Professional Certification:
BA psychology, women's studies from St. Cloud State University, 1997
MS social responsibility from St. Cloud State University, 2002
MSW direct human service from Portland State University, 2004
Professional Resume:
Hello. My name is Robin DeBates. I am working toward licensure as a clinical social worker in the state of Oregon. I have 13 years of professional and volunteer experience as an advocate for domestic and sexual assault victims and survivors, three years directing university women's center. I also have more than 3 years of training and work experiences oriented toward child, adolescent, and family therapy, and occasionally teach for SOU Women's Studies Program. You can see a copy of my current resume here.
Specialties
Although I have a broad, general training that enables me to assist with a wide variety of life's situations, I have chosen specialties in the following areas:
- child (age 5 and above) and youth (ages 12 and up) mental health;
- Asperger's and autistic spectrum disorders;
- sexual orientation, affectional preference, and transgender/transsexualism;
- trauma resolution (particularly sexual abuse, rape, and domestic violence) to live a more full and happy life;
- anxiety disorders including obsessive compulsive disorder, agoraphobia, simple phobias, adjustment disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder;
- dialectical behavioral therapy as an approach to treating persons diagnosed with borderline personality disorder; and
- adjusting to life changes caused by a disabilty (mind, body, or emotion based).
I currently sign at a beginning/intermediate conversational level of American Sign Language and can speak very basic Spanish.
Credentials
I am currently under a plan of supervision with the Oregon State Board of Clinical Social Workers to obtain licensure as an independent practitioner (licensed clinical social worker). Completing this credential means I will have passed a national and state licensing exam and completed 3500+ hours of social work, 2000+ hours of direct client contact and 100+ hours of supervision from another licensed clinical social worker who is approved to provide clinical supervision. I expect to obtain this credential within the next 12 months, which means I would then be eligible for coverage under most health insurance plans and medicare/medicaid.
You can read more about how I approach therapeutic relationships by clicking here. You can also download a copy of my professional disclosure statement by clicking here.
Personal
I grew up mainly in Minnesota about six miles outside of a town with 300 people. I took my driver's test in a county with NO stoplights at all. After finishing high school, I went to college at St. Cloud State University, thinking I would be a high school band director. I graduated in 1997 with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology with a minor in women's studies. I stayed in St. Cloud for a MS in social responsibility (interdisciplinary social/environmental justice studies) with an emphasis on global gender issues. While in this program I had the opportunity to complete an internship at Friends for a Non-Violent World in the Twin Cities where I worked with the Alternatives to Violence Program, developing youth curriculum and teaching non-violent conflict resolution skills to women in prison.
After finishing my coursework, I moved to southern Oregon in the late summer of 1999 to take work at Southern Oregon University. I packed up my car and headed half way across the country to a place where I didn't know ANYone. One of the best things I've ever done. Living in southern Oregon gives me ample opportunities to engage in rafting, hiking, bicycling, camping, snowboarding, and snowshoeing. I am an avid knitter and reader, and also enjoy mandalas, the works of Thich Nhat Hanh, and T'ai Chi.
The following is a partial list of issues and concerns that have been present in my own life and the lives of my friends and family in deep and meaningful ways:
- sexual assault/rape,
- domestic violence,
- university hearings and criminal court following rape and domestic violence,
- post-traumatic stress,
- sexual orientation and gender identity,
- suicide,
- self-injury,
- psychiatric medications and hospitalization,
- eating disorders and body image issues,
- physical limitations caused by disease (diabetes, cancer, lupus, chronic fatigue, irritable bowel syndrome, Alzheimer's, thyroid problems),
- temporary and permanent disabilities (including mobility issues, deafness, loss of sight, and cognitive changes/impairments),
- sexual intimacy difficulties,
- sexual impotence,
- loneliness,
- anxiety,
- depression,
- adoption/finding birth families,
- being a child in foster care,
- alcohol and drug abuse/addiction,
- political angst,
- existential anxiety, and
- trying to make sense of a sometimes seemingly absurd world.
My hope is that all of our concerns, worries, and hurts (whether they be our own, those of our loved ones, or those outside of our immediate influence) are held in loving kindness by ourselves and those around us so that we can transform pain into knowledge and understanding. And so that we can act from places of loving kindness to create the world in which we want to live, and so that all of EVERY being's needs can be met with wisdom, compassion, and grace.
That's why it's called "Growing Hope."
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