My name is Dave Dodge and I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, (L.C.S.W.) welcoming you to my beautiful office at 128 Radio Circle Drive in Mt. Kisco, N.Y.
For close to forty years I have helped countless individuals bring relief and resolution to a wide range of life problems and psychological issues. I do this by integrating various complimentary therapies, methods, and techniques which I have learned over the years. Every change strategy I use with others I have experienced myself. I don't include any strategies in my Practice without first experiencing something miraculous myself as a result of using them.
In the beginning of therapy, I make a thorough assessment of each client, then I draw from a selection of styles and techniques to incorporate depending on what is most appropriate and helpful to the client. I work with each client to create an individualized Treatment Plan based on what the client says they need and want. My most important lesson in my practice is to "be where the client is at". I take great pains to do just exactly that. Instead of imposing my views on you as to what I think is best, it is very important that you know that you are in charge. I will present different options to you that you can use to get better but it is up to you to choose which techniques or methods are best for you. I do all this with a deep sense of empathy,compassion, and respect for the client and am sensitive to their individual therapeutic process (a lot of clients say these are some of my strongest qualities along with my down-to-earthness which makes it easy for them to feel safe and comfortable when talking to me).
My credentials/qualifications are listed below. Thank you for your interest.
To make it clearer for you I should explain that the catergories below are listed in the following order: License and Certifications, Education, and Post Graduate Certifications/Trainings. I have also posted my resume at the end of this section to give you a more clear understanding of where I have been professionally.
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License, Training and Certifications:
- Licensed Clinical Social Worker (L.C.S.W.), license # 044095
- Certified Hypnotherapist
Certified by The American Board of Hypnotherapists
- Certified Couples/Family Therapist
Harville Hendrix's Imago Relationship Therapy
- E.M.D.R. (Trauma) Therapy
(Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing)
Trained by Dr. Laurel Parnell,
author of many of the books on E.M.D.R.
- Brainspotting
Attended a number of individual sessions with Dr. David
Grand (the discoverer of Brainspotting) in his office in New
York City with the intent of learning how to brainspot first hand
from Dr. Grande himself. This is after I was practicing
Brainspotting on myself for a a year or soprior to these sessions.
Attended Lisa Schwarz's Brainspotting class on Brainspotting
in relation to Attachment, PTSD and Dissociation in the fall of
2009 and engaged her as my supervisor in this method very
briefly at that time.
- Integrated Meridian Therapy (I.M.T.)
I.M.T. is a variation of E.F.T. (Emotional Freedom Therapy)
Trained by the originator of this method, Dr. Arnold Morgan
- Reiki Master
Trained and attuned to this beautiful healing energy by
Ginny Mackles, R.M. (my Reiki Master) of Millwood, N.Y.
Education:
M.S.W., 1990 -
Graduated from the Columbia School of Social Work (Concentration: Clinical‑Advanced Standing) with my M.S.W., Master's in Social Work.
I was accepted into the Clinical-Advanced Standing Program of Columbia University's School of Social Work where I was one of 25 students that was accepted out of 700-800 applicants. As a part of this program I was able to graduate this Master's program in three semesters verses two years.
Graduated from the Columbia School of Social Work (Concentration: Clinical‑Advanced Standing) with my M.S.W., Master's in Social Work.
I was accepted into the Clinical-Advanced Standing Program of Columbia University's School of Social Work where I was one of 25 students that was accepted out of 700-800 applicants. As a part of this program I was able to graduate this Master's program in three semesters verses two years.
C.S.W., 1990 -
Past the state test to become a N.Y.S. Certified Social Worker in July of 1990.
B.S.S.W., 1989 -
Graduated with a Bachelor's of Science in Social Work from Mercy College in Peekskill, New York branch (Concentration: Social Work).
Graduated with a Bachelor's of Science in Social Work from Mercy College in Peekskill, New York branch (Concentration: Social Work).
Graduated Summa Cumme Laude with a 4.0 G.P.A. in Social Work.
Listed in Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges ‑ 1989.
Listed in Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges ‑ 1989.
9/84‑12/87 -
S.U.N.Y. Purchase (Concentration: Psychology)
S.U.N.Y. Purchase (Concentration: Psychology)
Came within one semester of graduating with Bachelor's in Psychology prior to changing major to Social Work at Mercy College.
Post-Graduate Certifications/Training:
Post-Graduate Certifications/Training:
02/10 -4/10
Supervision with Ms. Lisa Scwarz - Brainspotting
01/10
Bio-Reprogramming II
12/09
Brainspotting course by Lisa Schwarz, "Dissociation, PTSD, and Attachment Issues in Brainspotting"
10/09
Bio-Reprogramming I
08/10-10/10
Brainspotting sessions with Dr. David Grande
09/08
Omega course, "How to Develop a Treatment Center".
