My name is Pauline Amaismeier. Being a mental health care provider, I sometimes become frustrated when I see “initials” behind people’s names and have no idea what they mean. Let me explain my own.
- The BSN shows that I have a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA.
- The MS signifies that I have a Master of Science in Community Agency Counseling from California University of Pennsylvania in California, PA.
- The LPC is a Licensed Professional Counselor in the State of Pennsylvania.
- The NCC shows that I qualified as a National Certified Counselor by the National Board of Certified Counselors.
- The RN shows that I am a Registered Nurse in the State of Pennsylvania.
- The BC signifies that I have met the requirements as a Board Certified Psychiatric and Mental Health Nurse according to the American Nurses Credentialing Center.
- The BC-TMH is a Board Certification in Tele-Mental Health. I have taken hours of training in distance counseling, which includes learning about online email and chat counseling. This has met the requirements by the Center for Credentialing and Education.
- The CCTP stands for Certified Clinical Trauma Professional. This was obtained through the International Association of Trauma Professionals.
I have worked as a psychiatric nurse with both adults and children who were inpatient in a hospital and outpatient for mental health problems. As a therapist I have worked mainly with adults but have also worked with a few adolescents and children with mental health diagnoses. I have also had a lot of experience in working with people who have experienced some kind of mental health trauma, including grief. It may have been caused by a man made or natural disaster, emotional, sexual or physical abuse, accidents, traumatic deaths and grief issues including suicide.
I use an eclectic approach in choosing the type of therapy to use for each client. I have been trained in Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR), a proven method of working with trauma clients.. Among other types of therapy that I may choose to use, as needed, to meet the needs of the client can include Cognitive Behavioral, Art (in face-to-face therapy sessions), and Hypnosis, Narrative and Person Centered Therapies and others.
I have been trained in Critical Incident Stress Management and have been a member of the local CISM team in my county. In addition I am an active volunteer for the American Red Cross, and have worked on both local and national disasters. The American Red Cross is not involved with my practice as a mental health counselor. I am only considered a Red Cross representative during my volunteer times. I included this because it expands my knowledge in working with people who have experienced mental health trauma.
I am a member of the Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) of the US Government under Health and Human Services. We set up mobile hospitals in disaster areas. This means I may be deployed to a disaster area for a few weeks to provide assistance to the victims. During that time my staff will cover any clients that need assistance until I return from working the disaster.