About

Hi! I’m Dr. LaShawn and I’m so excited to work with you. Here’s a little about how I got started and why I would be honored to journey with you! I’m a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with a Doctorate in Education. I believe life is our greatest teacher. I got into the profession of social work because I wanted to be an emergency room doctor. And a lawyer. And a parent. At the root of each of my childhood dreams was first, loyalty to what I saw my parents doing as healthcare professionals, and second there was a deep desire to help nurture and care for people outside of myself. Once I realized that I wasn’t necessarily fond of bodily fluids, I opted out of pre-medical studies as an undergraduate (then I became a parent & stuck with the bodily fluids of my offspring…). It was a pretty regular day that I realized I wanted to start advocating for others. It was my sophomore year at university and I was taking a juvenile delinquency class in the criminal justice program. However, it truly felt like the heavens opened up. I knew that I had found my calling: to help people! You see, I was the new kid at every school I attended until I got to high school. At each school, I learned to survive by becoming a listening ear and keeping a quiet mouth (very important!) to the popular kids, the misfits, the knuckleheads, and the nerds. I could see what happened when people felt heard, seen, and valued, they started to change their interactions with others. That day during my sophomore year, I knew that I wanted to work with juvenile delinquents. I eventually found my way to social work for graduate school and began studying relational aggression in adolescent females. I completed a Masters's degree in Social Work and another in Public Administration, hoping to work as a Federal Probation Officer. I ended up in higher education in 2005, working first with student government leaders, and in 2006, I began teaching future social workers.