PATHWAYS FORENSIC & MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES, PLLC
602 S. John Redditt Dr. Lufkin, TX 75904
Phone: (936) 238-3868& Fax: (936) 238-3867
Academic Degrees / Diplomas
PhD. Northcentral University, Prescott Valley, AZ (REGIONALLY ACCREDITED) (Dec. 2014)
- Major: Doctor of Philosophy with Psychology Specialization
- Dissertation: “Family Cohesion and Desistance Status in Adult- onset Offenders: Examining Relationships and the Moderating Effects of Gender”
MA – Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, TX, August 2002
- Major: Community Counseling
BAAS Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, TX, May 1995
- Major: Communications
- Minor: Business Administration
Diploma Sabine Valley Voc-Technical School, Many, LA, January 1981
- Concentration: Stenography & Office Occupations
High School Many High School, Many, LA, May 1980
- Concentration: General Studies
Certifications –
Licensure
- Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)
- Licensed Sex Offender Treatment Provider Supervisor (LSOTP-s)
- Certified Sentence Mitigation Specialist
- (American College of Certified Forensic Counselors)
- Certified Criminal Justice Addictions Specialist
- (American College of Certified Forensic Counselors)
- Certified Sex Offender Deregistration Evaluation Specialist
- Texas Council on Sex Offender Treatment (CSOT)
Professional Associations
- National Association of Forensic Counselors (NAFC)
- Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC)
- Texas Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (TX-AFCC)
- Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (ATSA)
- International Association for Correctional and Forensic
- Psychology (IACFP)
- Texas Counselors Association (TCA)
- American Psychotherapy Association (APA)
- Texas Trial Lawyers Association (TCDLA affiliate)
- Texas District & County Attorneys Assn (TDCAA affiliate)
Work with representatives from and become familiar with the following entities.
Adult criminal court knowledge and exposure
Criminal and Family
Law Forensic Mental
- United States Federal Probation
- Community Supervision and Corrections
- Juvenile Probation
- Texas Department of Criminal Justice Parole Division
- County Courts at Law Judges (direct referrals)
- District Court Judges (direct referrals)
- Drug & Family Courts operated through probation department
- Offices of the District Attorney
- County Attorneys in charge of misdemeanor prosecution
- Criminal defense attorneys
- Family Law attorneys (i.e. guardians ad litem, amicus)
Health Experience
May 2012 to present, Owner, Pathways Forensic & Mental Health Services, Lufkin, Texas;
Responsible for providing individual and group counseling for clients referred directly to me by local judges, Civil Litigation attorneys, Federal Probation, adult and juvenile probation officers, and criminal defense and civil litigation attorneys. The clients include adult and juvenile offenders, and adults and children involved in high-conflict divorce proceedings.
General individual and group counseling issues addressed:
- Sex offender risk assessments for Federal offenders
- Sex offender specific evaluations for Federal offenders
- Mental health evaluations for Federal offenders
- Substance abuse evaluations for Federal offenders
- Retained as an expert for pre-trial risk assessments
- Retained as an expert for trial consults and/or testimony on child molestations cases.
- Anger Management
- Batterers intervention (past)
- Substance abuse counseling
- Impulse control counseling
- Sex offender treatment provider
- Pre-trial counseling for sexual behavior problems
- Counseling for mental health issues
- Cooperative parenting counseling
- Parenting Coordination Services
- Custody evaluations which often involve issues related to sexual abuse outcries
- Development of child specific parenting plans
- Divorce adjustment counseling for children
- Developed curriculum and taught (3 years) My Two Homes
Class for divorcing parents in Angelina and Nacogdoches
Counties (average 25 people per class monthly)
- Retained as an expert for one-sided social study in out-of-state custody / access litigation
Judicial appointments to serve in the following capacities:
- Child custody evaluator
- Family crisis intervention counselor
- Parenting coordinator
- Parenting Facilitator
- Sexual risk evaluator
- Referrals to parenting class: “My Two Homes.”**
- Sex offender treatment provider
- Mental Health Professional for Collaborative Law cases
**“My Two Homes”: A curriculum I developed for parents named in Petitions for Divorce or Suits Affecting Parent-Child Relationships. The handbook was used as a supplement to an educational presentation by me about the impact of high-conflict parental relationship on children. The presentation factored in the developmental, age-appropriate needs of the children, including special needs kids. Parents were taught cooperative parenting techniques and challenged to find motivation to “behave” before and after litigation.
