- cats
- mystery TV
- mindfulness
- DBT
Amber Thomas
Atlanta,GA
Summary
Steadfast Social Worker who employs empathy and patience to connect with individuals on emotional level and provide support during difficult times. Excellent eye for detail and accurately assesses needs. Strives to provide best possible care and support.
Overview
14
14
years of professional experience
Work History
Therapist Intern
Clark Atlanta University Counseling Center
02.2025 - Current
- Maintained detailed records of individual therapy sessions, ensuring accurate documentation of client progress and adherence to ethical guidelines.
- Supported clients in developing self-awareness by utilizing reflective exercises and introspective activities during therapy sessions.
- Coordinated referral services, linking clients to specialized care providers when necessary.
- Conducted thorough assessments to identify client needs and establish appropriate treatment goals.
- Presented case findings at team meetings, providing updates on client progress and discussing potential adjustments to treatment plans.
- Encouraged self-care habits among clients, supporting their overall wellbeing outside of therapy sessions.
- Assisted supervising therapists with case management tasks, streamlining processes for efficient delivery of care.
Therapist Intern
CHRIS180
09.2024 - 12.2024
- Contributed to a positive therapeutic environment through empathetic listening and non-judgmental support for clients'' emotional experiences.
- Participated in ongoing professional development opportunities to stay current on best practices within the field of mental health counseling.
- Maintained confidentiality and adhered to ethical guidelines, upholding the professional standards of the mental health field.
- Built trust and rapport with compassionate approach.
- Maintained detailed records of individual therapy sessions, ensuring accurate documentation of client progress and adherence to ethical guidelines.
- Assisted supervising therapists with case management tasks, streamlining processes for efficient delivery of care.
Care Management Assistant
Piedmont Henry Hospital
10.2023 - 05.2024
- Coordinate discharges for patients' ongoing care
- Coordination includes liaising with the admissions teams of subacute rehabs, skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies, and hospice facilities
- Work with insurance agencies to help patients receive covered or low cost options for durable medical equipment, emergency medical transportation, and follow-up appointments
- Provide indigent patients with resources and referrals for prescriptions, hospital visits, and low-cost follow up appointments
- When patients present needs related to resource instability, I provide county based resources to meet their social needs
- My role includes providing special care to Medicare patients authorizations and admissions
- I work with them to understand policy information related to their rights and status as a patient
- Help families appeal discharges, or advocate for later discharges
- Contributed to efficient discharge planning, working closely with social workers and other team members to secure appropriate post-hospital care arrangements.
Technical Assistant Associate
National Network of Abortion Funds
01.2020 - 04.2022
- Designed and owned a digital library of over 1500 nonprofit scaling resources
- Data Manager for Collective Power program, legal grants, and technical assistance grants, including overseeing disbursement records of over $3 million annually
- Co-designed annual audits and surveys for funding recipients
Counselor / Peer Recovery Specialist
Assertive Community Recovery
01.2019 - 12.2019
- Conducted counseling and harm reduction coaching sessions for Metro-Decatur clients aged 16-59
- Facilitated psychoeducational workshops for the persistently mentally ill on basic life skills, mindfulness, managing emotions, and communicating with others
- Facilitated family mediations, and parent skills training
- Connected patients to resources for jobs, transportation, and food services
- Specialized in skills training, and community liaising
- Served as main contact for community partners and social offices
Documentation Specialist / Utilization Reviewer
Fresenius Medical Care
01.2018 - 09.2018
- Execute division-wide documentation processes overhaul for 300+ clinics spread over twenty-two states
- Evaluate and validate billing and legal documentation for accuracy and successful claims submission
- Develop reports on division-wide document validity
- Facilitate bi-weekly Document Review meetings with clinic managers
- Develop training materials for clinical staff on legal and billing documentation
- Promotion to Utilization Review in March 2018
Intake Associate
Summit Medical Associates
10.2015 - 03.2016
- Interview patients upon arrival
- Facilitate pre-operative interviews
- Schedule secondary appointments and follow-ups
- Data Entry of patient profiles
- Prepare patient charts
- Receive all incoming packages and route to appropriate recipient
- Coordinate post-operative referrals
- Interface with patients and their families
- Advocate for patient needs to doctors, personnel, and other employees
Community Support Specialist
CHRIS 180
03.2016 - 08.2015
- Company Overview: Formerly known as CHRIS Kids Counseling Center
- Provided Bachelor's level Counseling for children (ages 4-19) and their families throughout the Metro-Atlanta Area
- Facilitated psychoeducational workshops on emotional awareness, mindfulness, hygiene, time management, study techniques, anger management, and effective communication in CHRIS Kids' system of group homes
