Terika Cole
Dallas
Summary
Dynamic social worker with extensive experience at The Department of Veterans Affairs, excelling in caregiver training and emotional support. Proven ability to build significant relationships with clients and families while coordinating comprehensive care plans. Adept at utilizing knowledge of abnormal psychology to enhance client outcomes and promote resilience in challenging situations.
Overview
13
13
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Caregiver Support Social Worker, LMSW
The Department of Veterans Affairs
Atlanta
12.2024 - Current
- Ability to empathize with caregivers, and interpersonal skills.
- Strong organizational and time-management skills.
- Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
- Complete monthly, annual caregiver reviews, and also initial caregiver reviews.
- Complete enrollment for caregivers and also veteran intakes.
- Worked with the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers and completed at least two hundred wellness calls a month.
- Provide individualized coaching and counseling to caregivers, helping them develop coping strategies and manage the emotional demands of caregiving.
- Help caregivers identify and build on their strengths, and develop strategies to overcome challenges.
- Offer training and education on caregiving skills, such as managing stress, mood management, and self-care.
- Collaborate with other organizations and professionals to provide comprehensive training and support.
- Facilitate in-person and virtual groups where caregivers can connect with others.
- Participated in team meetings regarding client progress or concerns raised by family members.
- Developed plans for respite care when needed based on availability of family members or other caregivers.
- Partnered with registered nurses and physiotherapists to provide care to patients.
- Contributed to case reviews of client status and progress.
MSW Social Worker
Jencare Senior Medical Center
Atlanta
09.2019 - Current
- Assessed the patient's social, emotional, environmental, financial, and support needs
- Works with the patient's family and other service provider agencies to develop a plan for care of the patient in his or her home or other living arrangement
- Conduct Telepsych appointments for the patients and gather all paperwork needed
- Assist with arranging financial support, for carrying out patients' treatment where needed from Governmental and Non-governmental organizations
- In addition, suggest ways to the patient and his family to reduce economic burden on the family
- Assist the patient and his family understand the medical problem or disability he is suffering from; in a language the patient and his family can understand
- To help the patient cope with the disability/illness and make him adjust to it emotionally
- Assist the patient in smooth transition from the hospital to the community and maintain the link with the patient, the community and the health services
- Provides rehabilitative and supportive casework geared toward restoring patients to their optimum level of social and health adjustment
- This includes assisting patients and their families in understanding, accepting, and following medical recommendations
- Helps patients utilize the resources of their families and the community
- This may be accomplished by either referring the patients to resources or acting as an advocate on behalf of the patients in their dealings with other health and welfare agencies
- Assists patients and their families with personal and environmental difficulties, which predispose them toward illness or interfere with obtaining maximum benefits from medical care
- These range from counseling members of the patient's family to assisting patients with admission to a nursing home
- Consults with the physician and other members of the health team for the purpose of assisting them to understand significant social, emotional, and environmental factors related to the patient's health problems
- Prepares clinical/progress notes on the day of the visit and incorporates same in the clinical record weekly; provides summaries and re-evaluations if indicated
- Attends case conferences
- Participates in staff development and revision of the physician's plan of treatment
- Participates in staff development activities and in-service education
- Assists in the development and revision of the physician's plan of treatment
- Supervises the social work assistant as required
- Participates in discharge planning and in-service programs
- Acts as a consultant to other agency personnel
- Communicates effectively with all providing care
Clinical Internship
Summit Mental Wellness Counseling
Paducah
12.2017 - 12.2018
- Assist with researching resources for families and children
- Assisted LCSW with initial intakes and social histories on new students
- Assist and observe team meetings with teachers and administration
- Assist with fund raising
- Assist with IEP meetings
- Build rapport with the students and develop a group program to assist them with certain identified skills
- Attend School Social Work meetings
- Assist with Administrative Duties of the School Social Worker
- Assisted LCSW in obtaining items needed by identified families
- Assist families in negotiating the application process of obtaining Medicaid, Social Security and the Medicaid Waiver
- Learn about the special needs, treatment options, behavior approaches for students with developmental delays, mental health issues and autism
- Observe and participate with students with Emotional Behavioral Disorders
- Tour facilities to learn more about resources in the community
- Ability to deal with extreme behaviors and crisis
- Assist social worker with phone calls to parents regarding some students
- Accompany social worker during home visits
- Help develop partners in the community
- Advocate for student's education and safety
Case Manager
Generations Gaither
Martin
09.2015 - 12.2017
- Strong interpersonal skills, communication and organizational skills Provide proactive and recovery focused engagement with individuals who appear to be experiencing mental illness and homelessness
- Able to contribute to relationships with administrative staff, housing services and maintaining links to recovery and rehabilitation pathways for clients
- Provide short term to long term case management services including client identification, screenings, care coordination, referral and intervention support
- Developed safety and wellness plans and communicated both to the client and healthcare team
