Meet Dr. Sue Francis at Lavi
A Note From The Founder
Welcome! I am Dr. Sue Francis, the founder of Lavi. I would like to warmly thank you for stopping by! Let's get acquainted. 22 years ago, I became intrigued about how the mind worked and why certain behaviors presented. After several years of research, learning, documenting, and writing, I graduated with my doctorate degree in Counseling Psychology. I am a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC); Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC); and certified as an Approved Counseling Supervisor (ACS).
I began my career in this field as an advocate for domestic violence victims. This created a desire and necessity in me to help curb their pain by providing hundreds of hours of intensive therapy and case management services.
I am an avid mental wellness activist whose focus is to empower others and support those who have lost their voice and passion for life due to fear, low-self-esteem, trauma, physical, emotional, and sexual abuse/violence, depression, grief, and abandonment.
My team and I work closely to help them regain their control. My views and beliefs in this study is heavily influenced by Viktor Frankl (Pioneer of Logotherapy).
My goal is to assist those under the restraints of psychological infirmity, transcend to a vibrant and healthy functioning mental wellbeing.
As a Board Approved Clinical Supervisor, I continue to utilize my expertise and passion for the field by educating, equipping. and training counselors, and helping them to employ highly effective 21st century therapy practices.
Teaching graduate and undergraduate university students in the United States and overseas, helped me to actualize my deep desire and love to share and infuse knowledge of Psychology. However, the passion that I possessed as a therapist drew me away from academia and beckoned me to engage in some of the toughest cases of mental health imbalances. I worked night and day to provide mental stability and therapeutic support for countless of individuals experiencing mental health crises, mild to severe mental and emotional disparities, and some with persistent psychological diagnoses, such as Schizophrenia, Bipolar, Major Depressive Disorder, PTSD, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and Borderline Personality Disorder.
I found great fulfillment in providing counseling services to rehabilitating adults on probation for criminal charges, adults in transitional and half-way housing, immigrants in the process of securing U.S. citizenship, adult refugees, and developmentally challenged individuals. I transformed their mental wellbeing from hopelessness and despair to optimism, which was remarkable and quite apparent after just a few weeks of therapy. My service as an emergency mental health crisis responder in the District of Columbia, saving lives one day at a time was by far, my most challenging work as a therapist. Yet, this experience proved for me that we humans are more resilient than we credit ourselves with; we must indulge our own power!
While my niche is in the realm of crisis/trauma and broken relationships, I celebrate success in effectively treating pre and post partum teenagers with emotional disturbances and adults suffering with post-partum depression and grief that was as a result of miscarriages, abortions, and adoptions. Last, but not least, having served as a member of the United States Air Force for 22 years both in the U.S. and abroad, I am highly effective in working and caring for a military population. I am currently in the process of publishing my latest qualitative research study, entitled, A Phenomenological Study Comparing Military Personnel/Veterans Who Were Deployed to Iraq/Afghanistan and Diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) With Military Personnel/Veterans Who Were Deployed to Iraq/Afghanistan Absent of PTSD. This research study will bring great insight to the military community and general PTSD sufferers alike.
Sue Francis, EdD, LCPC, NCC. License # LC11016