03/08
Total Biology - Part III
11/07
Total Biology - Part II
04/07
Total Biology - Part I
10/06
Completed the Mastership Program of Reiki in the Usui System of Natural Healing
Total Biology - Part III
11/07
Total Biology - Part II
04/07
Total Biology - Part I
10/06
Completed the Mastership Program of Reiki in the Usui System of Natural Healing
11/04
Completed the second degree of Reiki in the Usui System of Natural Healing
Completed the second degree of Reiki in the Usui System of Natural Healing
05/04
Completed the first degree of Reiki in the Usui System of Natural Healing
Completed the first degree of Reiki in the Usui System of Natural Healing
12/02
Became a Certified Hypnotherapist by the American Board of Hypnotherapists
Became a Certified Hypnotherapist by the American Board of Hypnotherapists
08/02
Completed the Advanced level training for Hypnosis at the NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming Center in New York City.
Completed the Advanced level training for Hypnosis at the NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming Center in New York City.
08/01
Completed the Level 1 training for Hypnosis at the NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) Center in New York City.
Completed the Level 1 training for Hypnosis at the NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) Center in New York City.
10/00
Completed the Training for Integrated Meridian Therapy, given by the creator of this method, Dr. Arnold Morgan.
Completed the Training for Integrated Meridian Therapy, given by the creator of this method, Dr. Arnold Morgan.
08/00
Completed the training for Level 1 and Level 2 for E.M.D.R. (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing) Therapy, to effectively treat trauma victims (verbal, physical or sexual abuse, rape, trauma experienced from the World Trade Diaster, car accidents, life transitions, excessive anxiety or grief, fears, phobias, and other traumas in life, etc.).
Completed the training for Level 1 and Level 2 for E.M.D.R. (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing) Therapy, to effectively treat trauma victims (verbal, physical or sexual abuse, rape, trauma experienced from the World Trade Diaster, car accidents, life transitions, excessive anxiety or grief, fears, phobias, and other traumas in life, etc.).
01/00
Became a Certified Imago Relationship Therapist to effectively treat Couples and Families.
Became a Certified Imago Relationship Therapist to effectively treat Couples and Families.
01/97
Became a Credentialed Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counselor (C.A.S.A.C.) for the state of New York (began the training for this credential in 1991). Let it be known I stopped updating this credential a couple of years ago but it was a big part of my learning and experience for 15 years of my professional life. And, I still have the knowledge necessary to treat those with abuse and addictions issues.
Became a Credentialed Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counselor (C.A.S.A.C.) for the state of New York (began the training for this credential in 1991). Let it be known I stopped updating this credential a couple of years ago but it was a big part of my learning and experience for 15 years of my professional life. And, I still have the knowledge necessary to treat those with abuse and addictions issues.
07/96
Lincoln Medical & Mental Health Center, Bronx, N.Y.
Lincoln Medical & Mental Health Center, Bronx, N.Y.
Completed the Lincoln Acupuncture Training Program to use acupuncture as an adjunct treatment for substance abuse - graduated as an Acupuncture Detoxification Specialist.
09/94 ‑12/94
Hunter College, New York, New York
Completed a post‑master's administrative course entitled, "Supervision."
Resume:
David M. Dodge, L.C.S.W., C. Ht., R.M.
128 Radio Circle
Phone (914) 242-3484
L.C.S.W., N.Y.S. License/Certification #R044095
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PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:
10/99-present
Private Practice
Currently located at 128 Radio Circle in Mt. Kisco, N.Y.
Private Practice
Currently located at 128 Radio Circle in Mt. Kisco, N.Y.
Over the past nine years in Private Practice, I have treated adults, both individually and in Couples Therapy. These clients had varied diagnoses including mood disorders (various types of depression, etc.), anxiety, drug/alcohol problems, and food-related disorders. I have worked with children and adolescents who have had a variety of problems in school and/or at home due to depression, anxiety, ADD/ADHD, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, drug/alcohol problems, self-mutilating behaviors, body distortion and food-related issues.
2/00-2/04
Senior Clinical Social Worker
Senior Clinical Social Worker
Fordham-Tremont Community Mental Health Clinic,
Bronx, NY
Bronx, NY
Started and developed this new outpatient program, created to serve the higher functioning portion of the MICA (Mentally Ill Chemically Addicted) population in the Bronx that need treatment but are not appropriate for the more intensive day treatment programs. Duties included: intake, assessment, and ongoing treatment in whatever forms assessed to be appropriate (including individual, group, couples, and/or family therapy) for clients suffering from mood, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive, drug/alcohol, and food-related disorders.