- Assessed psychosocial needs of clients in accordance with professional practice standards and Code of Ethics
- Identify clients at risk and implemented interventions Worked with hospital psychiatrists and nurses to develop multi-disciplinary plan for clients suffering from substance abuse
- Follow up on patients and identify and/or report any decline in patient mental health
- Successfully developed and introduced a goal developed paper based tool to help support the development, implementation and review of personal recovery goals
- Worked under pressure and crisis situations Quickly respond to crisis situations when severe mental health and behavioral issues arose
- Efficiently gather information from families and social services agencies to inform development of treatment plans
- Developed comprehensive treatments that focus on accurate diagnosis and behavioral treatment of programs
- Referred client to other programs and community agencies to enhance treatment processes
- Provided supportive counseling to consumers displaying changes in their psychiatric symptoms
Case Manager
State of Georgia-Department of Family and Children Services
Atlanta
05.2016 - 12.2016
- Wide Breadth and depth of child advocacy and community service experience Exceptionally dedicated and focused Child Protection Worker with a superior record of child advocacy and community service
- Adept at handling highly unpleasant interpersonal situations with the highest degree of professionalism and respect
- Excellent familiarity with child rights and protection principles and procedures
- Superior expertise in child protection investigative processes and protocols
- Exceptional experience in the court system pertaining to child protection
- Strong independent decision making and critical thinking abilities
- High skills in providing community based services to families in need
- Adhered to family support plans and implementation Maintained and updated all child protection case reports on a regular basis
- Conducted child and adolescent plan analysis on a case-by-case basis
- Obtained and interpreted individual child health and education plans in collaboration with appropriate staff
- Assessed social service program effectiveness through statistical data analysis
- Maintained and updated child protection case data records in accordance with departmental and state policy
- Continuous investigations of emotional, sexual, and physical abuse Met with children in safe locations where they could open up about their home lives and experiences
- Counseled parents in danger of losing their children because of criminal convictions
- Testified in front of judges to explain the steps families took to improve their lives
Targeted Case Manager: Service Coordinator
Centerstone of Kentucky
Paducah
06.2012 - 01.2015
- Knowledge of basic service recipient's dynamics of assigned disability groups Provide services of assessment planning, linking, monitoring and advocacy in assigned programs to assist clients in accessing needed medical, social, educational, and other support services
- Function as an integral, cooperative member of the agency team of professionals and provide outstanding internal and external customer service
- Understand the indicators of laws regarding child abuse and neglect, including the Abuse and Neglected Child Act Fully understand the indicators of child neglect and abuse, travel to necessary homes and other destinations for meetings with members of Service Team for each client enrolled in IMPACT Plus Services, refer clients' families in need to agencies capable of helping individual's circumstances
- Confer with doctors and/or psychiatrist regarding clients' medications and/or other needs
- Provide Families with Support Systems Maintain contact with client parent/guardian and client's therapist through telephone conversation, maintain accurate records in client files, meet client for required monthly visits as required by IMPACT Plus guidelines, knowledge of safe driving practices and procedures and family dynamics and system theory, knowledge of casework/social work procedures
- Conduct monthly home visits with clients and family
- Develop a detailed plan of action to meet the client/family's needs, set goals and find necessary resources to meet the goals
- Offer counseling for patients in individual or group settings
- Consult with other external agencies to provide support services and resources
- Keep comprehensive records of client's progress throughout the process, including every call, referral and home visit
- Maintain confidentiality, respect privacy and preserve the clients' routine and independence as much as possible
- Stay in touch with clients to ensure the services were beneficial and that their needs are still met after pointing clients in the right direction for services
Education
Master of Social Work - Social Work
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA12.2018
Bachelor of Science - Sociology and Communications
University of Tennessee-Martin
Martin, TN01.2008
Skills
- Knowledge of Abnormal Psychology
- Knowledge of basic behavior-modification techniques
- Knowledge of basic first-aid techniques
- Build positive, significant relationships with clients, therapists, and families
- Build positive, significant relationships with parents
- Build positive relationships with school sites
- Knowledge in observing and assessing affect, functioning level, and growth potential
- Knowledge in time management and supportive counseling
- Coordination of care
- Caregiver training
REACH VA CERTIFIED
- Certified in REACH VA: Individual coaching and Group Facilitation in the following
- REACH VA PTSD
- REACH VA DEMENTIA
- REACH VA ALL ERAS
Custom
Certified in Caregiver Health and Wellbeing Coaching.
Certification
Licensed Social Worker
State Illinois
Number: 150. 107523
Timeline
Caregiver Support Social Worker, LMSW
The Department of Veterans Affairs
12.2024 - Current
MSW Social Worker
Jencare Senior Medical Center
09.2019 - Current
Clinical Internship
Summit Mental Wellness Counseling
12.2017 - 12.2018
Case Manager
State of Georgia-Department of Family and Children Services
05.2016 - 12.2016
Case Manager
Generations Gaither
09.2015 - 12.2017
Targeted Case Manager: Service Coordinator
Centerstone of Kentucky
06.2012 - 01.2015
Master of Social Work - Social Work
University of Southern California
Bachelor of Science - Sociology and Communications
University of Tennessee-Martin
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