My experience

* I have 4 decades of experience in the same field, social work. That is not an easy feat in a field with high burnout! Perhaps that is because I like people and I find them very fascinating! It is also because I consciously practice self-care and work-life balance, which I recommend to my clients as well.

I became interested in this type of work as a child, when I liked the feeling of being trusted with someone’s secret. Of course, to accomplish this, one had to maintain the person’s privacy as well as being non-judgmental, two qualities also necessary for good therapy. Heading to college at Valparaiso University in Indiana, I was considering a religious career when I met the Head of the Social Work Department, a very wise and activistic woman of color, Lou Jeanne Walton, who invited me to a class. I never looked back.

*While there, I purposely chose an internship that was as different from my life experiences as was possible: Lew Wallace High School in Gary, Indiana. This was my first time working with people of color and teens, many of whom were twice-parents by 16. With a fellow student, I completed parent home visits in this urban community in the age before cell phones, where two young White women definitely stood out. I learned a lot about cultural differences and the need to meet people where they were at, without judging or making assumptions.

*After graduation, I returned to my mid-size hometown in Wisconsin to work in child abuse and neglect. I desired a broader cultural experience and moved to Chicago, beginning as a volunteer with Sarah’s Inn Domestic Violence Agency and moving up to Women and Children’s counselor. Soon I returned to school to earn my M.A. at the University of Chicago, at what is now called the Crown School of Social Work, Policy and Practice. I once again was thrust out of my comfort zone, working with the Federal Department of Probation and Parole, counseling clients which included monitoring ‘urine drops.’ I also completed an internship in policy, working with a small non-profit that advocated for women’s health issues in the south loop before it gentrified. I completed my thesis on the topic of the treatment of women admitted for domestic violence to the emergency room of Cook County Hospital.

From then until now, I spent several more years working in the field with agencies addressing family services, adolescents, seniors and people with disabilities. In the mid-90’s I started my private practice, moving between Oak Park and Forest Park, but working with people from the city and all surrounding suburbs. From my intro above, you can probably tell that I enjoy a diverse array of clientele and have worked with folks from almost every walk of life. I work with teachers and professors, nurses and doctors, med-school and other college students, folks in transportation, mail carriers, administrative support, lawyers, stay at home parents, librarians, writers and actors and theater folk and more.

I work with adolescents as well and enjoy watching how norms have changed since the 80’s when I began, and yet how some things seem universal. As a parent of a young adult, I understand how important it is to lean into the teen or young adult’s world in order to connect with and help them. The current age range of my clients happens to be 12-75. There is something unique about each decade of life, and I am as interested in the diversity of age as I am in culture. It is also fascinating to watch how folks of each generation have changed from the ‘80’s, ‘90’s, and onward.

I continue to grow and change and each year when I review my summary, there is something new and different to add.

My experience

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