Professional experience
Online Mental Health Counselor – (Current – 2017). Offer individual mental health care via online sessions to people in Oregon. Apply integrative approaches based on modern counseling techniques and psychotherapy methods. Help clients care for their needs and develop resources of intentional change.
Psicólogo Licenciado (Current – 2012). Provide mental health care and support to English speakers living in Buenos Aires. Provide assessment, psychological care, referral and support services to individuals and couples.
Child and Adolescent Therapist. Morrison Child and Family Services – Portland, Oregon (July 2001 – Sept 2008). Served as therapist and case manager to culturally-diverse youth and families with complex emotional needs. Provided mental health and psychosocial assessment and strength-based treatment, DSM diagnosis, multi-disciplinary cross-system service planning, collaborative goal setting and progress monitoring. Helped create positive partnerships among youth, care-takers, providers, and multi-system stakeholders, including juvenile justice system, DHS, schools, and community resources. Educated youth and families on resource use and empowered their self-efficacy and strengths. For two years, co-developed and led successful support group for youth ages 14 to 18 which served the entire Morrison agency. Served as cultural consultant in internal task force which drafted recommendations for cultural competency and trainings agency wide.
Cultural Consultant. SAMHSA-NY Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene, New York (Nov 2004 – May 2008). Provided cultural and clinical input in SAHMSA-funded research to adapt McFarlane’s Multi-family Psycho-education Program to better serve Latino, Chinese, and African-American consumers and families experiencing schizophrenia-related conditions and dual diagnosis. Engaged with culturally diverse individuals, families, providers, administrators, and expert researchers to study the model and bring the family and consumer’s cultural preferences to consideration in improving the model’s cultural competency and ability to engage culturally diverse groups. Interviewed consumers and their support systems. Participated in inter-disciplinary discussions and issued reports on culturally sensitive practices to engage, retain, and successfully assist culturally diverse individuals and families. Advanced my own cultural competence as well as my understanding of complex psychiatric and psychosocial needs, and how to promote successful collaboration among systems and consumers. Served as reviewer in the writing of Adaptation Toolkit published in the US.
Community Grief Counseling. Housing Authority of Portland. Portland, OR (May 2010 – July 2010). Offered cross-cultural consulting in emergency ad-hoc team set by the Housing Authority in order to deescalate social tensions and provide support to residents affected by ethnic violence.
Health Educator. NY-Presbyterian Hospital – Columbia University, New York (July 2004 – May 2008). Provided reproductive health education in high-school school-based clinic and young adults attending the Young Men’s Clinic in the Latino neighborhood of Washington Heights in NYC. Developed outreach and engagement strategies to motivate youth to attend services. Created sports, employment and entertainment activities that successfully engaged at risk participants. Increased male use of clinic services by over 300% percent. Acted a liaison in cross-system interface involving hospital, school, and community agencies. Create protocols for engagement and successful case management in the role.
Case Manager. The Family Center. NY-Presbyterian Hospital – Children Services, New York (Jan 2002 – July 2004). Provided case planning and counseling to children and families at risk of abuse or neglect. Successfully integrated cross-system priorities in case management, counseling, and child-protective mandates as set by the partnership between the hospital’s pediatrics psychiatry unit and NYC’s Administration for Children Services. Coordinated care among various service providers and advocated for family-centered considerations in reaching child protective and family wellness goals. Served as advocate for families, while working with families and stakeholders to understand each other and find means for collaboration. Worked with families of African-American, Latino, and other minority backgrounds and made efforts to provide cross-culturally appropriate support. Learned to attend to cross-cultural ethnic and cross-system sensibilities in order to facilitate successful collaborations.
Volunteering
Meditation Instructor. Imada, Buenos Aires & Overlook House, Portland, Oregon (2013 – 2009). Taught meditation and support participants in learning about Buddhism. Activities are free, non-denominational, and intended to make Buddhist teachings accessible to the community.
Continuing Education Committee Member. Oregon Psychoanalytic Center, Portland, Oregon (Feb 2011 – July 2008). Served in the planning of educational activities offered at the Oregon Psychoanalytic Center. Contributed to creation of current program to provide discounts for clinician in social services.
Education
Masters of Arts in Mental Health Counseling – CACREP, Adams State University, Alamosa, CO – 2015.
Masters of Science in Industrial/Organizational Psychology – City University of New York, NYC – 2008.
Licenciado en Psicología – Universidad de Belgrano, Buenos Aires, Argentina– 2003.
Bachelors of Art in Philosophy – University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida – 1998.
Bachelors of Science in Psychology – University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida – 1997.