ILP 30: Cerissa Rhodes On Parenting, Handling Anger, Cutting, Childhood Trauma, Repressed Memories, And When Children Need To Visit A Counselor

Cerrisa lives in Elizabeth City, NC with her husband, Matt, 5-year-old son, Raffi, mom, dog, 2 cats, lizard and fish. They have a full house, filled with noise and chaos! Cerissa grew up in Everett, WA with her mom before she went to Sheldon Jackson College in Sitka, AK where she earned a Bachelor of Science Degree. It was in Sitka Cerissa met her husband and started her career in mental health.

Cerissa left Sitka and moved to Oregon for a brief time with Americorps VISTA before moving to HI. While in HI, Cerissa started her Masters of Social Work at Hawaii Pacific University and discovered her dream would be to work as an Outpatient Therapist.

The Coast Guard moved Cerissa and her family to NC while she was finishing up her masters but was able to complete her courses on-line and graduated in 2013.

Cerissa has worked in 4 different group homes, been an advocate in the schools, served as a behavioral 1:1 for children and the last 6 years have served as a Mental Health Outpatient Therapist. She has worked with women and children experiencing domestic violence and a specialized program for children 0-6 experiencing trauma. Currently, Cerissa is at Pride in NC where she serves all ages that struggle with a variety of mental health concerns. Through her training and experiences, she has found her passions include working with younger children (0-10) and their families that have experienced trauma as well as adults dealing with anxiety.