Local Engagements
Government or Government Related Project Implementations at “Local Level”
FEMA
SAMHSA/DART, HHS & NCPTSD
U.S Department of Education
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
National Child Traumatic Stress Network
VA’s National Center for PTSD
U.S. Peace Corps
HUD Housing Authorities-MA, CA, NY, NJ, FL, IA
American Airlines
NJ Department of Homeland Security
State of Massachusetts: DMH including but not limited to Federal Block Grant # 62104006159/Community & School Support, EOHHS, DPH, DOE, DYS, DSS/DCF, MEMA, MAMH,
City of Boston: Boston Police Department-(1) SWAT/TAC Teams (SPECOPS), (2) Community Service Officers, (3) Community Disorders Unit, (4) Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Units, (4) School Resource Officer Unit; Boston Public Schools, Boston Emergency Medical Services, Boston Public Health Commission, Boston EAP, HUD-Boston Housing Authority, Mayors Office of Neighborhood Services, Mayors Office of Development
State of New York & New Jersey: State Offices of Mental Health (OMH) and multiple community mental and public health agencies
State of Maine: Maine State Trooper Command and State Wide Patrol Force, Maine Warden Service-Inland Fisheries & Wildlife, State Department of Education (DOE), State Office of Mental Health (OMH)
State of Florida: Central Florida Behavioral Health Network, Crisis Center at Tampa Bay, Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office
State of Iowa: Child Welfare Training Academy, Iowa Juvenile Judges, Iowa Juvenile Court Officers
National Center for Child Traumatic Stress Network & National Center for PTSD 2006-Present
- Primary developer and content provider for Psychological First Aid (PFA), Psychological First Aid for Schools (PFA-S), and Skills for Psychological Recovery (SPR) for all hazards mitigation psychosocial and psychological acute stabilization during and after acute disasters and terrorists attacks under mandate from SAMHSA and DHS.
U.S. Department of Education; Washington-DC 2002-Present
- Consult to Department of Education-Office of Primary and Secondary Education on the design, construction and implementation of district-based templates providing school preparedness and crisis response and recovery protocols for the United States Public School system.
- Consult to the Deputy Undersecretary-Elementary Schools & Director of the Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program and the Center for Disease Control Liaison on best Practice Programs for Preparedness, Crisis Response Planning and Recovery Post Traumatic Incidents in schools and their communities.
- Grant writer, lead trainer and technical consultant for the Southern Maine public and private school consortium of 72 primary and secondary schools recently awarded $500,000 from the U.S. Department of Education Safe and Drug-Free Schools PL 107-110 grant for Emergency Response Plans for School Safety Initiative.
New York City and Boston Massachusetts-9/11 Terrorist Attacks 2001-2005
- Scene commander for volunteer mental health providers at Logan Airport/Massport for surviving family members of passengers, flight crews and ground crews of American Airlines Flight #11 and UAL Flight # 175 post the 9/11/01 World Trade Center Attacks;
- International American Red Cross (Mass Bay Chapter) trauma psychologist liaison for ongoing assessment and support to the parents and children of surviving family members of passengers aboard American Airlines Flight #11and United Airlines Flight # 175 post the 9/11 attacks;
- Primary sole source provider of psychological services for a United States Government Agency, providing specialized traumatic stress orientations, post traumatic stress management groups, traumatic stress assessments and referrals for 800 eyewitness and Ground-Zero workers of the 9/11/01 World Trade Center Attacks;
- Primary child and youth trauma psychologist for the Massachusetts 911/Fund and the Massachusetts Chapter of the International Red Cross providing design, development and implementation of therapeutic play and action oriented workshops for youth and parent survivors who lost family members on Flights #11 and #175
Community Based Interventions Across the United States
Massachusetts Executive Office of Health & Human Services; Boston, MA 2004-Present
Co-Chair: Executive Office of Health & Human Services-Department of Mental Health and Department of Youth Services: State Wide Task Force for Risk Reduction and the Prevention of Suicide in the 400 twenty four hour residential facilities for youth managed by the state.
Technical Advisor to the Commissioner of Mental Health: Working closely with the Commissioner and her staff in collaboration with the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents to design and implement school and community based suicide, homicide, targeted aggression and bullying prevention protocols.
Technical Advisor to the Deputy Commissioner of Mental Health for Child & Adolescent Services: Working closely with the Deputy Commissioner to evaluate and bring to scale promising practice protocols of resiliency-based intervention and prevention programs for at risk children and youth in the state of Massachusetts.
