SELwithPancake

Before developing my own mental health issues, I attended college studying secondary education. However, my mental health journey and the disparities and need for early intervention I observed led me to the social work field. I am a Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW) working as a NYS Office of Addiction Supports and Services Prevention Specialist in a local elementary school (alongside my guinea pig Pancake). I work with individual students, groups, and families to develop and improve coping skills, emotional regulation, and resiliency. In addition, I provide evidence-based social emotional learning curriculum in the classroom. I also create SEL content online featuring Pancake!

Person-centered, evidence-based practice, trauma informed. inclusive, and strengths-based.

Member of Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society and self-proclaimed Mother of the World's Best Fur Babies (but I may be biased)!

I earned my Bachelors in Science in Community and Human Services from The State University of New York Empire State College in 2019. I completed my Masters in Social Work from Fordham University's Graduate School of Social Service in 2021. I became a New York Licensed Master Social Worker later that year, and I am working on earning clinical hours. I consider myself a lifelong student, and I am currently trying to learn conversational Spanish!

I am proud of the work I have put into my mental health recovery. When I am not hanging out with my family and awesome pets, I write a mental health blog, regularly write for the website The Mighty, and I host a free weekly virtual support group on The Mighty called the Mental Health Reset.