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Background
I have been practicing Marital and
Family Therapy in the Anchorage, Alaska, area since 1976. After
teaching for seven years, during my "first life", I
returned to graduate school to pursue a Master's Degree in
counseling. After graduating and then completing a year of Post
Master's coursework, specifically in the field of Marital and Family
Therapy, I moved from North Dakota. Settling in Alaska with my new
husband, two children and dog I began my Marital and Family Therapy
Private Practice working with the Anchorage Children's Center.
I took a break from private
practice when Providence Hospital opened their Mental Health Unit in
1982. While working with the Social Services Department I was part
of a multidisciplinary team that organized the Mental Health
Inpatient Treatment Program. I did individual therapy, group
therapy, family therapy, supervision and training on the Mental
Health Unit.
I returned to private practice in
1986. During the preceding years in private practice I also did
agency contract work and worked with a multi-disciplinary treatment
team at Charter North.
I was very involved with beginning
the Alaska Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, a division
of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. I
served as a board member and officer on many occasions. I was also
involved with regional work for the American Association for
Marriage and Family Therapy.
Many hours were spent during the
ten years prior to 1994 attempting to gain licensing for marital and
family therapists in Alaska. Finally in 1994 the Alaska State
Legislature passed our licensing bill and it became part of the
Alaskan Statutes. For seven years I served as chairperson for the
Board of Marital and Family Therapy.
As the years have passed I have
become more and more interested in working with couples. Life as we
experience it in our society creates many road blocks to having a
successful, satisfying relationship. I believe the couple
relationship is one of the most satisfying experiences of our adult
life and many of us received very little training in how to be a
good partner. Our own families being the "training ground"
for marriage often didn't provide us with the skill building that is
necessary to maneuver the path of a satisfying, long term
relationship. As we continue our journey with another person many
opportunities appear to challenge us to face ourselves and determine
how we can be a better partner. For parents, the investment we make
today in our couple relationship will have far reaching effects as
our children grow up and find their own life partner.
My training as well as my life
experiences have molded my professional identity as a marriage and
family therapist and it is of utmost importance for me to maintain a
consciousness about the differences that each and every client
presents. We each have our own individual story and map that we
bring to our relationship journey.
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Credentials
Licensed
Marriage and Family Therapist, Alaska - License # 03
AAMFT
- American Association of Marriage & Family Therapy
Clinical Member
Fellow 1988
Education
Bachelors
Degree: University of North Dakota, Education 1966
Masters
Degree: University of North Dakota, Counseling with a Marriage and
Family focus, 1974
Post
Master Work : University of North Dakota, 1974-76
Florida State University, Interdivisional Doctorial Program in
Marriage and Family Therapy, 1975
Extensive
Continuing Education over the past 26 years in the area of Marital
and Family Therapy .
Licensed
Marriage and Family Therapist, Alaska - License #03
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