The Trauma Center at Justice Resource Institute, Brookline & Boston, MA 1998-Present
Co-Director, National Center for Child Traumatic Stress Network-Category III; In collaboration with Co-Director Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, responsible for the Category III design, development and service delivery management of the new national initiative to research and treat child and adolescent post traumatic stress disorders funded by SAMHSA.
Project Manager, National Center for Child Traumatic Stress Network-Category II; In collaboration with Co-Directors Dr. Ellen Bassuk and Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, develop a continuum of community-based, action-oriented psychosocial treatment programs for youth identified by The National Center on Family Homelessness (NCFH) and develop policy initiatives in collaboration with the Vanderbilt Institute for Public Policy Studies (VIPPS) in order to establish the National Collaborative for Trauma Surviving Homeless Children (the Collaborative).
Director, Psychosocial Development; Responsible for the development and management of School-Based and Community-Based critical incident response networks working in close collaboration with the Office of the Attorney General, the Boston Police Department’s Youth Violent Strike Force, the Boston Housing Authority, the Superintendent of Public Schools, the Division of Medical Assistance and State Legislators. Train and supervise clinical team leaders in school/community based trauma intervention and quality management of critical incident intervention, aftercare and intervention outcomes.
Advisor to the Mayor’s Office-Boston: Working closely with the Mayor’s Director of Neighborhood Services to maintain strategic intervention initiatives for the advancement of adolescent violence management and wellness programs for the City of Boston.
Senior Instructor: Responsible for the curriculum development and delivery of 1and 2 day training seminars on the postvention, intervention and prevention of school violence and youth suicide at regional conferences throughout the United States offering specialty training to community police and school resource officers.
The Behavioral Healthcare Network of MA; Boston, MA 1996-1998
Director, Trauma and Crisis Services: Responsible for the program development, administration and clinical management of trauma and crisis services for the Network. Design, train, credential, implement and manage the Critical Incident Response Networks, funded by D.M.H. contract #2601-7601-219, a linked system of nine specialty crisis response Networks, comprising twenty-five teams and nine clinical team leaders responsible for critical incident interventions across the Boston Public School system and the Metro Boston community.
Boston Medical Center Administrative Director, Intensive Outpatient Program (I.O.P.) for High Risk Adolescents: Responsible for the program design, development, implementation, administration, and clinical management of the first adolescent I.O.P. program in the State servicing substance abusing, suicidal adolescents and targeting absolute reductions in suicidality, homicidality, substance use and out of home placements.
Advisor to the Mayor’s Office: Working closely with the Mayor’s Chief of Policy and Planning, and the Director and Chief Medical Officer of Boston’s Public Health Commission to develop strategic initiatives and long-term resource support for the advancement of adolescent violence management and wellness programs for the City of Boston.
Youth Services Network Management Advisor for Boston Housing Authority: Working with the Administrator and Chief of Staff to design, survey, RFR, implement and manage a behavioral health service provider network for the 10,000 youths residing in the 22 family developments owned by the Boston Housing Authority in the City of Boston.
Guest Instructor at Boston Police Academy: Instruct and train Boston Police Department’s Hostage Negotiator Team in Homicide-Suicide Assessment and Intervention Protocols and in strategies for traumatic stress response reduction.
Massachusetts Executive Office of Health & Human Services; Boston, MA 1998-1999
Technical Advisor to the Undersecretary: Working closely with the Undersecretary and his staff to restructure the $3 MM budget and behavioral health delivery system of the Mental Health Initiative for Urban Children, performing both clinical practice and cost per member analyses in preparation for submission of a comprehensive report to the State Legislature.
Boston City Hall, Department of Mental Health-Metro Boston & Boston Medical Center 1997-Present
Clinical Coordinator for the South Boston Suicide Cluster Containment: Working daily with the Deputy Area Director of D.M.H.-Metro Boston, the Mayor’s Special appointee to the South Boston Crisis, and senior administrators and clinicians from the Division of Psychiatry-Boston Medical Center, to redesign, implement, and coordinate the Center for Disease Control containment and prevention protocols for suicide contagion in the South Boston Adolescent Suicide Cluster.
Convened and facilitated two day work group conference featuring Dr. David Brent, Dr. David Clark, and Dr. Madelyn Gould in conjunction with the Boston C.D.C. clinical and administrative teams to review cluster suicide dynamics, epidemiological profiling, and the status of the City of Boston’s clinical response continuum. Convened emergency Task Force for the Boston Housing Authority to formalize administrative and clinical response protocols for critical incidents within the housing authority.
