Karen McGrellis

Editorial Board Member

Department of Behavioural health care
Rutgers University, USA

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Department / University Information

Rutgers University

Biography

Dr. Karen is a Senior Training and Consultation Specialist at Rutgers-University Behavioral Health Care, Behavioral Research and Training Institute (BRTI) for the Children’s System of Care (CSOC).  She is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Approved Clinical Supervisor, and a Certified Trauma Treatment Specialist, credentialed by the Association of Traumatic Stress Specialists.  She is one of the first clinicians certified in the United States as a Disaster Response Crisis Counselor and is team Leader for Union County, New Jersey under the Disaster and Terrorism Branch within the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services. She holds a Certificate in Traumatic Stress Studies through The Trauma Center at Justice Resource Institute. Karen has effectively led several large behavioral healthcare and social service organizations through successful licensing and accreditation reviews as well as performance improvement and strategic planning initiatives.  Karen is a member of the Promising Path to Success Coaching Team at BRTI where she is coaching CSOC residential providers in the use of trauma-informed practices and principals, utilizing the evidenced-based model of 6 Core Strategies for Restraint and Seclusion Reduction, as well as the Nurtured Heart Approach, of which she is a certified trainer.  Karen is a trainer for Attachment, Regulation and Self Competency (ARC) as part of the team based consultation services for Children’s Center for Resilience and Trauma Recovery of University Behavioral Health Care, Rutgers University. Her area of expertise is training and coaching on evidence-based practices in order to promote trauma-informed care.  She is an experienced conference presenter, clinician, with 30 years postgraduate experience in a variety of clinical and administrative positions, including extensive experience in providing treatment and traumatic stress interventions with youth, adults, and families. She teaches a variety of courses for Rutgers School of Social Work, Office of Continuing Education.  She is a Co-Coordinator of the Northern New Jersey Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Trauma Recovery Network.  Karen is a member of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network's Complex Trauma-Developmental Trauma Disorder Workgroup.

Research Interest

Suicide prevention, Crisis intervention for adults, Crisis intervention for children and families, Substance abuse, Best practices for treating trauma in children, adolescents, and adults.

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