Community Staff

Carmen Rodriguez, MSW, LSW

Carmen is a graduate from the IU School of Social Work, where she received both her Bachelor and Master of Social Work. Carmen is currently a Licensed Social Worker working to become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Carmen has experience working in the mental health field in numerous settings, including school-based, home-based, and community-based. Carmen provided individual and family therapy through her work with children, adults, and families.

Carmen has received training in Trauma Focus-Cognitive Behavioral therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Strengths-Based Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Play Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

Chelley Gastineau, MSW, LSW

Bio Coming Soon

Chris Irwin, MSW, LCSW

Chris Irwin is a Licensed Social Worker who is currently working towards becoming a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. She received her Master of Social Work degree from Indiana University. She has previous experience as a Health Coach to help individuals meet their mental and physical health goals and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Prior to that, she worked at Big Brothers and Big Sisters, providing psycho-social education to help girls reach their full potential. Currently, Chris is working with children and families that are involved with the Department of Child Services, where she provides individual and family therapy.

Chris utilizes both Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and EMDR to address her clients’ unique needs. She is currently working on becoming certified in EMDR, which is an integrative psychotherapy approach that has been extensively researched and proven effective for the treatment of trauma, anxiety, and depression. Chris is client-focused and strives to create an alliance with her clients to determine therapeutic goals and treatment tasks.

Delaina Plahitko, MSW, LSW

Upon graduating in 2003 from Indiana State University with her Bachelor’s in Social Work, Delaina worked for several years with families in their homes as a Medical Social Worker, followed by fifteen years working as a Counselor and Survivor Advocate with adult and child survivors of Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, and Sex-Trafficking. While working as a Survivor Advocate in Tulsa, Delaina led statewide trainings for partnering agencies across the state of Oklahoma. Delaina also sat on many committees in Tulsa advocating for the services needed for at risk and underserved populations.

Delaina earned her Master’s in Social Work in 2019 from the University of Oklahoma before beginning her time as a Licensed Social Worker at LifeSolutions Counseling. She is currently working toward her Clinical Social Work licensure while working with children and families that are involved with the Department of Child Services, where she provides individual and family therapy. She integrates multiple evidence-based clinical approaches into her therapy depending on the needs of her clients. These include Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavior therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Play Therapy, and Mindfulness. Delaina is client-focused and strives to create an alliance with her clients to determine therapeutic goals and treatment tasks ultimately addressing treatment of trauma, anxiety, and depression.

Josie Smith, MSW, LSW

Josie Smith is a Licensed Social Worker who is currently working towards becoming a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Josie received her Master’s in Social Work from Indiana University with a focus on children, youth, and families. She has previous experience working in a crisis center, with foster families and children, and in a residential facility for adults with severe mental illnesses. Josie is currently providing individual and family therapy to children and families involved with the Department of Child Services.  Josie utilizes a trauma-focused approach and implements components of Dialectical Behavior Therapy and Cognitive Behavior Therapy with clients. Josie particularly enjoys working with young children and teens using aspects of art and play therapy. Josie is passionate about building connections with others and helping clients achieve their goals.

Laurissa Bertsch, MSW, LCSW

Laurissa earned her Master of Social Work at Indiana University School of Social Work. She is a Licensed Social Worker and currently working toward becoming a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Laurissa is trained in Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP) and specializes in working with children and parents to assess and repair the parent-child relationship. The CPP model allows the therapist and the parents to partner in the work of understanding how the child’s milestone development, family dynamics, and trauma shape the family experience in order to utilize the parent-child relationship as a point of healing for both the child and the parent.

Lizzie Timberlake, MSW, LSW

Lizzie Timberlake is currently a Licensed Social Worker working to become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker.. She earned her B.A. in Psychology from Indiana University and her Master’s in Social Work from Washington University in St. Louis. Lizzie has gained experience in the mental health field working with a variety of populations including youth experiencing homelessness, college students, and adults involved with the Department of Child Services. She integrates multiple evidence-based clinical approaches into her therapy depending on the needs of her clients, including Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, and Trauma-Focused CBT. Lizzie affirms the dignity and worth of each individual and strives to create a warm, safe environment in which clients feel comfortable exploring and expressing their unique thoughts, feelings, and challenges. Through this process, Lizzie aims to partner with each client in setting treatment goals and to support their journey toward growth and healing.

Sasha Reardon, MSW, LCSW

Sasha is a Licensed Social Worker with eight years of combined experience working with individuals of all ages. She began her social work career working with adults suffering from substance abuse and addiction in an outpatient setting in Evanston, Illinois. She also gained experience working with children and adolescents in an inpatient/outpatient hospital setting in Chicago, Illinois. More recently, Sasha has been working as a home-based therapist in the state of Indiana, where she has been providing therapeutic services to children and families over the last five years. Sasha utilizes a strength-based perspective in her treatment of individuals suffering from traumas in a wide variety of areas. She strives to provide a safe, calm, and empowering environment for individuals to thrive in and meet their full potential.

Sasha’s areas of clinical interest include the following: Anxiety, Addictions, Depression, Substance Abuse, Domestic Violence, Trauma, Infertility, Eating Disorders, Child-Welfare, ADHD, Anger Management, Grief and Loss, and Self-esteem.

Sasha earned her master’s degree with a concentration in Children and Families from Loyola University Chicago and earned her Bachelor of Psychology and Sociology degrees with a minor in Music from Indiana University-Bloomington. She is trained in Cognitive Behavior Therapy and is pursuing her clinical licensure in social work as well as her certification and licensure in Play Therapy.

Valerie Higbee, BA

Valerie Higbee is a home-based caseworker at Life Solutions Counseling. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Human Services and has a focus on rehabilitating those with various addictions. Through her education and training, she is able to provide specialized and thorough care with each client. In her current position, Valerie provides psychoeducation about relapse prevention, creating healthy support systems, and accessing financial resources. In addition, she also provides supervised visitations to parents, coaches them on appropriate parenting skills, and assists in creating long lasting bonds between child and parent. Valerie utilizes additional communication and verbal skills to assist those from varying socioeconomic statuses to further achieve goals identified by themselves and the Department of Child Services. Valerie enjoys working with those who struggle with substance abuse and has found this to be a clinical passion of hers.