Licensed Clinical Social Worker
Licensed Mental Health Practitioner
Provisional Alcohol and Drug Practitioner
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Cindy McGrath is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Licensed Mental Health Practitioner and a Provisional Alcohol and DrugPractitioner. She began working at Wholeness Healing Center in September 2010. Her education includes completion of a bachelor’s degree from the University of Nebraska at Kearney and a master’s degree from the University of Omaha, both in social work. She completed her internship at South Central as well as, right here, at Wholeness Healing Center. For five years she worked at South Central Behavioral Services in Hastings as an outpatient therapist.
Prior to receiving her master’s degree, she worked as a hospice and pediatric social worker at Mary Lanning Memorial Hospital. This entailed working with patients and their families, doing general case-management and coordinating grief services. She also spent two years as the Director of the Hastings Literacy Program, running and expanding literacy programs for both English and non-English speaking adults.
While in graduate school, she took a particular interest in working with children with Reactive Attachment Disorder. Initially, her curiosity was sparked by an innocent comment made by a classmate during his presentation about his then present job . . . “Those attachment kids, you really can’t do anything with them.” She spent the next two years researching attachment theory, disorder, and treatment. The more she learned, the more interested she became. She went on to write multiple papers about each, interviewing therapists all over the country and attending specific trainings in Colorado and Nebraska to learn how to help these children and their families. She later became interested and trained in working with individuals diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, substance abuse, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, in addition to general therapy.
During the five years she worked in community mental health, she worked with many other providers, therapists and caseworkers to collaborate for her clients’ treatment. “I looked at every interaction as an opportunity to learn something and strive to leave the interaction a little wiser”. “The approach that I take with my clients is always collaborative. They are their own best therapist, and I am there to walk alongside, to teach, not to preach”.
“I have many tools in my toolbox and use an eclectic approach to working with clients. Trained in many theories, I’m flexible enough to say, “You know this isn’t working; let’s try something different.” I look forward to bringing some new things to Wholeness Healing Center such as a Dialectical Behavioral Therapy group and the use of Motivational Interviewing. Humor is a great healer as people often see therapy as such “serious business.” I love to see people remember how to laugh again as they heal; this may be my favorite part of being a therapist.”
