“Nothing brings me greater satisfaction than watching someone move into a position of self-empowerment and break free of imposed limitations; to see them achieve a break-through, refuse to accept defeat, and ultimately reach success whatever their definition of success may be.”
HELPING OTHERS HELP THEMSELVES & REACH THEIR FULL POTENTIAL
Jodie’s career in social work has taken various paths - from working with children with severe emotional disturbances and high-risk adolescents to serving adults with severe mental illness. Jodie obtained her Master’s degree in Social Work in 2006 from Florida International University where she also completed her Bachelor’s in Psychology, and is currently working towards becoming a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) under the supervision of Melissa Cramer at Grow Heal Love. She derived her initial professional experience in the field during her internships at a community mental health center for adults, an organization where she worked with juveniles involved in the legal system, and at a community mentoring program where she worked as a counselor for high-risk youths.
While at the latter, Jodie was granted the opportunity of further developing the agency’s mentoring program. Aside from helping numerous students turn disadvantage into drive, one of her highest achievements was successfully establishing a counseling center within one of the most challenging schools in urban Dade County. She was also later assigned the role of counselor and facilitator for the annual summer enrichment program sponsored by FIU, where she was able to refine her talents as a life-skills instructor and program developer. This role also afforded her the opportunity to gain experience in the development and implementation of psychoeducational curricula with a focus on life skills.
From there, Jodie went on to gain clinical experience at a private firm where she worked as a therapist with children and adolescents with severe emotional disturbances, as well as with parents providing parenting skills and behavioral management training. She then transitioned into a residential setting as a behavioral health counselor for a forensic mental health rehabilitation facility where she was promoted to a leadership position within the psychosocial department. As head of the department, Jodie continued to employ her skills and creativity in developing the program’s life-skills training and behavioral management curriculum which focused on the rehabilitation and socialization of chronically impaired clients suffering from a wide range of co-morbid disorders inclusive of Schizophrenia, Schizoaffective Disorder, Chronic Depression, and substance abuse.
Jodie recently branched off into private practice to fulfill her long-existing desire for working with individuals on a one-to-one basis, and where she feels she can apply her clinical skills in making a greater impact by assisting others improve their own lives in a more personalized way. Her approach to treating mental health issues and life coaching involves innovative forms of treatment. She is a big proponent of the human potential movement which focuses on individual strengths, resilience, and the power of the mind to initiate change and transformation. She also holds an interest in holistic methods encompassing stress and mood management techniques such as progressive relaxation, controlled breathing, guided visualization and meditation, Neurofeedback and Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP), and Traumatic Incident Reduction (TRI) and Hypnotherapy.
In addition to working as a psychotherapist and life coach with adults, Jodie continues to pursue her passion for contributing to today’s youth and helping them further along their path towards personal success by providing students at a college level with life-skills training as an instructor.
THE PHOENIX RISING
“My own struggles and victories in life have fueled my passion for assisting others attain their goals and achieve the life they envision. They have also given me the insight and first-hand knowledge to understand the personal struggles of others from an insider’s view. Life constantly throws challenges at us, both large and small, and at times it feels like we will be crushed by their magnificent weight. However, there IS a light at the end of the tunnel if we are but willing to strive and reach for its distant glare. We are much stronger, more powerful, more resilient than we can even begin to imagine and have all the resources within ourselves to access the inner strength to rise above and overcome any challenge life sets before us. Many have done it, and we can too.”
“One of my personal mottos is, “When life pushes you around, PUSH BACK!” Sometimes we may need a little help, and that’s ok. I believe seeking that help is an act of strength in itself. There is nothing to fear in doing so, nothing to be ashamed of. We may not have control over certain variables and circumstances, but we ARE in control of how we chose to respond. Taking the initiative to heal and repair broken aspects of ourselves can make all the difference between continuing to live a life full of misery, sadness, and self-defeat, and a life of wholeness, hope, and joyful existence - despite the detours and boulders on the road. Reaching out and acknowledging the need for guidance, the need for change, the need for a better way, is the first step in regaining control of both ourselves and our lives!”