The following article describes my healing and personal growth after my husband Bill and I were in an automobile wreck in which we were propelled 50 feet off the side of a mountain .  Some of my experiences as described in the article influenced my decision to work with victims of trauma from Hurricane Katrina.  The article was featured as the Thrivenet story of the Month in May of 2000,  (The link is also posted at the end of this post if you would like to read the entire story.

The day that my fiancee and I signed the final papers to purchase 40 acres of undeveloped land, we drove up to the property in his 18 wheeler truck. The drive took over an hour because we had to drive up 5 miles of dirt road after leaving the paved county road.

We were both really excited; especially Bill who had wanted to buy this lot for years. We walked the entire 40 acres deciding where the best view was, where we would put the mobile home, the sheds, the water tanks. It was getting to be late afternoon and he had taken the truck to pick up some iron from his friend's property below us and I was getting the BBQ ready to cook some steaks. Bill dropped the load he had gotten but told me that he had to go back because some of the iron had fallen off the truck and was in the middle of the dirt road. I decided to go with him since the coals had to get hot first.

As we left our property, the truck lost its brakes. The truck gathered up speed because of a steep hill. Bill made it around a curve only to find his friend Ron in the middle of the road picking up the iron. He swerved to miss Ron, hit an embankment, and went airborne for approximately 50 feet. The truck crashed into a small canyon going 60 miles an hour. 

After waking up from the coma and hearing again that it was a miracle for me to be alive and even a bigger one that I had no brain damage, I finally decided that there must be more to life than living and dying. I remember saying "Okay God, if you want me alive this bad then I better go do what I'm suppose to do." I finally got off the fence and made the decision that it wasn't a question of IF but WHEN, and I never wanted to do these lessons over again.

When I look back on who I was before the accident-no scars, slim, active, no handicaps, able to sing and dance, but with such emotional and spiritual confusion-and compare that with how I am now-heavy, scarred, not able to be active, difficulty walking, using oxygen to do anything but sit, no dancing or singing-if given the choice to be who I am now or who I was before, I choose me now without hesitation!  I have provided a link if you are interested in reading the entire story.  ThriveNet Story of the Month May 2000  

Trauma is an emotional shock that creates substantial, lasting damage to an individual’s psychological development. It affects who we are; the way we think, the way we love and feel, and the way we act. It changes everything about the way we live our lives. Not only does it change the individual, it creates havoc in their family and friends.  If the trauma is caused by a natural disaster, not only does it create havoc in the communities where the disaster happened, it affects the political and the financial arenas within our nation. Everyone is affected in one way or another, whether directly or indirectly, and many are oblivious to what must be done to deal with all of the problems that are critical to our nation’s recovery. Another aspect of trauma is that many trauma survivors develop secondary psychiatric symptomatology and do not connect their symptoms to the traumatic event. They are susceptible to depression, survivor’s guilt, loss of self-esteem, ands feelings of hopelessness and helplessness.  

It is not the actual trauma that causes emotional, social and financial problems but the responses the individual, the family, the communities and our nation has to the event that creates the difficulties that later has negative influences on behaviors and feelings, agencies and political responses, on society as a whole. Survivors and the people in charge are not fully prepared for all that must be endured, what procedures will be helpful, what will cause more pain and suffering, and what maneuvers will influence the recovery of the communities and its citizens. The infrastructure of each community must be rebuilt is obvious but what so many people do not realize is that the infrastructure of each survivor must also be rebuilt. There are few answers for where the survivors will live and/or work, what the future might hold, and the hard work that must be tackled for the recovery process to have any chance of restoring as much of the survivors’ lives as possible to what they were before the traumatic event.

The Gulf Coast hurricanes not only impacted the victims but the entire nation.  It created a sense of helplessness that undermined many people’s coping mechanisms, thereby creating more stressors and even more difficulties. Research teaches us that the above can activate feelings of being overwhelmed and without hope. It is imperative to alleviate the dark hole which permeates each individual’s complete support system, created by the “not knowing”.  If this is not done within a relative short time, the survivors, families, all impacted by the traumatic event will stop being functioning members of society. Instead, resources already strained will be impacted to a greater degree and fewer people will be helped and even fewer will recover. It is vitally important for all of society to gain a different and empowering perspective, to have as its goal to reach all that were negatively impacted to let them know there is always room for optimism and that there is help for them. It is essential for Americans to believe that there is help if a traumatic event occurs within their community.    

CLINICIAN & CASE MANAGER
OUTREACH EDUCATION    INDIVIDUAL  GROUP THERAPY   FAMILY THERAPY

PROFILE
Established mental health professional with over ten years of well-rounded clinical experience in Hospitals, Foster Agencies and County Mental Health. Specialist in working with children from all backgrounds and cultures. Thorough knowledge of community resources and addiction programs. In-depth knowledge in the application of Family Systems & Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

Key areas of expertise:

Assessment & Case Planning Crisis Intervention
Staff & Program Management Aftercare & Relapse Prevention
Utilization & Review Conservatorship Evaluation

EDUCATION

Licensed Clinical Social Worker, 2001
Master of Social Work, Mental Health Emphasis, 1996
California State University, Sacramento

Bachelor of Arts, Social Work, 1994
California State University, Chico
University of Southern California (3 years)

EXPERIENCE

1996 - 2005 TEHAMA COUNTY HEALTH SERVICES AGENCY, Mental Health Division
A dedicated and multi-faceted career encompassing all areas of program management, coordination and administration. Broad range of clinical expertise involving adults, children and families. Presented with numerous Service Achievement Awards throughout career.

