Tresa Dame began working with the elderly as a Nurses Aide with a part-time job. She moved to a full-time job and a Certified Nurses Aide. She then went on to a Certified Medication Aide. She then earned Licensed Practical Nurse in 1996 and began working with the elderly population. She then moved on to the psychiatric community in 1998 where she found her first love. She worked at Fulton State Hospital for almost 10 years with the chronically mentally ill and with the forensic community there. While at Fulton she helped with every job there except cooking and cleaning. She assisted the aides when they needed help, she assisted the RNs when they needed it, and she assisted the clients when they needed it. She worked with the physicians to ensure our clients had the best medications and care possible.
She decided she needed to do something more to help these folks than to just pass medication, so she went back to school and earned a Bachelor Degree in Social Work from William Woods University. She immediately returned to school at the University of Missouri in Columbia and earned my Masters in Social Work. She moved from Fulton to the community mental health scene where she saw many folks who were still ill, many with a diagnosis including anxiety. She worked with these folks to develop coping skills and ways to manage anxiety so that they could go to the store without anxiety attacks or sometimes just get through the day without a major panic attack.
Her oldest son has severe anxiety, panic disorder, and agoraphobia; and she personally lives with anxiety in her home daily. He also has Persistent Depressive Disorder (dysthymia). So, this compounds their issues. This gives her not only experience with clients, but experience with her own family with anxiety. And although he deplores the public, he does not mind her talking about him for examples as he feels it may help in some way.
She currently works as a Licensed Practical Nurse at an Elementary School. She loves working with people, no matter the age, no matter the problem! We all need a helper!
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