3/97‑1/00
Clinical Social Worker/Case Manager/Discharge Planner
Phelp's Hospital's M.I.C.A. Behavioral Rehabilitation Unit,
Sleepy Hollow, N.Y.
Social Worker as part of the hospital's Case Management/Physician Support Dept., responsible for 10 to 20 patients on a 21-day inpatient M.I.C.A. (Mentally Ill Chemically Addicted) rehab unit. Duties included: working closely with a multidisciplinary team to insure optimal patient care and individualized treatment, discharge planning, family and couples therapy, and/or interventions, utilization review, negotiating with managed care companies, group leader for men's group and discharge planning group on a weekly basis, as well as the general case management and support of those patients assigned to me. I also had the pleasure of supervising a social work student in the group setting.
11/93‑2/97
Clinical Supervisor
Union Hospital, Detoxification Unit,
Bronx, New York
Bronx, New York
Clinical Supervisor of a 44‑bed drug/alcohol detoxification unit in an inpatient hospital setting. Duties included: utilizing both individual and group modalities of supervision to educate and augment the counseling and documentation skills of twelve drug/alcohol counselors, reviewing and signing off of all patient charting to insure that all documentation met the professional requirements of OASIS, JCAH, and Article 28, and assisted in initiating new systems and policies and procedures that were necessary to ensure that the patients received the appropriate and prompt services that they needed.
1/93‑11/93
Clinic Manager/Clinical Supervisor/Social Worker (Part‑time)
University Consultation and Treatment Center for Mental Hygiene,
Bronx, New York
Clinic Manager/Clinical Supervisor/Social Worker (Part‑time)
University Consultation and Treatment Center for Mental Hygiene,
Bronx, New York
1/92‑5/94)
As Clinic Manager, I assisted in the reorganization of office/clinic systems and initiated implementation of new policies and procedures to meet OMH requirements. I also worked closely with the Medical and Executive Directors in relation to hiring and firing of professional staff, assigning new patients to prospective therapists, as well as overall quality assurance procedures of clinic operations. I also provided supervision for those social workers in the clinic that did not yet have the appropriate certification to practice are required by OMH. As Social worker, I provided individual therapy to children, adolescents, and adults with a wide variety of diagnoses. Other responsibilities included: intakes and consultations with all collateral and/or ancillary contacts necessary to effectively implement treatment plan goals and objectives.
As Clinic Manager, I assisted in the reorganization of office/clinic systems and initiated implementation of new policies and procedures to meet OMH requirements. I also worked closely with the Medical and Executive Directors in relation to hiring and firing of professional staff, assigning new patients to prospective therapists, as well as overall quality assurance procedures of clinic operations. I also provided supervision for those social workers in the clinic that did not yet have the appropriate certification to practice are required by OMH. As Social worker, I provided individual therapy to children, adolescents, and adults with a wide variety of diagnoses. Other responsibilities included: intakes and consultations with all collateral and/or ancillary contacts necessary to effectively implement treatment plan goals and objectives.
7/90‑1/93
Social Worker
Lincoln Hall Residential Treatment Center,
Lincolndale, New York
Social Worker
Lincoln Hall Residential Treatment Center,
Lincolndale, New York
Functioned as Treatment Team Coordinator for a cottage of 24 court‑adjudicated juveniles, aged 13 to 17 years. Directly responsible for the individual treatment of 19 of these residents which included: weekly individual and group therapy sessions, goals and objectives formulation with periodic treatment team reviews of same, ongoing family work, and coordination of services with Community and Child‑Care Workers, as well as on‑campus school, infirmary, and psychiatric clinic.
Served as Chairperson for the Behavior Program Committee to help research, design, and implement a new behavioral management program for Lincoln Hall. Also served on the Employee Recognition Committee to help boost employee morale and better integrate the employees from various departments of Lincoln Hall.
WORK‑RELATED EXPERIENCE:
1986‑1989
Mental Health Worker
Mental Health Worker
Four Winds Hospital,
Katonah, New York
Katonah, New York
Worked with a multidisciplinary team on a 15‑patient short‑term evaluation unit for 13 to 16 year olds. Responsible for providing consistent structure, disciplinary action and emotional support for the patients in this therapeutic milieu.
