ABOUT DR. SIMPKIN
I consider it a great honor and privilege to work with clients as they navigate life's path.
In nearly four decades of working with kids, adults and families in El Dorado County as a therapist, classroom teacher, school counselor and diversity trainer, I have been privileged to partner with individuals struggling through life's curves and personal challenges.
Together, we have fostered growth and healing in the areas of loss, depression, anxiety, relationship conflicts, identity challenges, parenting/grandparenting, and family trauma.
MY APPROACH
My goal is to develop a positive relationship with you, and consider you the expert of your own life experience.
Collaboratively, we will examine challenges from fresh points of view and call on your own strengths and wisdom to help you create solutions that work for you. I believe that change occurs within the context of our relationship.
I use practices from psychodynamic, strength-based, Narrative and relational theories.
MY BACKGROUND
My family planted roots in El Dorado County when I was eight. I attended local elementary schools and graduated from Ponderosa High.
I had my sights set on teaching, which took me to American River and Chico State colleges. After graduation, I substituted and landed a teaching job at Mother Lode – my old alma mater. During my tenure, I obtained my master’s degree at CSU, Sacramento and received the credential that qualified me to become the district’s first school counselor. Along the way, I received extensive training in diversity and safe schools.
After 20 years of teaching and counseling, I decided to expand my expertise and entered a doctoral program at John F. Kennedy University in the Bay Area. The school board worked with me to take a leave of absence and accrue hours to receive a license for clinical practice. When the time came to retire from the district, I was set to begin this amazing therapy work.
MY EDUCATION
Degrees:
- B.A. - Liberal Studies. California State University, Chico
- M.S. - Counseling: Marriage and Family, and School Counseling. California State University, Sacramento
- Psy.D. - Psychology. John F. Kennedy University
Certificates:
- CA Multiple Subject Teaching Credential
- CA Pupil Personnel Services Credential
- CA License of Psychology
- Mediation – Community Boards, San Francisco, CA
- Training of Trainers - Equity Institute, Emeryville, CA
Additional Trainings:
- California Teacher's Association: Youth at Risk Cadre Trainer
- Community Boards
- Equity Institute
MY COMMUNITY ACTIVISM
- El Dorado County Human Rights Commission, Chair
- Martin Luther King Commemoration Organizing Committee (ongoing)
- Round Table on Human Rights, Board Member (1996-98)
- Breaking the Silence, California Teacher’s Association, Cadre Trainer (1995-97)
- People's Freedom Choir, Member (1990-present)
