EAP Critical Incident Response | Robert Douglas and Associates

Pam Ruster has provided EAP critical incident response for over 20 years. During that time, she has responded to over 300 critical incidents impacting the workplace, including suicides, murders, automobile accidents, fatal industrial accidents, and robberies. Pam is a certified employee assistance professional (CEAP). Her vast employee assistance background stems from owning and running Supportive Systems, LLC, an Indiana-based EAP and women business enterprise (WBE) from 1996-2015. Understanding the importance of employee training programs, Pam has become a highly respected trainer designing and presenting a wide-range of workplace trainings focused on leadership, professional development, workplace respect, wellness, and achieving a better balance.

As a dedicated and active employee assistance professional, Pam is serving a second two year term on the Executive Committee and is the Secretary/Treasurer on the Board of Directors of the International Employee Assistance Professionals Association. She is also a past president of the EAPA Indiana Chapter.

pamruster@aol.com

Whether assisting a client in her private practice, educating a student in her classroom or consulting with a Fortune 500 global corporation, LaDonna brings to life nearly 30 years of experience in an interactive style that makes her a favored and trusted resource.  LaDonna’s career specialization has led to certifications in crisis management and trauma and created opportunities to skillfully assist corporations during many transitional times (i.e. reductions in force, domestic violence incidents, deaths of an employee, major on-site catastrophes).  She has been commended for her ability to connect the needs of all levels of an organization in the wake of a crisis and to skillfully assist in the resiliency process of individuals, teams and corporations. She has extensive experience in on-site and external EAP work, training development and delivery, individual and couples counseling and she loves to teach all things psychology!  LaDonna has been a Licensed Psychological Examiner since 1989 when she received her MA in Clinical Psychology.  LaDonna currently has two practice locations in Tennessee, routinely consults with small to internationally sized businesses and is an instructor at East Tennessee State University.  

www.LaDonnaCarey.com ladonnac61@gmail.com

Charles Ryan is a licensed mental health counselor with a private practice in Pensacola, Florida. Charles is trained and experienced in Critical Incident Response having worked on site with employees in need after a variety of traumatic events. Charles applied skills he gained through training in the resilience model to his clients. Immediately he noticed they began to recover more quickly. He is now helping other responders use this approach when intervening after a crisis.

Charles has a Master of Science in Psychology and Mental Health Counseling from Troy University, where he is also a member of the honor society. Charles has certifications in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Sports Therapy, Compulsive Gambling Therapy and Addiction Counseling.

charlesryancounseling@yahoo.com.

In her role with LifeSolutions’ Employee Assistance Program in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Brigid Crawford serves as the team expert in crisis response and workplace violence. In addition to overseeing the Disruptive Event Management Program, Brigid is responsible for training and leadership consultations.

Brigid has an extensive background in the human services field, with nearly 20 years of experience serving diverse populations in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. Early in her professional life, Brigid worked in Human Resources in New York City. Brigid’s varied professional endeavors have fostered a great understanding of human behaviors, and a passion for sharing her knowledge with others.

Brigid earned her Master of Arts in Forensic Psychology from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Virginia Tech. In April of 2019, she obtained her board certification in Workplace Violence and Threat Assessment from the McAfee Institute.

crawfordbm@WorkPartners.com

Diane H. Dufford, LCSW has been delivering critical incident response for 30 years. She is currently the Director of EAP for Sutter Health a Northern California based healthcare system. In her work with Sutter Health EAP, Diane has developed and delivered an integrated approach to supporting resiliency in acute care as well as ambulatory settings during and following wildfires (as well as other disasters). Diane obtained her MSW from California State University, Sacramento and her M. Div. from Fuller Theological Seminary. Diane enjoys delivering trainings and serving the wide variety of organizations served by Sutter Health EAP. Dedicated to the health and productivity of organizations Diane believes strongly that the mental health and emotional well-being of the workforce and their loved ones are the key to that success. 

dufford@sutterhealth.org

Joan is the Founder and CEO of Alpha Counselors Service, Inc., a Christian-based counseling service; offices are located Hampton, Virginia and Fairfax, Virginia. She has been in this practice for 32 years. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Licensed Substance Abuse Treatment Provider, Critical Incident Responder, and a Certified Sex Offender Treatment Provider. She is a trained psychotherapist in multiple clinical theories. Her practice and experiences include working with Individuals dealing with divorce, parenting, addictions, grief, mood disorders, military, juveniles, and those with criminal/legal issues. She felt at an early age that God called her to this career and endeavored in her education she became a Professional Counselor. She graduated from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia with a bachelor’s degree in social work. She completed her Master of Art in Counseling at Hampton University in Hampton Virginia. She pursues her PhD degree at Walden University. 

joan.williamson@alphacounsellors.com

Laurie Persh, LCPC, LMFT, EAS-C, has worked in a variety of settings for 35 years across a continuum of care.   She is board certified in clinical mental health and is bilingual in English and Spanish.  Ms. Persh is an experienced clinician, critical incident responder and trainer; with expertise in trauma, grief, & loss; family systems, work-life balance, and cross-cultural counseling. She has held full time positions in her career history in both internal and external EAP on-site settings.  She has also provided training and disaster response for the American Red Cross, FEMA, and Project Medishare in Haiti. Through her own private counseling and training practice, Ms. Persh has worked as an EAP affiliate provider and crisis responder for over 10 years, working with both military and civilian populations.      

lauriepersh@gmail.com

Terri Sitrin has been  providing critical incident responses for over 30 years. She was on the National Crisis Response Committee and Team with Magellan Healthcare for the last 10 years.  She was deployed over 10 times for major responses such as hurricanes, typhoons, wildfires, tornadoes and floods.  She also has extensive experience providing crisis response directly and coaching others on responding.  She has gone out for hundreds of responses for situations like deaths, suicides, community shootings, robbery, change in leadership, and layoffs.  She is an experienced Toastmaster and enjoys providing trainings live as well as by skype to groups small and large.  Terri is now the EAP Crisis Manager with New Directions EAP and provides guidance to leadership as well as providers on how to best respond to crisis, big and small.    

Terri.sitrin@gmail.com

Deborah Ontiveros is a consultant in private practice with over 25 years of experience working with organizations, families and individuals.  Her specialties include Employee Assistance Program design and implementation, including all phases of policy development, supervisory training and brief therapy. Her client organizations have included financial institutions, heavy industry, manufacturing, utility companies, employment agencies and municipal and county governmental organizations. Dr. Ontiveros has over 20 years of experience working with police, federal law enforcement and military personnel in such areas as policy development, trauma response, stress management, supervisory training, and routine counseling.  She is a consultant/instructor for the El Paso Community College Law Enforcement Academy.   Dr. Ontiveros is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist, a Certified Employee Assistance Professional (CEAP), and a Certified Professional of Human Resources (PHR). She was recently invited to Ghana, Africa to serve as an advising EAP consultant for the developing practice of Employee Assistance in that nation.

wellconnect@sbcglobal.net; www.wellconnectcounseliing.com