert Sands Unified School District as an SAP (Student Assistance Program) Counselor. This role provided me with the opportunity to engage with children and their families across a range of age groups from elementary to high school. I gained invaluable experiences working with various cultures, economic backgrounds, and with various different mental health concerns and crises. A significant commonality amongst most of the families I worked with was the presence of trauma and/or abuse. In addition to the children and family work I did, I also facilitated groups at the middle school and high school levels. These groups were primarily focused on addressing the following predominant issues among students; Self-esteem, anger, depression, anxiety, and grief. 

Following my involvement at the school district. I was fortunate enough to serve client populations at Desert Marriage and Family, INC (DMFC). My initial role at DMFC entailed working with clients suffering from eating disorders in both the adult binge eating Intensive Outpatient Program and the Teens Intensive Outpatient Program which addressed adolescents battling restrictive eating disorders. Eventually, my previous background and knowledge would lead me back to working with mental health teens in the mental health IOP. I played an important role in managing the partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient treatment for the teens suffering from an array of mental health concerns, many of which coming out of hospitalization or attempting to avoid hospitalization. Due to the program’s success and peer acknowledgement, I was promoted to the assistant clinical director of mental health. This role extended my responsibilities to not only run and maintain the adolescent mental health programs but also to have influence and oversight into the adult mental health PHP and IOP program. One of my key responsibilities in this position was conduction utilization reviews for our clients, to ensure they could continue to receive the level of care they required. This task introduced me to the intricate and complex workings of insurance and its relationship with mental health, providing me with a profound understanding of the challenges in this area. Working with some of the more severe populations only further deepened my knowledge in the workings of the role that trauma and mental health can play in our lives. 

After completing work as Assistant Clinical Director of Mental Health at DMFC, I transitioned to working with clients on the private practice side. This shift provided me with a broader exposure to various mental health concerns and challenges. A significant portion of my work focused on working with individuals with anxiety and depression, as well as those navigating life’s transitions. This shift to private practice also allowed me to expand to working with the needs of various demographics, such as college students, individuals in career transition, single mothers, stay at home moms, and men and women individually confronting anger, infidelity, and relationship issues. Perhaps one of the most impactful aspects of my work at DMFC was my involvement with a number of women who were in abusive relationships. These women were at different stages of their journey with abuse; some just becoming aware, others gathering the strength to leave.