Professional Highlights
My professional experience spanning over 25 years in mental health includes providing behavioral health services to Afghan refugee children and their families during Operation Welcome Home (OAW), serving as the clinical staff supervisor for the Healthcare for Homeless Veterans (HCHV) program, working as a social worker on the Homeless Patient Aligned Care Team (H-PACT) for the St. Louis Department of Veterans Affairs, directing Counseling Services at Gateway180 Homelessness Reversed, acting as a Child and Adolescent Therapist at OSF St. Anthony's Hospital Outpatient Services, and holding the position of a senior level Certified Employee Assistance (C-EAP) Consultant at Magellan Health Services.
I chose the name Esteem Counseling LLC for my practice because I am dedicated to helping individuals who struggle with self-esteem issues and often feel inadequate. I find fulfillment in supporting those who face difficulties with executive functioning, interpersonal relationships, and dating challenges. I assist those who find it hard to connect with others and feel a lack of worth compared to their peers. My goal is to guide clients in recognizing their inherent value. I enjoy involving them in the investigative process of discovering how their core values were established and the cognitive biases and distortions that may have developed as a consequence. It is fulfilling to witness the realization in clients' eyes when they understand how these thoughts have influenced their feelings and actions over time, and the relief of knowing they aren’t inherently flawed; they can change how they present themselves in life by shifting their beliefs.
Community Service Highlights
I was raised in a community in Alton, Illinois referred to as "Mexico". It was the kind of community that everyone knew everyone and by the time I got home my parents knew if I'd done anything that I shouldn't have. There was a lot of love in Mexico, yet there was a lot of pain due to various socio economic issues. Having an awareness of these issues at a young age is what motivated me to go into the field of social work. My desire was and will always be that of an agent of change within my community.
I founded the Community Cuts Reading program which involved neighborhood barber and beauty salons promoting literacy by providing reading nooks for children while they wait for services and incentives for reaching reading goals.
One of my greatest success stories was coordinating with the Housing Authority and the public transportation system to transport 2 bus loads of at-risk students from two local housing projects on a fieldtrip to Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville, Illinois. The Black Student Association toured the students around campus. The youth were able to see classrooms, dorms, and a mini step show on the yard. The sisters of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc provided lunch for the youth; while the brothers of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity covered the fees for the students to bowl during their visit. The sweetest part of the story is when I have experienced young men and women 10-15 years later share that it was that event that motivated them to want to go to college or venture to other places outside of the small city in which they lived.
I was the first VP of the SIUE School Of Social Work Black Student’s Association. I was the first VP of the Alton High School Black Alumni Association. I have been a Community Partner with A.C.E.S. 4 Youth, Community Partner with the Alton School District serving on the Superintendent’s Parent’s Advisory Board, the Board of Advisor’s for the Riverbender Community Youth Center, and a former Board Member of the YWCA of Alton.
I was the Scholarship Coordinator for the Josephine Marley Beckwith Future Leader Award via the YWCA of Alton for four years. The scholarship supported a four-year renewable scholarship to young female students that have shown leadership, diversity, and humanitarian services.
I have provided a variety of services to woman and young girls in the community. I was Co-Leader for the Southern Illinois Girl Scout Troop 1208. During my Scouting days I received a regional award for bravery to step out of my comfort zone and “camp like a girl”. I was Youth Advisor for the National Council of Negro Women and received the President’s Award for mentor services to young girls and NCNW Debutantes.
I contribute directly to the mission of empowering women through education and discussion of issues pertaining to them. I am the Founder and Facilitator for the Woman II Woman Potluck Discussion Series. Woman II Woman originated from a small group meeting of young mothers that I mentored out of my home on a variety of women’s issues, i.e., health, relationships, sex, parenting, finances, etc. The group sessions grew so that I had to move the groups from my home to a local meeting place. Women attending the group spanned from their late teens to late 60’s and encompassed a diversity of socio-economic backgrounds and ethnicities.