Clinician, Children's Services, 2003 - 2004
Counseled children and families using various therapeutic modalities: talk, play and art therapy.
Specialist in PTSD, domestic violence and children's issues.
Managed a caseload of 40 children, ages 3 to 17 years.

Crisis Intervention Program Coordinator, 2002
Coordinated a wide range of crisis intervention services, including 5150 evaluations and hospital placements. Managed hospital stays according to utilization and review standards.
Managed staff of three clinicians and reviewed assessment reports for appropriateness and accuracy.
In charge of triage. Made final decisions regarding placements.
Ensured accuracy of all clinic assessments and evaluations.

Coordinator & Supervisor, Foster Family Agency, 1999 - 2002
Complete responsibility for administration, inspection and supervision of 10 state licensed foster home facilities that served 16-25 severely emotionally disturbed, at-risk children and adolescents.
Helped strengthen and re-organize the program. Researched and implemented new licensing standards to elevate the quality of service delivery.
Selected foster care families, conducted monthly meetings, provided extensive education.
Managed 4 Case Managers, support staff and clinicians.

Licensed Clinical Social Worker II, 2001
Associate Clinical Social Worker I, 1996
Provided high quality counseling and case management services. Worked with the pervasively mentally ill and managed a caseload of up to 40.
Developed detailed, conservatorship evaluations for the court system
Determined eligibility assessments and provided up to 10 counseling sessions daily.
Structured and coordinated individual client treatment plans, discharge plans and relapse prevention strategies. Counseled individuals, couples, children and families.
Provided crisis intervention, brief therapy and long term treatment.
Dealt with a range of  problems including depression, anxiety, substance abuse, domestic violence.
Prepared detailed case progress notes. Worked closely with outside service agencies to monitor progress and modify treatment plans as necessary.   
Very active in outreach education with strong emphasis on parenting skills education.

1993 - 1994 MERCY MEDICAL CENTER, Redding, California
Medical Social Worker Intern
Provided advocacy services, community referrals and conducted suicide assessments.
Completed clinical rotation in Maternity & Obstetrics, Pediatrics, ICU and CCU.
Worked alongside physicians and medical staff. Updated medical charts and served as an effective resource during patients discharge.

SPECIALIZED TRAINING

Ongoing Professional Development:
Adoption Training (Lilliput)
Child Abuse Recognition & Therapy
Substance Abuse Care & Treatment Planning

AFFILIATIONS

National Association of Social Workers
Member, 2001 - present

References Available Upon Request

VISION STATEMENT 

To empower Gulf Coast victims to learn to cope with the memories of the trauma and go on to lead healthy and productive lives.

Mission and Goals 

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) rarely appears during the trauma itself. Though its symptoms can occur soon after the event, the disorder often surfaces several months or even years later.  Therefore I seek to provide necessary education and outreach counseling services regarding PTSD and specifically in how it relates to Katrina Victims.  

My major goals are to alleviate serious symptoms and promote healthy coping responses in traumatized children and their families. This will be accomplished by:

Use of assessment tools, and mental health and substance use services and supports, that are not only culturally competent, but also culturally sensitive and relevant to children and their families.

Perform culturally appropriate assessments to determine the level of need for psychological services

Provide outreach counseling services to assist Gulf Coast victims with their trauma using Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy

Amazing. The very morning that John McCain visited New Orleans, 140,000 of us "Moveon.org" signed a petition calling on him to reject the support of extreme right-wing evangelist John Hagee, who said that Hurricane Katrina was a case of God punishing the city for its sins. At the same time, a group of local MoveOn members rallied outside his town hall event with the same message. McCain was asked about the issue at the event, and again by reporters after.

Almost instantly, the fact that McCain was pandering to the far right while playing "centrist" in the Big Easy became a national news story. The Associated Press and Reuters covered our actions, and the New York Times, Boston Globe, and MSNBC all reported on the disturbing links between Hagee, McCain, and the city of New Orleans.¹

Best of all, the Baltimore Sun quoted New Orleans MoveOn member Harry Greenberg as saying, "Shame on John McCain for using New Orleans for a photo op while still courting support from hatemongers like Hagee."²

A big "thank you" to the New Orleans MoveOn members who bravely spoke out for all of us against McCain's courtship of hatemongers. And thanks to all of you who reacted so quickly to support them. We'll be spending a lot more time in the next few months telling the truth about John McCain, and we're glad you're part of the effort.

-Eli, Daniel, Wes, Laura, and the MoveOn.org Political Action Team
  Sunday, April 27th, 2008

P.S. If you want to get involved with rapid response actions like Thursday's rally in New Orleans, consider joining your local MoveOn Council. You can join a council near you by clicking here:

http://operationdemocracy.org?id=12522-8959473-TSmJ6d&t=1