Community Care Systems Inc.; Wellesley, MA 1996
MCO Consultant to the President: Facilitate cross-functional C.Q.I. task force of 14 members in the analysis, design and development of a hospital based, state-of-the-art, dual diagnosis continuum of care for high-risk adolescents and adults. Built complete business plan and pro forma, designed and developed full level of care protocols, out patient critical care path treatment programming, utilization and quality management protocols linked to critical care path variances, and the policy and procedure manual. Recruited and hired dually trained subject matter experts for the core clinical treatment team. Designed and implemented staff training program dedicated to attaining proficiencies in multi-modal dual diagnosis assessment, and cognitive-behavioral, neurobehavioral, and neuropsychological treatment interventions.
M.H.M.A. and M.B.H.P.; Boston, MA 1994-1996
I.C.M. Case Manager and Field Case Manager: Clinical case management for 120 region One (Boston), high utilizing, high risk, Medicaid (D.M.A., D.M.H., D.S.S., D.Y.S.) recipients providing catastrophic case management for a wide variety of risks in the least restrictive settings. Develop long range treatment plans focused on attaining and maintaining wellness in the community through management of those factors, which place the recipient at risk for re-hospitalization, or loss of appropriate residential services. Design and conduct utilization management for specialized in-network treatment tracks for recipients with difficult to treat co-morbid diagnostic complexes (D.I.D., eating disorders, P.T.S.D., O.C.D., Conduct Disorder and polysubstance abuse). Strategic Case Management and Quality Data Analysis for the clinical director, responsible for the utilization management, redesign of treatment and disposition planning, acceleration of discharge, design, analysis and reporting of clinical outcomes data for special populations: E.O.H.H.S. Child and Adolescent Stuck Cases;
Project Joy/Salvation Army Homeless Outreach Center; Cambridge, MA 1993-Present
Clinical Director for Psychological Services: Establish liaison between homeless day care centers and off-site treatment centers to provide weekly group therapy sessions and individual assessments and referrals for at risk, homeless toddlers and preschoolers. Maintain comprehensive supervision and clinical quality initiatives for early intervention treatment programs.
Massachusetts Mental Health Center/Harvard Medical School; Boston, MA 1992-1994
Clinical Manager – D.M.H. Screening Team: Manage catchment area D.M.H. Long Term Care evaluations and treatment plan dispositions for high utilization D.M.H. adult clients. Triage clinician for the crisis center, providing face-to-face evaluations, suicide risk assessments, stabilization’s and diversions, and hospitalizations adults in crisis, and managing utilization review of triage high utilizers. Conduct clinical evaluations to determine competency to care for self, for D.P.H., court referred, dual diagnosed, homeless clients with infectious disease and terminal illness. Conduct extended evaluations and short and long term 1:1 therapy, provide respite admissions, treatment planning and discharge planning supervision for D.M.H. priority Continuing Care clients. Provide multi-modal assessments, differential diagnoses, treatment planning and weekly cognitive behavioral treatment for phobia, and panic disordered and P.T.S.D. clients from the Massachusetts Mental Health Center Phobia Clinic.
Newton Guidance Clinic; Newton, MA 1980-1982
Child and Adolescent Clinical Specialist: Provide clinical assessment and treatment of children and their families in both clinic, school based and residential settings, utilizing cognitive behavioral therapy, family therapy and expressive therapy modalities in multiple formats.
East West Medical Center; Cambridge, MA 1979-1983
Director, Behavioral Psychology Unit: Designed, implemented, and directed a Stress-Pain Management Clinic within a holistic medical center; Conducted individual and group therapy sessions for adolescents and adults with anxiety disorders, hypertension, and substance abuse disorders utilizing a blend of cognitive-behavior therapy, dance therapy, Tai chi chuan and Taoist meditation practices. Conducted monthly movement/meditation workshops to train medical staff in intervention strategies for hypertension, anxiety disorders and substance abuse.
The Behavioral Healthcare Network of MA; Boston, MA 1994-1996
Director, Trauma and Crisis Services: Design, develop, implement and currently manage a standardized Crisis Response Protocol, a Critical Incident Stress Management Training curriculum, and linked networks of critical incident response teams for each of the 127 Boston Public Schools and their surrounding communities covering 66,000 students and their families, as well as Community Based CISM Networks for the city of Boston.
