Bio:
Educational and Professional Background:
Wanda is a licensed clinical social worker who has been practicing for over 12 years after returning to school “early midlife.” As a clinician she has worked in a variety of settings, including a large factory, a rural health center, and a domestic violence and sexual abuse center. Prior to becoming a clinician, she used her first master’s degree in public health (Yale University) to gain experience working with adolescents. She served in an urban health careers orientation project for high school students and as a faculty member and student advisor at Grand Valley State University. She has been involved in interpersonal skills training groups for police, teachers, community service workers, and physicians. She has also worked to improve communications as a liaison between a Grand Rapids medical center and its affiliated physicians and worked as a practice administrator in a larger physician’s practice, work that involved considerable problem solving, communications development, and improving systems and relationships within that organization. She feels that this broad spectrum of experience “in the real world” helps her as a clinician to relate to a wide range of individuals and issues.

After bringing the physicians’ group to a more stable and functional state, Wanda realized that the most satisfying aspects of her varied work positions always involved connection with others. She pondered her options, discussed her thoughts with her husband who agreed that a career change was in order. She commuted to the University of Michigan for a Master’s of Social Work. Upon graduation, she continued her studies, completing a certificate from Wayne State University in family and marital treatment. She participates in advanced ongoing education for EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), a very useful protocol in the treatment of trauma, and has been a regular member of a clinical social work study group for 11 years. Wanda is a Licensed Masters Social Worker in the state of Michigan and is a member of the Academy of Certified Social Workers.

Clinical Focus and Orientation:
Wanda is a generalist, working with, among others, depression, anxiety, recovery of self, relationship issues, attachment issues, concerns of adolescents and their families, loss (e.g. death, divorce) and adjustment to life transitions, family of origin issues, trauma (e.g. domestic violence, sexual assault, surviving the death of a loved one or a painful childhood) and posttraumatic stress disorder. She is grateful for the support of her family while she made this career transition because she finds deeply satisfying being a witness to human growth. Wanda works collaboratively with clients rather than doing something “to them,” that work being determined by the goals the clients themselves establish. She pulls from several different theoretical orientations, including family theory, cognitive-behavioral teachings, trauma theory, and individual and developmental works. Typically she works with adults of all ages and young females age 12 and up.

Personal Background:
Wanda is the mother of a married daughter who taught her how to parent, survive adolescence, and let go when the daughter married and moved with her Air Force husband to Texas, Iceland, England, and Germany (that is letting go!). She and her husband, who has two adult children living on the West Coast, are proud dog owners (i.e. “empty nest”). They enjoy their friends, travel, music, and the outdoors.

Getting Started:
To help you choose the clinician who is right for you, Wanda invites you to meet her in a free hour consultation or to set up a telephone interview with her. She participates on the provider panels for Priority Health, PPOM, ASR/Physician’s Choice, Value Options, Blue Care Network and several EAP programs.

Locations:
Grand Haven
Holland

Web Links: