Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Current Job: Mental Health Clinician with Stanislaus County outpatient intensive services working with the severely mentally ill
What does FLIA mean to you?
“FLIA means learning to trust myself - even if I'm in a situation that is new to me. It also means slowing down to take in information in order to make better decisions. FLIA means learning to adapt to situations as they unfold and ultimately rising to the occasion or learning from it. "
What is the most important thing you learned during your fellowship? Was there an individual, event or encounter that influenced the work you’re doing now?
"The most important thing I learned during my fellowship is that tunnel vision on just getting the project done is not always a good thing. I worked with children creating a curriculum from scratch and facilitating it. I was so focused on the curriculum piece that I did not make much effort to get to know the kids on a personal level or spend my free-time bonding and building rapport. That actually made it more difficult to facilitate because I was just some stranger telling them what to do. I was already doing similar work to what I am doing now in mental health, so there wasn’t something that influenced that. However, the entire experience influenced how I approach my mental health practice - with different perspectives in mind and a willingness to adapt."
What’s something interesting about you that’s not in your resume?
“I have an artistic spirit and love to crochet, write, paint, and color. All of these are methods I use for self-care and are fun in general.”