ProvenTherapy has a New Addition as Dialectical Behavior Therapist Joins the Team

Nov. 26, 2012 - PRLog -- A licensed Marriage & Family Therapist with fifteen years of trauma-informed clinical experience, her primary theoretical orientation is psycho-dynamic although she has studied extensively the work of object relations/attachment theories, inter-subjectivity and internal family systems.

Dedicated to the advancement of DBT and without hesitation, Pat stated “Dr. Marsha Linehan has had a profound impact on my clinical career”. She admits to owning  every publication on DBT and to address the mainstream obstacles for individuals who learn differently, diagnosed with ADD/ADHD and/or Dyslexia, Pat has written a  comprehensive DBT guide for clients specifically diagnosed with learning disabilities. She has a reputation for creative and innovative approaches, and is known for advancing the field of film therapy with a substantial list of films to offer her film therapy groups, such as Defending Your Life, Awakening’s and Changing Lanes.  Characterized by clients as a “truth teller” and “code breaker” Pat values and emphasizes the importance of diversity, integrity, equality and justice which explains her high regarded clinical competency with vulnerable populations and minority groups.

Devoted to educating clients Pat teaches clients particularly those diagnosed with PTSD about the Middle Path, seeing the world as a neutral place, and balancing acceptance with change.  Two of her key messages to clients are how meaningful the present can be and the importance of accepting reality and the consequences of life gracefully.  

Pat started her career by working in a homeless shelter and provided clinical daily managerial oversight operations of the mental health/substance abuse treatment/recovery, and after-care clinic for HIV+/AIDS clients.

Not one to shy away from hard work, she went on to develop and manage a DBT program in a large outpatient mental health clinic.  Providing an opportunity for clients diagnosed with any number of co-occurring disorders to learn self-management coping skills, she made it possible for over 90 clients annually to benefit from either her individual or group DBT formats.

Pat then tackled a one year pilot program, integrating a behavioral health department and primary health care clinic, advancing the state health care reform structure. The clinical program served a diverse population, with treatment emphasis on  55+seniors with chronic conditions/pain, male/female sex offenders, and included clients diagnosed with Depression, Anxiety, PTSD, OCD, BPD, Anti-social behavior,  Trichotillomania, Dermatiollmania, and  Asperger ‘s Syndrome, just to name a few.  

Ever the pioneer, she then traveled and worked in remote Alaskan Native Yupik villages, combining ancestral wisdom and western treatment in balancing the medicine wheel of body, mind, emotions and spirit. In her role as clinical supervisor, she was responsible for supervising a staff overwhelmed by the high risk of male suicide, where in most cases, alcohol was a factor. Pat strived to disrupt village suicide contagion factors and brought DBT to Alaskan Natives, teaching them the importance of hope. She was also responsible for directing the Incarceration Recidivism and Offenders Re-entry Program for the Alaskan Adult Court system. She created two important programs; a domestic violence program which included advocacy, education, and support that addressed inter-generational traumatic bonding, and a Relationship and Sexual Health program stressing the importance of safe sex practices and addressing the traumatic impact of multi-generational sexual abuse, rape and addiction to internet pornography. Pat also worked with families struggling with family members diagnosed with schizophrenia. She played an instrumental role in teaching the importance of restorative justice and family reconciliation. Under her supervision, she also maintained a caseload of family members and returning military service members who had been deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan as they transitioned to civilian life in the Yupik villages.

Appreciative for the international therapy platform https://www.ProvenTherapy.com virtual clinic offers, Pat is excited to generate excitement about the theories and practice of DBT. One of her many analogies about DBT is “Once a client learns and uses their DBT skills, they are no longer a bird chained to the sky”. It’s not unlike her to routinely ask clients about their level of hope. When anyone is feeling hopelessness, she reminds them through the lens of collective interdependence to “lean on her hope”. Pat believes hope is contagious and working with https://www.proventherapy.com/Pat-132.html she is committed to paying it forward.