1975‑1978
Mental Health Worker
Mental Health Worker
New York Hospital,
White Plains, New York
Worked with a multidisciplinary team on an long‑term, impatient treatment unit for acting-out adolescents. Responsible for providing consistent structure, disciplinary action and emotional support for the patients in this therapeutic milieu.
White Plains, New York
Worked with a multidisciplinary team on an long‑term, impatient treatment unit for acting-out adolescents. Responsible for providing consistent structure, disciplinary action and emotional support for the patients in this therapeutic milieu.
1973-1975
Children’s Village,
Hartford, Conn.,
Worked as a childcare worker working with four to twelve year old children.
Hartford, Conn.,
Worked as a childcare worker working with four to twelve year old children.
1985-1986
Children’s Village,
Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.
Worked as a childcare worker working with latency aged boys (ages 7-11).
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Professional Activities and Memberships:
National Association of Social Workers (N.A.S.W.)
E.M.D.R.
The American Board of Hypnotherapists
Imago Relationship Therapists
My Philosophy
Our thoughts = our feelings = our behaviors
Our thoughts/beliefs determine how we feel about ourselves. Then we act out those feelings through our behaviors. So, our positive thoughts and beliefs lead to positive behaviors, and our negative thoughts and beliefs lead to our negative or dysfunctional behaviors. (This is not just my philosophy, this is the basis of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, the current therapy standard in psychology today.)
It then logically follows that our thoughts create our reality. We create our reality by what we are thinking at the time. This formula turns out to be a key to life in the sense that if you learn how to change you negative thoughts into positive ones you will then be able to change the course of your life, from negative to positive.
It then logically follows that our thoughts create our reality. We create our reality by what we are thinking at the time. This formula turns out to be a key to life in the sense that if you learn how to change you negative thoughts into positive ones you will then be able to change the course of your life, from negative to positive.
We all get "screwed up"
When I talk about getting "screwed up" I speak in a more humorous sense to universalize this common phenomenon in the human race. Because we are human, and our parents are/were human and our ancestors were human, we all have those human characteristics of not being perfect. We all have insecurities and those things we don't like about ourselves in some area of our lives (some more than others perhaps). But we are all "screwed up" and those of us that want to get more out of life need to work on those issues that are blocking their path. I am here to help you remove those obstacles.
Below I talk about a belief system of many various cultures, including Native American culture, that we all get screwed up for spiritual reasons, being given our "lessons" to learn from so we can transcend beyond these "lessons" to attain higher levels of spiritual evolution. Of course, believing in this philosophy is not a prerequisite to getting better. But, if you want to feel better and get more of those things you want in your life, you do have to let go of the negative beliefs and transform them into positive beliefs.
All negatives thoughts come from trauma
All negative thoughts/beliefs and behaviors come from some kind of trauma in our lives, (mostly from our earlier lives). None of us come out of this period of our lives unscathed. We all get emotionally affected one way or another. Those hurts we experience alter our lives in one way or another from that point on. How we cope with those hurts may depend on our home environments at the time as well as other factors. If they were supportive, nurturing, and encouraging environments, the hurts may affect us less over time. If the contrary exists in our home environments, the traumas in our life will take a larger toll, leading to more and more dysfunction in our lives as time goes by. Because of this very important factor, I have made it my part of my purpose as a therapist to create a very supportive, nurturing, and encouraging environment, where you can feel safe to work out your negative thoughts, feelings and behaviors.
You don't have to be in therapy for years
I have developed a system of therapy that bypasses the need to dwell on or rehash those negative events over and over again as you would in traditional talk therapy, saving you time and unnecessary pain from being retraumatized repeatedly every time you bring up your issues. The methods I use will help you resolve these issues much quicker, easier and more effectively.
Depending on the client's preferences, an exorbitant amount of time doesn't have to be spent talking about, and rehashing, all the negative things that happened to you throughout your life. This constant rehashing of old memories can serve to retraumatize you on a regular basis if you just keep talking about the painful feelings attached to these negative experiences without doing anything to change them. (Of course, this is all left up to each individual client, based on where each client is at and what the client wants to do in their own individualized therapy sessions. More of a talk therapy format is preferred by those clients who are newer to therapy and this if fulling accepted and encouraged. Therapy is a process, like peeling an onion and I start at whatever layer of the onion the client wishes to go.)
I say that you don't have to spent a lot of time talking about your past because all that matters are the negative beliefs, negative feelings, and negative behaviors you have when you walk through the door of my office for our 1st meeting. These are going to be the issues that you're going to be working on in therapy. As a matter of fact, these are going to be the things that make up your Treatment Plan while in therapy. These are the things you don’t like about yourself, the things you "beat" yourself up for, the things you want to change about yourself. These are the reasons for the negativity in your life. The object, of course, will be to transform the negatives into the positives. When you change your negatives into positives your life will change accordingly. And, I have the methods and techniques to help you do just that, quicker, easier, and more effectively than traditional talk therapy.