Treatment Services and Actuarial Assessments for various agencies:
- Administered risk assessments for family law attorneys in custody cases involving sexual outcries
- Pre-trial risk assessments for defense attorneys of those accused of sex crimes
- Sentence mitigation evaluations non-sexual cases
- Contracted with United States Federal Probation Department to do Sexual Interest, Sex Offender Specific, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Assessments
- Service provider for Angelina County Community Supervision and Corrections
Department: sex offenders, cognitive therapy, individual mental health therapy.
- Contracted with Angelina County Juvenile Probation Department to conduct sexual interest and treatment needs assessments; mental health treatment
- Contracted with Polk County Juvenile Probation Department to conduct sexual interest and treatment needs assessments for Trinity, San Jacinto, and Polk Counties…
- Administered mental health assessments for probationers referred by Angelina and Nacogdoches Counties with purpose of making appropriate referrals.
- Contracted with Angelina County as vendor responsible for substance abuse assessments using the Addiction Severity Index (ASI)
- Administered risk assessments for Nacogdoches County Juvenile Probation in relation to placement and treatments needs related to juvenile sex offenders.
Experienced in the administration, scoring, interpretation and report writing using the following instruments:
- MMPI-2 – personality and diagnostic assessment
- MCMI-III – personality and diagnostic assessment
- PAI – Personality assessment inventory
- PAI – Public Safety Assessment
- PAI – Personality Assessment Inventory Adolescents
- NEO – Personality Inventory-Revised
- PDS- Paulhus Deception Scales
- LSI-R – Level of Service Inventory Revised
- ADS – Anger Disorder Scale
- KBIT-2 – Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test -2
- WASI – intelligence
- WAIS – aptitude
- TONI – test of non-verbal intelligence
- ASI – substance abuse / dependence scales
- SASSI-3 – substance abuse / dependence
- SASSI-A – substance abuse / adolescents
- Abel Assessment for Sexual Interest (juvenile & adults)
- SAI – Sexual adjustment inventory – identifies sexual deviance
- SAI-J – Sexual adjustment inventory – juveniles
- JSOAP-II – Juvenile Sex Offender Assessment Protocol
- Jesness Inventory – juvenile delinquency assessment
- TOVA – attention deficit disorder assessment
- SVR 20 – sexual violence risk assessment
- HCR 20 – violence risk assessment
- SHQ-R – Clarke Sexual History Questionnaire
Further, I have served as an expert witness numerous times each under Daubert challenge in the following:
- Child custody evaluation hearings
- High conflict divorce / family law cases
- Divorce proceedings
- CPS placement hearings
- CPS Termination of Rights hearings
- Sex offender sentencing hearings
- Sex offender prosecution proceedings
- Sex offender registration hearings
- Sex offender hearings on Motions to Revoke Probation
Group Facilitator
Experience Therapy Provide counseling / classroom instruction for adults and juveniles
The following behavioral groups required initial assessment and classroom instruction:
- Sex Offender Risk Assessments and Treatment: Angelina County Adult Probation (6 years)
- Sex Offender Risk Assessments and Treatment US Federal
Probation (6 years)
- Cognitive Behavioral Treatment group: Nacogdoches County
Adult Probation (2 years)
- Sex Offender Risk Assessments and Treatment as requested: Angelina County Juvenile Probation (6 years)
- Sex Offender Risk Assessments and Treatment: Nacogdoches County Juvenile Probation (7 years)
- Sex Offender Assessment and Treatment: Houston County Juvenile Probation (1.5 years)
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy group Houston County
Juvenile Probation: (5 years)
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Intervention: Angelina County
Community Corrections and Supervision (CSCD) ISF (1 year)
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Intervention: Houston County Juvenile Probation (5 years)
- Batterers intervention class Houston County Court at Law (2 years)
Other Group Therapy Facilitator Experience in previous employment:
- a. Group Therapy Facilitator for Texas Youth Commission
Resocialization Program
- Facilitator TYC Core therapy groups for youth
February 4, 2004 to October 31, 2012
- Functions performed at Samaritan Counseling Center and current business were identical.
