Part 3 of the “Meet Our Therapists Series” by Danielle Melton, MA, LCPC
Welcome to the third installment of GateWay of Hope’s Meet our Therapist Series! Today we want to introduce you to Marcia Simoneau. Marcia is a Licensed Specialist Clinical Social Worker (LSCSW) with over 20 years of experience. Marcia is accepting new clients and accepts Medicare clients.
What type of therapist are you? I am licensed as a Licensed Specialist Clinical Social Worker. Prior to getting my clinical license, I worked in the field of Social Work with a Bachelors degree in Social Work and later a Masters in Social Work. My experience as a therapist includes working with a variety of ages and mental health diagnoses. I became a counselor due to God doing emotional healing in my own life over 40 years ago through a Christian program I attended for three years. During that time of healing, God put a desire in my heart to help others in the same way God helped me.
What brought you to GateWay of Hope? After working as a therapist for 20 years I retired full time. However, after less than a year of retirement, I felt like God wanted me to do more with my education and skills. I continued to pray and ask for God’s direction and was drawn to an advertisement at GateWay of Hope. I sent my application in and received a response that same day. Within a week I had a face to face interview and was offered the position!
What is your background/past work in counseling? My clinical experience includes several years of working in a Level 5 residential placement for teen boys. This was excellent experience for me regarding mental health needs of teens who had experienced abuse, loss or trauma in their lives and needed to be removed from their home for a period of time. I also worked in two Christian counseling centers in Wichita, Kansas. During that time I saw clients from age 8 to 80, and I worked with families and did family counseling. These experiences broadened my skill level and I truly enjoyed working with all ages.
What population are you most passionate about working with? It is difficult for me to say which population of people I like working with. It seems as if wherever God puts me, I love working with the people God brings to me. However, at GateWay of Hope we only see women and knowing this is where God placed me for this time, I would say, working with women is now my passion. Many women need support, encouragement and healing during different phases of their lives. I hope to help in this process for all women.
You can schedule an appointment with Marcia today by calling 913-393-4283.