I will teach you how to "soothe" yourself
The total of all our negativity and dysfunction has to do with our thinking. The more negative thinking we have going on in our mind, the more the dysfunction will show up in our life. Take a moment and think about, on a scale of 0-10, with 10 being the most stressed, how stressed out is your mind right now? We all have "stress" in our life but excessive stress has to do with us thinking negatively somehow.
Now, think of or make a list of how many ways you use to reduce this stress. If you have a number of ways to effectively reduce this stress and utilize those methods on an ongoing basis, you probably would not be reading this information on my website right now. Because if you were utilizing effective ways to handle stress, you wouldn't need to look elsewhere for this information. You would be doing it. Not that "bad" things aren't going to happen to us but, if you "change the way you look at things, those things you look at will change" into less stressful, more manageable problems. I will teach you how to make your problems more manageable and easier to deal with on a regular basis.
I will teach you how to "heal" yourself
The world is a reflection of ourselves. Those things we don't like about others is what we don't like about ourselves. And, what we like about others, we like about ourselves. Our judgemental or blaming behaviors are really a manifestation of what we don't like about ourselves. So, if you find yourself pointing the "finger" of judgement or blame, look within yourself at that moment and see what it is you don't like about yourself. When you realize and accept that all those people "out there" that annoy you or "push your buttons" only represent what you don't like about yourself on some level, you will be a step closer to being able to soothe and heal that part of yourself. I will guide you through the rest of the steps until you are strong enough to heal yourself without me or any other therapist.
You are all that which you seek
Even though there may be some contraversy regarding what I am about to say from a biological viewpoint (or spiritual viewpoint), please bare with me during the following metaphor to illustrate that we are "all that which we seek":
When we come into this world, we come in as a perfect sphere. As we go through life, we (that sphere) get chipped away at by the trauma that we all go through in our lives, especially the earlier parts of our lives. As we get chipped away at, those chips start going off to the side somewhere. They have not been destroyed, just displaced and replaced by those negative thoughts and beliefs systems we get as a result of being traumatized. Negative beliefs about ourself and our place in the world now take over those spaces where those now displaced chips used to be.
The more traumatized we get, the more chips are chipped away and displaced "out of sight" into our "shadow side". But, know they have only been displaced and not destroyed. As we learn how to let go of those negative beliefs about ourself we can them retrieve those positive "chips" that were chipped away earlier. And, believe it or not, your negative beliefs will let go relatively easy, because they are not real. They only seem real because we have let them become so powerful in our lives and have let them take over. Those positive "chips" we earlier displaced are what is real and that is why they only were able to slip "out of sight" and not go away entirely. They are only hidden underneath all the negative stuff but still there and easily retrieved. I will help you do that.
As you will see when you look through the various therapeutic methods that I employ, (see "Services Provided")
every form of therapy in my program
is specifically designed to:
every form of therapy in my program
is specifically designed to:
- let go of the negative and
- bring back the positive
- teach and empower you to help yourself, and
(instead of relying on others to get you better)
- help you get better faster, easier, and more effectively
Native American Philosophy
According to Native American philosophy, as well as other cultures, life is cyclical. We do not die. We simply return to the "spirit world" because we are spirits in bodies here to learn our lessons to elevate our souls. So, when we "return to the spirit world" we figure out what our "lessons' are to be learned for the next time around (the next lifetime). After we figure out what our next lessons are to be we choose our parents to give us those lessons.
Those lessons are called "the Sacred Hurt". "Sacred" because these lessons, when learned, will help us to elevate our souls. "Hurt" because these lessons are not going to be learned by having everything be nice and wonderful all the time. We need to be challenged in order for us to motivate ourselves. If everything was nice and wonderful all the time there would be nothing to inspire us to change or go beyond where we already are. So, this "Sacred Hurt" is given to all of us at birth (this is the part of us that gets "screwed up") and it is up to us to be able to transcend beyond that hurt however we can.
The way I believe we transcend beyond that "Hurt" on a spiritual basis is to be able to find ways to love, accept and forgive that "Hurt". I know now that we can do this by learning how to love, accept, and forgive ourselves in relation to that "Hurt" and, then, we can (perhaps at the same time) learn how to love, accept and forgive those that have given us that "Hurt", thus elevating our souls at the same time.
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