Hyde Park Paper, Inc.; Boston, MA 1987-1989
Cofounder & Chairman: Evaluated, designed and implemented the entire start up plan of a shut down Boston based paper mill to produce the highest quality recycled xerographic paper, working in conjunction with Arthur D. Little, Inc. In nine weeks designed, organized and led the management effort to refurbish the production line, hired 150 union workers and obtained over $1MM in orders; Forged critical alliances between the Mayor’s Office, Boston City Council, the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, the United Paper Workers International Union and local community leaders to support Boston’s post-consumer recycling programs.
Division of Medical Assistance-Massachusetts
Principal Investigator: On the Epidemiology of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Period Prevalence Rates and Acute Service Utilization Rates Among Massachusetts Medicaid Program Enrollees: 1993-1996; Period prevalence rates of DSM III-R posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were studied in the statewide Massachusetts Medicaid Mental Health and Substance Abuse Program. Among 85,000 enrolled Medicaid recipients seeking treatment, 55,931 received one of the five study diagnoses that included PTSD, Panic Disorder, Multiple Personality Disorder, Major Depression, and Bipolar Disorder. Interactions between period prevalence rates by study diagnoses, gender, multiple age and public assistance AID categories, and acute service utilization rates were investigated. Major Depression (n=21,842) ranked highest with an overall period prevalence rate of 390.5 per 1,000 (CI: 386.5-394.6). PTSD (n=19,775) ranked second
highest with an overall period prevalence rate of 353.6 per 1000 (CI: 346.6-357.5). PTSD exhibited its highest period prevalence rate, 609.5 per 1,000 (CI: 601.0-618.0), for the study population in the youngest age group (5 to 12 years). Age-specific PTSD period prevalence rates for both the youngest age group and the aggregate of the two youngest age groups (5 to 18 years) far exceed rates in both the other study diagnoses, and in all of the published rates for comparable child treatment seeking populations. PTSD ranked highest for utilization of acute inpatient days and for length of stay and ranked highest in overall cost for acute service utilization. The highest PTSD period prevalence rates were positively associated with the AID category of refugee, orphans and children under 21 in need of medical assistance. This study may provide a unique first look at age-specific PTSD period prevalence rates for non-disaster youth populations, and certainly argues for further investigation among community treatment seeking samples into the positive associations between age, trauma exposure and the early development of PTSD.
Head Start Day Care; Boston, MA 1999-2011
Principal Investigator: Controlled clinical outcome trail assessing effectiveness of a violence prevention curriculum for 2.9 to 5 year old Head Start preschoolers utilizing modified version of the Classroom Based Interventions develop during the disaster recovery response to the Turkish earthquakes. Some 80 children in the study group underwent sixteen 1-hour sessions twice a week and are currently being compared to approximately 55 wait listed controls. Efficacy is being measured as an increase in social competence, self-control, trust in peers, sense of safety, ability to cooperate, focus, and repertoire of positive communication skills; and, a decrease in impulsivity, behavioral outbursts, sense of isolation, anxiety, and violent reactions to social conflict. Results will be available in late 2002.
Community Engagement Interventions and Seminars
Training –Three Day Intensive Seminar: Massachusetts & New Jersey: “Advancements in Disaster Resiliency-Adolescent & Adult Suicide Clusters Contagion Containment Protocols ”; MA & NJ
Training –Three Day Intensive Seminar: City of Boston Community Based Mental Health Centers: “Advancements in Disaster Resiliency-All Hazards Mitigation Response Protocols: Post Traumatic Stress Management and Psychological First Aid”; Boston, MA
Training –One Day Intensive Seminar: Cambridge Guidance Center: “Advancements in Disaster Resiliency-Vicarious Trauma and Care”; Cambridge, MA
Training –Three Day Intensive Seminar: New Jersey Statewide Trauma & Loss Coalition: “Advancements in Disaster Resiliency-All Hazards Mitigation Response Protocols: Post Traumatic Stress Management and Psychological First Aid”; Newark, NJ
Training –Five Day Intensive Seminar: Kripalu Yoga Center: “Overcoming Trauma-Neurobiology and Body Arts Practice”; with Bessel van der Kolk and Dicki Johnson Macy; Lenox, MA
Director-One Day Intensive Seminar: Office of Homeland Security & Preparedness-Sate of New Jersey- Regional Administrator & Senior Managers: “Radicalization of Youth: Identification, Assessment, Neutralization and Protection Channels”; Newark, NJ