- Helped children and their families build closer ties to social service and community based agencies through advocacy, brokering, and referral
- Served as liaison between counseling center and county school system
- Formerly known as CHRIS Kids Counseling Center
Patient Advocate
Cherry Hill Women's Center
10.2014 - 03.2015
- Offer advocacy based care to over 120 culturally diverse patients per week
- Demonstrate effective case management for patients with histories of trauma, major psychiatric disorders and/or substance abuse
- Coordinate pre-operative & day of service care for patients of behavioral hospitals, prisons, shelters, and other organizations that cater to at-risk populations
- Achieved a rate of over 90% of securely funded low-income patients through a network of local and national funding organizations
- Facilitate pregnancy options counseling
Office Assistant
Spelman College Women's Research and Resource Center & the Office of Religion & Philosophy
08.2011 - 04.2014
- Letter Mail and email reception, response and routing
- Greet and orient students to the center and the department's academic and programming offerings
- Negotiate initial contracts for academic speakers
- Coordinate catering, space rental, housekeeping, and other provisions for programming
- Filing, sorting, shredding, and organizing of texts
- Design flyers for programming
- Assist faculty in the development of engaging student programming
- Facilitate open-mic night and other student events as needed
Education
Bachelor of Arts - Comparative Women's Studies with a Concentration in Social Work
Spelman College
Atlanta, GAUniversity of Iowa
Iowa City, IAMasters of Clinical Social Work - Clinical Social Work
Smith College School For Social Work
Northampton, MA08-2026
Skills
- INTAKE ASSESSMENT
- COORDINATING CARE
- PROVIDING INSURANCE BASED REFERRALS
- MEDICAL DATABASE KNOWLEDGE
- ASSESSING PATIENT NEEDS
- LIAISING WITH TEAM MEMBERS
- EMPATHY
- SERVICE DELIVERY
- SUPPORTING FAMILIES AS THEY MAKE DECISIONS RELATED TO AGING OR END OF LIFE CARE
- COUNSELING
- CHART AUDITING
Facilitation Conference And Panels
- Self-Stewardship through the Winter Months, Charis Bookstore, Facilitator
- Georgia Gay Straight Alliance Summit - Agnes Scott College, Workshop Facilitator
- LGBT Womyn of Color Conference, Workshop Facilitator
- Black Women's Life Balance and Wellness Conference, Workshop Facilitator
- Toni Cade Bambara Scholars + Writers + Activists Conference!, Panelist
- Creating Change, The National Conference on LGBT Equality!, Facilitator
- IGNITE! Media Camp for Queer Youth of Color, Facilitator
Continuing Education
- Scope of Services, Practice, and Education
- Social Determinants of Health
- Motivational Interviewing
- MATRIX
- Searchlight for Motivation: Introduction to Motivational Interviewing for Relationship Engagement in Trauma-Informed Care
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy: An Overview
- Draw from Within: Drawing & Artmaking in the Clinical Setting
- Trauma Stars
- Cultural Competency & GLBTQ 101
- Alcohol and the Family for Paraprofessionals
- Cultural Issues in Mental Health Treatment for Paraprofessionals
- Defining Serious and Persistent Mental Illness and Recovery
- Depressive Disorder in Children and Adolescents
- Overview of Family Psychoeducation - Evidence Based Practices
- Pathways to Recovery
- Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- Using Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with Childhood Traumatic Grief
Academic Awards
- Dean's Scholar, Smith College Merit scholarship awarded for prior academic success and demonstrated history of commitment to social work
- Dean's Award for Social Justice Recipient, Smith College Scholarship awarded to social work students who have made outstanding contributions to social justice and communities of color
- Social Justice Fellow, Spelman College Student award for demonstrated service to social justice in areas of race, sexuality, gender, class, or ability
- Robert Dockendorff Scholar, University of Iowa Awarded for contributions to the LBGTQQIA student community
- Center for Research by Undergraduates Fellow, University of Iowa The research supported ICRU programs to encourage the direct involvement of undergraduate students in their scholarly efforts. I participated in literary research at UIowa's national publication: The Iowa Review
- National Scholar, University of Iowa Academic merit award
Interests
Timeline
Therapist Intern
Clark Atlanta University Counseling Center
02.2025 - Current
Therapist Intern
CHRIS180
09.2024 - 12.2024
Care Management Assistant
Piedmont Henry Hospital
10.2023 - 05.2024
Technical Assistant Associate
National Network of Abortion Funds
01.2020 - 04.2022
Counselor / Peer Recovery Specialist
Assertive Community Recovery
01.2019 - 12.2019
Documentation Specialist / Utilization Reviewer
Fresenius Medical Care
01.2018 - 09.2018
Community Support Specialist
CHRIS 180
03.2016 - 08.2015
Intake Associate
Summit Medical Associates
10.2015 - 03.2016
Patient Advocate
Cherry Hill Women's Center
10.2014 - 03.2015
Office Assistant
Spelman College Women's Research and Resource Center & the Office of Religion & Philosophy
08.2011 - 04.2014
Bachelor of Arts - Comparative Women's Studies with a Concentration in Social Work
Spelman College
University of Iowa
Masters of Clinical Social Work - Clinical Social Work
Smith College School For Social Work
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