Karen is a Senior Training and Consultation Specialist at Rutgers-University Behavioral Health Care, Behavioral Research and Training Institute (BRTI) for the Children’s System of Care (CSOC). She is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Approved Clinical Supervisor, and a Certified Trauma Treatment Specialist, credentialed by the Association of Traumatic Stress Specialists. She is one of the first clinicians certified in the United States as a Disaster Response Crisis Counselor and is team Leader for Union County, New Jersey under the Disaster and Terrorism Branch within the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services. She holds a Certificate in Traumatic Stress Studies through The Trauma Center at Justice Resource Institute. Karen has effectively led several large behavioral healthcare and social service organizations through successful licensing and accreditation reviews as well as performance improvement and strategic planning initiatives including becoming trauma informed organizations. Karen is a member of the Promising Path to Success Coaching Team at BRTI where she is coaching CSOC residential providers in the use of trauma-informed practices and principals, utilizing the evidenced-based model of 6 Core Strategies for Restraint and Seclusion Reduction, as well as the Nurtured Heart Approach. She has implemented and supervised the use of the Attachment, Resiliency and Competency (ARC) model in a variety of treatment settings. Her area of expertise is training and coaching on evidence-based practices in order to promote trauma-informed care. She is an experienced conference presenter, clinician, with 30 years postgraduate experience in a variety of clinical and administrative positions, including extensive experience in providing treatment and traumatic stress interventions with youth, adults, and families. She teaches a variety of courses for Rutgers School of Social Work, Office of Continuing Education. She recently presented for SAMHSA’s Northeast and Caribbean Mental Health Technology Transfer Center Network. She is a Co-Coordinator of the Northern New Jersey Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Trauma Recovery Network. Karen is a member of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network’s Complex Trauma-Developmental Trauma Disorder Workgroup, Child Welfare Group and Northeast Regional Terrorism and Disaster Coalition.