March 3, 2003 to February 17, 2004
As an Institutional Caseworker III, for Texas Youth Commission
I performed the following correctional mental health duties:
- Individual and group counseling and case management of incarcerated male youth age 14-21 (youth were adjudicated delinquent and assigned to the Emotionally Disturbed/Mental Health Needs Program
- Teach components of Resocialization Program
- Develop monthly Individual Case Plans (ICP) with ongoing assessment and treatment planning
- Coordinate release planning to include referrals for individual, family, sex offender, chemical dependency and parenting counseling
- Facilitate family contact and involvement in each youth’s treatment.
- Participate in monthly Phase Assessment Team to evaluate progress
- Participation in weekly clinical staffing sessions to update treatment needs
- Maintain documentation according to TYC policy and procedures
- Conduct daily core groups to foster opportunity to progress in the TYC Resocialization Program
- Lead groups to teach new positive methods of problem- solving and taking responsibility for actions within the student’s environment
- Prepare monthly case management reports
- Maintain networking channels to help facilitate transition services that will assist in reintegrating the youth back into their communities
- Coordinate conditions of parole through youth parole officers
- Help youth develop transition plans that include social- behavioral, educational, vocational, family and personal goals.
- Maintaining ongoing evaluation for appropriate placement of youth going on parole or to other placement options.
January 2001 to January 2003,
Mental Health Liaison, University of Texas Medical Branch
Note: Six months of my employment with UTMB was working in the capacity of staff psychologist (unlicensed) in training in addition to performing my duties as case manager / counselor.
As a mental health liaison, my duties included:
- Weekly individual and group counseling with approximately 40 male offenders ranging from convicted sex offenders to those serving life sentences for other violent crimes.
- Assessing and treatment offenders with dual diagnosis or Axis 1 only
- Made appropriate referrals to staff psychologists for additional mental health intervention as deemed appropriate based on acute or chronic behavioral problems.
- Held group and individual education sessions addressing training in eight Activities of Daily Living skills areas.
- During pre-release, I monitored each offender for academic progress and compliance with medical, dental and psychiatric appointments.
- Conducted ongoing assessment of behavioral, emotional, medical, or administrative needs.
- As a liaison between the correctional facility and the families of offenders, I did the following;
o Network to coordinate post-release housing arrangements if necessary
o Link offenders to community mental health and employment resources
January 2002-June 2002,
Staff Psychotherapist-In-Training, University of Texas Medical Branch
Tasks included the following:
- Conducting Mental Status Exams interviews on offenders for
Determination of Mental Retardation (DMR) Status
- Interviewing offenders initially to gather psychosocial, psychiatric, educational and socioeconomic history
- Administration of TONI test
- Diagnostic assessments using DSM IV TR
- Preparing and writing psychological evaluations
- Conducting a meeting with offenders giving them the results of their testing and subsequent staffing status
- Assessed and counseled with population of offenders with nearly exclusively diagnosed with anti-social personality disorder
Curriculum Development And Copyrights
“Freedom Thinking“ Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Offenders and Others with Anti-Social Tendencies.”
A 12-week cognitive intervention curriculum written and developed by me for adult offenders or individuals with anti-social behavioral tendencies. The program has been utilized for sanctions and/or education training by the following entities:
- United States Federal Probation Department
- Angelina County Adult Probation ISF
- Angelina County Adult Probation (outpatient)
- Nacogdoches County Adult Probation
- Regions 4 & 5 Department of Family and Protective Services
Parenting intervention for parents with major infractions
“Thoughtbusters: A Juvenile Offender’s Guide to Right Thinking.”
An 8-week cognitive behavioral intervention curriculum written and developed by me for juvenile offenders or non- adjudicated juveniles with conduct disorder. The program has been utilized for sanctions and/or education training by the following entities:
- Angelina County Juvenile Probation Department
- US Federal Probation Department
- Houston County Juvenile Probation Department
- For individual counseling for juveniles through Samaritan
Counseling Center in Lufkin and Nacogdoches Counties.
“My Two Homes”: A handbook for parents named in petitions for divorce or suits affecting parent-child relationships. The handbook was used a supplement to an educational presentation about the impact of high-conflict parental relationship on children. The presentation factored in the developmental, age-appropriate needs of the children, including special needs kids. Parents were taught cooperative parenting techniques and challenged to find motivation to “behave” before and after litigation.