Began working in the mental health field in 1982 primarily in residential treatment. In 1994 I started an internship at the Battered Women's Task Force facilitating groups for women, batterers, and children living in the shelter. During this time I assisted with lobbying for state laws regarding domestic violence, provided training and support to judicial workers and law enforcement and facilitated family support services. After my internship, I took a job at a childcare facility that provided services for families at risk of child abuse or who had confirmed child abuse cases. This included training staff, providing individual therapy for parents, family therapy in the home, parent coaching with the children and therapeutic interventions for children at the daycare. I also worked on a children's ward at Topeka State Hospital and assisted in implementing the new Wraparound Program for severely emotionally disturbed children. While working there, I discovered that at least 80% of the children had experienced chronic abuse.
A few years later I began working at community mental health facilities and volunteered at the local domestic violence agencies. Once again the majority of the children I saw had a history of chronic abuse with half in the foster care system. This lead to me focusing my training on child abuse and trauma although at that time little was available. As I worked more and more with children who had trauma histories I also began noticing that these children also struggled with attachment and several had been diagnosed with RAD. I added attachment therapy to my training agenda and in 2005 began a private practice with a focus on children who are experiencing problems in the areas of trauma and attachment.