Course Director-Three Day Intensive Seminar: Norway Regional Centers for Child & Adolescent Mental Health: “Somatocognitive Interventions for Acute and Chronic Trauma and Vicarious Trauma with Children, Adolescents and their therapists exposed to torture”; Oslo, Norway
Course Co-Director-Three Day Intensive Seminar: Royal Library-Copenhagen, Denmark-The Traumatized Child- International Conference: “Complex Trauma In Children and Adolescents-Experiential Seminars using Theatre, Dance Therapy and Martial Arts”; Copenhagen, Denmark
Course Director-One Day Pre-Conference Institute: 14th, 15th, & 16th Annual International Trauma Conference-The Trauma Center & Boston University Medical School: “Psychological Trauma: Maturational Processes and Therapeutic Interventions”; “Integrating Multimodal Mind-Body Interventions for Acute Psychological Trauma”; Boston, MA
Training: Annual State of New Jersey Office of Children & Family Services: “Fostering a Better Child Welfare System-Psychosocial Trauma & Children: Developmental Impact, Psychosocial Stabilization and the Keys to Resiliency-Building Across Cultures”, Holmdel, NJ
Training: Massachusetts Psychological Association Annual Disaster Management Conference: “Cultural Competence in Disaster Mental Health Response-Psychological Trauma, psychosocial stabilization and the cultural contexts in natural and manmade disasters within international settings”; Boston, MA
Training 17th Annual International Trauma Conference-The Trauma Center & Boston University Medical School: Psychological Trauma: Neuroscience, Attachment & Therapeutic Interventions: “In Your Own Eyes: Attachment Between Survivor & Interventionist-The Role of Appraisal, Stillness and Choice in Recovery”, Boston, MA
Training: Annual Jill S. Titus Lecture Series-Lesley University: “Using World Music to Transform The Traumatic Experiences of Children”; Cambridge, MA
Training: Federal Emergency Management Agency-Massachusetts Counseling Network; FEMA sponsored training for behavioral health disaster responders: “Disaster Response: Our Current State of Knowledge”, Wakefield, MA
Training: American Foundation for the Prevention of Suicide-“New Frontiers in Suicide Prevention” – “School and Community Based Assessment and Prevention Protocols for Youth Suicide-What really works”; Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology, Newton, MA
Training: Pennsylvania Association of School Superintendents: “Child Maltreatment, Early Health Risk Behaviors and Their Neurobiological Correlation to Youth Violence- Sequence Dynamics and Best Practice Standards for postvention and prevention.” Harrisburg, PA
Training: Massachusetts Senate and House of Representatives: “Adverse Childhood experiences and the adoption of health risk behaviors”, State House, Boston, MA
Training: Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents: “Child Maltreatment, Early Health Risk Behaviors and Their Correlation to Youth Violence- A Postvention to Prevention model.”, Marlborough, MA
Training: New York State Office of Mental Health-Mastering the Key Connection IV: A Clinical Training Conference on Trauma and Its Treatment; “The Devastating Effects of Violence on Children and Adolescents: Integrated Community-Based Intervention Strategies Targeting the Prevention of Traumatic Stress Disorders” Syracuse, NY
Training -Pre-Conference Institute: International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies;: “Movement and Action in the Transformation of Trauma”; Chicago, Illinois
Training: Columbia University-School of Public Health-Program on Forced Migration, “The 12-Session Classroom Based Psychosocial Intervention for Children & Youth Exposed to Armed Conflict and Community Violence”; NY, NY
Training: World Bank & National Institute for Mental Health; “The Effects of Traumatic Stress on Children & Adolescents: What Role for the World Bank? -The Epidemiology of Psychosocial Distress in Youth”, Washington DC
Training: Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health: Seminar Instructor- (1) “Neurophysiological and neurobehavioral processes involved in the traumatic stress response and stress inoculation of elementary school children exposed to the terrorists attacks of September 11.” (2) “Essential elements of self care in the face of vicarious trauma and compassion fatigue for behavioral health care clinicians.” Berkshires, MA
Training : New Hampshire Association for Marriage & Family Therapists- “Impact of Psychological Trauma on Children and Adolescents: The Mind-Body Approach”; Dover, NH
Training: South Boston Community Health Center – Medical Division: “Biomedical correlates of the traumatic stress response and neurophysiological components of suicidal behavior among adolescents: Identification and behavioral health referral procedures”, South Boston, MA
Training: F.E.M.A. & Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency-Disaster Crisis Counseling Training; “Special Needs Populations in Times of Disaster: Developmental Neurophysiology and Ethnocultural Variables in Critical Incident Debriefing of Children and Adolescents”; Emergency Operations Center/Bunker,
Framingham, MA
International Trauma Center 