Angela Mason, LCSW Resume: Clinical and Forensic Social Work, Social Worker

Licensed Clinical Therapist, provide therapy to children, adolescents and families using somatic, gestalt and narrative techniques; specializing in the treatment of individuals with a history of trauma; use non-judgmental empathic listening, body awareness, breathing, meditation, journal writing, play and other mental health techniques, to reestablish a sense of well-being with emphasis on core building, presence, grounding, and mind body integration

Defense Based Victim Liaison, Work with victim's family and survivors in capital cases as a liaison, to answer questions and concerns and address their needs and interests. Honoring the dignity and humanity of victims by modeling compassion to their surviving family members in the spirit of restorative justice.

Forensic Social Worker, Expert Witness, Mitigation Specialist, Work with defense attorneys and investigators on federal and state capital murder trials, appeals and habeas corpus cases to effectively portray the mitigation story through use of psychosocial life histories, witness interviews, analysis and presentation of records. Create alternate sentencing plans on non-death cases through client and witness interviews, document gathering and expert testimony. Generate trial and or psychological chronologies, develop and maintain a positive relationship with clients and their families; assist with trial support through consultation in the voir dire process and by mapping visual representations of the client’s life through use of gen-o-grams and presentation of risk and protective factors; create original and provocative penalty phase presentations

Child Custody Evaluator, Fitness Report Writer, Expert Witness, Consultant; Perform child custody evaluations, serve as court appointed supervisor or expert witness in cases involving custody disputes and other family and juvenile issues. Assess, evaluate and write psychosocial fitness reports for juveniles facing possible prosecution in adult court.

Mental Health Supervisor, Los Angeles Center for Educational Research (LACER); Provide individual and group therapies to children and their families in Los Angeles public junior high schools. Design group therapy materials for conflict resolution, anger management, grief and loss and boys and girls groups. Supervise interns, teach after school classes for high-risk youth, design and provide staff training in all areas of child, adolescent and family mental health.

Contractor; Social work positions in the Los Angeles area in a variety of settings, including: adult day health care, hospital social work, home health care and in-patient mental health

School Social Worker, Orleans Parish School Board; Provide counseling and therapy to individuals and groups of students, K-12th grades. Supervise peer educators. Work with parents, teachers and administrators to assist children in processing grief and violence issues, child abuse, suicide prevention, parental divorce, drug abuse and incarceration, attendance, academic and behavior problems. Facilitate the Student Assessment Team. Position includes: court appearances advocating for children’s rights and truancy problems. Designed and taught AIDS education. Wrote and received grants for $10.000.

Health Educator & Trainer, Gynecological Teaching Program, Tulane and Louisiana State Universities; Teach second and third year medical students all aspects of the obstetric and gynecology exams emphasizing communication and education skills.

Ethnographer/Evaluator, Crescent City Peace Alliance; Monitored meetings and forums; interviewed key participants and chronicled project events through the planning stage of a citywide violence prevention community development effort.

Health and Human Development Teacher and Counselor, Newman School; Designed and taught a health education curriculum for grades 6-12 which emphasized the social, emotional and psychological perspectives of adolescent issues including: parent and peer relationships, identity, personal responsibility, drugs and alcohol, sexuality and AIDS. Counseled students confronting depression, eating disorders, suicide, stress and family problems. Coordinated diversity training for teachers, administrators and students. Sponsored an Explorer’s Club for the 7th grade.

Family Therapist, Children’s Comprehensive Services, Part-time family preservation therapist with Project Impact in Orleans Parish. Provided 6-week intensive in-home therapy for families referred from the juvenile courts and child protective services.

Hospital Social Worker, Medical Center of Louisiana at New Orleans (Charity Hospital); Counseled, assessed and coordinated patient discharges from the emergency rooms. Caseload included: nursing home placements, adolescent suicide attempts, drug overdoses, rape victims, battered women, child sexual abuse and HIV/AIDS patients.

Child Survival Project Officer, Nutritionist and Health Educator, Africare & U.S. Peace Corps, Niger, West Africa; Trained and supervised village health workers in the use of primary health care techniques. Responsible for personnel, budget, and execution of program activities in 13 villages and the city of Dosso. Wrote monthly program summaries and financial reports. Worked with a nurse and mid-wife in a rural maternal and child health clinic monitoring malnourished babies and pregnant women. Assisted with pre-natal exams, immunizations, family planning, contraceptive counseling and distribution. Taught baby weaning techniques and was accountable for all clinic statistics and reports. Wrote grants and secured funds for well and birthing room projects ($10,000).