Springfield College – MS, Human Services, Mental Health Counseling
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts – BA, English Communications, Literature & Theatre Concentration
About Sharon
Sharon has lived in New England her whole life, most recently in Vermont, where she and her husband raised their four sons. Sharon attended the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams, MA receiving her BA in English Communications. Her career took her on a journey through many roles in various industries while focusing on raising her family. As her family grew older and began to set out on their own, Sharon began to feel the draw to change her career and focus her energy and talents on helping others. As an adult-learner Sharon received her Master of Science degree in Mental Health Counseling from Springfield College.
Sharon initially worked with adolescents in substance abuse treatment and then was an early member of the clinical team at Mountain Valley Treatment Center. For five years she worked extensively with adolescents with all types of Anxiety, OCD, and related disorders using Exposure Response Prevention therapy, Acceptance and Commitment therapy, CBT, and leading the Expressive Arts Therapy program. Much of her work at Mountain Valley included family therapy and parent coaching. Sharon later worked in an assessment program for boys in the foster care system, and most recently she worked as a therapist at a specialized boarding school for students who have struggled in more traditional settings, facing all different types of struggles.
Sharon’s unique combination of personal parenting experience, direct work with adolescents and their families in an assessment setting, residential treatment setting, and in a boarding school setting post-treatment, allows her to bring a special set of skills to her roles, as part of the Transition Planning Team at MVTC and as a Parent Coach and Program Director of the new Mountain Valley Transitions program.
Sharon believes there is a promise of possibility in every young person, no matter the challenges they face. Sharon believes that every parent that has the desire to be the best parent they can be and is capable of learning how to be the parent that their child needs. She has a passion for helping teens and families wade through the many barriers that can get in the way of reaching this possibility; helping them blaze their own path towards finding meaning, purpose and contentedness while discovering and following their passions; getting reconnected, re-engaged, and pulling in the same direction.
