Work Experience
8/1997 to Present Private Practice—Effective Change, LLC
56 Waianuenue Ave. #207
Hilo, HI 96720
Individual, group and family therapy; most insurance accepted.
6/1999 to 06/30/2001 Administrator, Pacific Regional Psychological Associates (PARPA)
Management of a network of mental health professionals serving the Big Island of Hawaii Felix class youth. State Dept. of Health contract for 2 years.
11/1996 to 10/1998 Crisis Counselor, Kahi Mohala Crisis Service
PO Box 1376
Pahoa, HI 96778
(808) 965-4002
Provide crisis outreach and stabilization to suicidal, homicidal and acutely mentally ill children/adults.
8/1994 to 2/1998 Social Worker III, Hilo Medical Center Extended Care Facility (ECF)
1190 Waianuenue Ave.
Hilo, HI 96720
(808) 974-6971
Assessment of residents for mood, behavior and psychosocial changes and care plan accordingly; supervise two social service designees, one of which is at Ka’u Hospital; supervise the Ka’u Hospital Social Service program; PASARR liaison for Hilo Medical Center ECF. Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI), Quality Assurance (QA) and Utilization Review (UR) Committee Chair from 02/1995 to 02/1998. Member of the ECF Management Team from 10/1995 to 02/1998.
6/1993 to 7/1994 Therapist, The Institute for Family Enrichment (TIFFE)
1465 Kilauea Ave
Hilo, HI 96720
(808) 961-5166
Provide home-based family preservation therapy to mandated clients referred by court or CPS.
5/1992 to 6/1993 Case Manager III, State of Hawaii, Department of Health, Adult Mental Health Division
37 Kekaulike Street
Hilo, HI 96720
(808) 974-4300
Case coordination to adults with severe Mental Health issues.
EDUCATION
1993 MSW Degree with Mental Health Concentration
University of Hawaii at Manoa
18 months Practicum placement at Kulani Prison working with incarcerated male sex offenders, including physiological assessment of arousal, cognitive-behavioral treatment and aversion therapy. Dr. Barry Coyne was my instructor. I made extensive use of Dr. Jack Annon’s clinical treatment approaches.
1993 MA Degree in Pacific Islands Studies with Sociology and Linguistic specialization
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Linguistic work in Polynesian languages, including comparative analysis of causative prefixes. Social, cultural, substance use/abuse and mental health topics in Micronesia and Polynesia
1985 BA Degree in Psychology and Hawaiian Studies (Dual major)
University of Hawaii at Hilo.
LICENSING/CREDENTIALING
  1. Hawaii state clinical social worker license # LCSW-3048
  2. Diplomate in Clinical Social Work (DCSW) administered by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW). Listed in the NASW Register of Clinical Social Workers. See the NASW Website at WWW.naswdc.org
  3. Diplomate of the American Board of Forensic Social Work (DABFSW); Member of the American Board of Forensic Examiners
  4. Diplomate of the American Board of Sexology (DABS)
  5. U.S. DOT Certified Substance Abuse Professional (SAP)
CRITICAL INCIDENT STRESS DEBRIEFING EXPERIENCE

I have assisted with the following Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD) events. In addition, I have helped train dozens of individuals in CISD.

  • Hurricane Iniki State mental health needs assessment/CISD day 4-10 post-impact, 1992
  • HI Volcanoes Natl. Park ranger debriefing following steam vent death, 1993
  • Mauna Kea Subaru lethal observatory fire, 1996
  • Assisted with training Hawaii Island firefighters
  • Training of Kahi Mohala Big Island Crisis Service CISD program
  • Sprint Call Center Layoff incident July 2001

Also, I am a member of the Red Cross Disaster Mental Health Services (DMHS) team. I am also a trained Critical Incident Stress Debriefing professional with Crisis Management International.