Dylan McKessy

Experience

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  University Child Development Center

  Jan 2014 - May 2016

  Student Assistant

  • Worked closely with teachers in infant, toddler, and preschool age classrooms• Encouraged facilitation of daily curricula and relevant play activities• Provided updates to parents about children’s behavior and daily participation in activities

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  CO-MANS Inc.

  May 2016 - Aug 2017

  Residential Counselor

  • Maintained a caseload of clients, ages 18-65, with chronic mental health diagnoses and a history of psychiatric hospitalization• Held weekly or monthly meetings with each client (depending on program level) and wrote residential service plans as well as maintained progress notes to document client progress and remain goal-focused• Planned and facilitated weekly psycho-educational and therapy-based groups, discussions, and activities• Coordinated with client supports, fellow staff, and other professionals to develop effective treatment strategies for each client • Made appointments for psychological and physical health appointments and occasionally provided transportation, and connected clients to outside resources as needed• Oversaw medication hours and assisted clients with medication management• Conducted psychosocial evaluations• Assisted with crisis intervention during psychiatric emergencies Show less

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  Holy Family Institute

  Oct 2017 - Apr 2018

  MSW Intern

  • Worked closely with school psychologist at a licensed, private academic school for students in grades 1 through 12 who are referred by their public school for behavioral and emotional concerns• Planned and facilitated weekly group psychoeducational lessons with each classroom and maintained progress notes for each student, as well• Met regularly with several students for individual counseling sessions and goal-setting, maintaining progress notes• Placed phone calls to parents of absent students to assist in attendance planning• Maintained contact with outside organizations to provide other assistance to students, such as weekly food bags and coat donations• Debriefed and deescalates students after crises occur and submits write-ups of incident reports as necessary• Identified and referred students for outpatient therapy, and created a list of alternative clinicians for each identified child’s school district • Attended weekly supervision with LSW supervisor from Holy Family Institute Show less

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  MHY Family Services

  May 2018 - Apr 2019

  Residential Advisor

  • Provides direct care to children with acute behavioral and emotional concerns ages 9-17 in a temporary residential setting (Diversion Acute Stabilization) which serves as a transition between inpatient hospitalization and the community • Facilitates psychoeducational groups and documents behavioral observation and psychoeducational comprehension • Emphasizes the Sanctuary Model of Trauma Informed Care • Utilizes Therapeutic Crisis Intervention techniques to deescalate children and keep the unit safe • Completes Life Space Interviews with children post-incident to process their behaviors and develop a safety plan• Collaborates with therapists, psychiatrists, managers, and children to ensure each child receives the best care • Documents individual progress, restraints, serious incidents, and client phone calls in AWARDS online system Show less

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  Western Psychiatric Clinic Pediatric OCD IOP

  Aug 2018 - Apr 2019

  MSW Intern

  • Provides individualized Exposure/Response Prevention (ERP) treatment in a group setting to school-age children with a primary diagnosis of OCD under the supervision of a lead clinician at the intensive outpatient level• Challenges worry thoughts in children using cognitive behavioral techniques• Provides psychoeducation to children and families about ERP treatment and OCD • Generates fear hierarchies collaboratively with children to scale their treatment effectively and comfortably• Creates individual short and long term goals for client treatment plans and regularly assesses progress• Writes clinical progress notes documenting mood checks, exposures therapy, progress, and anxiety levels • Collaborates with children to create effective exposures to work on for home practice to expedite and generalize progress• Meets weekly with clinical supervisor for an hour to discuss cases and potential ethical dilemmas • Attends and participates in weekly multidisciplinary treatment team to collaborate on psychoeducation, ERP, medication management, family therapy, and discharge planning for each child Show less

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  UPMC Western Behavioral Health Pediatric OCD Clinic

  May 2019 - Jun 2021

  Behavioral Health Therapist I

  Group, family, and individual outpatient clinician at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital's Pediatric Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Intensive Outpatient Program and Clinic

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  The Center for OCD and Anxiety

  Jun 2021 - now

  • Senior Therapist

    Aug 2021 - now

  • Associate Therapist

    Jun 2021 - Aug 2021