Kerri is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) as well as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) currently working as a trauma therapist in the Chesterfield County Jail’s Heroin and Addiction Recovery Program, where she uses EFT (tapping), mindfulness and other mind-body tools. Kerri also has a small private practice in Henrico County and serves as a clinical consultant to Comfort Zone and does crisis debriefs in the community when there is a tragic loss.
Prior to her current role with the Chesterfield County, Kerri was a counselor with Henrico County Public Schools where she created Virginia’s first MindUP certified school (https://mindup.org).
Kerri was a therapist in private practice at Medical and Counseling Associates, specializing in trauma, mood disorders and high conflict divorce. She conducted court ordered assessments and was often called as an expert witness regarding childhood development, parenting, relationship dynamics, and psychological disorders. She served as a therapeutic consultant to Richmond Family Magazine, providing therapeutic consultation and guidance to writers regarding mental health issues. She also served as a contributing writer for All about Kids Magazine from 2007-2009 and wrote monthly articles on mental health and parenting-related issues. In 2005, Kerri conducted groups for the Virginia Commonwealth Department of Juvenile Justice for substance abuse offenders and the Court Alternative Program (CAPS) for court ordered juveniles.
Prior to her work in private practice, Kerri worked as a therapist for Henrico Mental Heath in both the outpatient and crisis units, as an Intervention Coordinator for Henrico County Public Schools, and a therapist for Richmond Behavioral Health Authority. In her role as a therapist for Henrico Mental Health, she provided crisis assessments, crisis intervention, outpatient therapy and custody evaluations. As an Intervention Coordinator for Henrico County Public Schools, she developed and directed the Substance Abuse Intervention Program for the entire school system and provided intervention groups for substance abuse offenders. As a therapist at Richmond Behavioral Health Authority on the children’s unit, she conducted outpatient and family therapy, as well as crisis assessments.
Although Kerri has worked for over 25 years in a variety of roles in the behavioral health field, none of her clinical experiences or expertise adequately prepared her for the trauma of her own teenager struggling with a substance abuse disorder. After developing the Substance Abuse Intervention program for Henrico County Schools over 19 years ago, it would have never occurred to her that her own child would have been referred to this very program many years later.
Her real expertise in the area of substance abuse/trauma and behavioral health comes from the toughest job she has ever had - being a mom of teenager struggling with addiction.
