Marie-Lisa Dunbar
Marie-Lisa Dunbar
LCSW
Licensed Clinical Social Worker
Background. I earned my Bachelor of Arts in Administration of Justice from Penn State Abington in Abington, Pennsylvania, and my Master of Social Work from Temple University in the School of Social Work located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Since completing my graduate degree, I have worked in numerous settings from impatient, corrections, outpatient, to crisis work. I have worked in PACT teams in Philadelphia at Horizon House, Impatient settings at Belmont Behavioral Health Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Northbrook Behavioral Hospital in Blackwood, New Jersey. I have worked with the homeless population, families, couples, children, and inmates. I have worked in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
Credentials and Licensing. I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in the States of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. I have certifications in Trauma Focused CBT, Seeking Safety, and Suicide Risk Assessments C-SSRS. I have been a Certified Crisis Screener in Delaware and New Jersey.
Areas of passion and specialty. I have a passion Women’s Concerns like Infertility, Abortion, Gender and Sexual Identities, Work Stress, Anxiety, Depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and feel strongly about issues pertaining to Diversity, Racial Injustice, Sexual Assault, and Relationship Concerns. I feel strongly about empowering marginalized populations in our society. We cannot truly have an equitable society if everyone is not given a voice to be heard.
Approach. My therapeutic approach is trauma informed, person-centered, strength-based and tailored to empower people and make opportunities for representation. I work to empower clients to make steps in improving their lives, through making choices, going through Stages of Change, using Motivational Interviewing, using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy so clients can understand their behaviors in relation to their thoughts and feelings, Dialectical Therapy to address problematic behaviors and help clients understand the meaning behind why they do the things that they do. I also lean on the Humanistic side, for clients to seek a purpose in life, and to find some meaning to their plans for their future. My take on things is that the client is the Quarterback, and gives me (the teammate the plays to accomplish) it is a collaborative approach where the client is in the driver’s seat.
Pronouns. She/her
