Samantha Koder, MSW, LSW
|
Master of Social Work
Licensed Social Worker To make an appointment with Samantha, please call 630-570-0050. You can also email Contact.OH@OakHeartCenter.com.
Specializes In:Anxiety, Depression, Worry/Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia, Trauma, Sexual Assault, Non Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI), Adjustment/Life Transitions, Self-Esteem
Ages Served: Kids (10+), Adolescents, Young Adults, Adults |
Professional Experience
I received my Bachelor of Social Work at Western Illinois University with a minor in psychology in 2019. I received my Master of Social Work with a clinical/medical focus at Aurora University in 2021.
During my Bachelor’s I worked in community mental health with the Partner Abuse Intervention Program. I prepared lessons based on a curriculum to utilize in groups that I co-facilitated along with initiating psychosocial assessments to determine the individual needs of clients. I also worked as a house manager for a cilla that held eight seniors where I assisted with day to day activities such as making beds or preparing meals. During my Master’s degree, I focused more on social work in a clinical and/or medical setting. I completed my internship with an intensive outpatient/partial hospitalization program where I completed psychosocial assessments in order to come up with a treatment plan that would utilize Dialectical Behavioral Therapy for individuals who had been discharged from a higher level of care. After graduation with my Masters in Social Work, I worked on a crisis team in community mental health. During that time I utilized de-escalation techniques along with suicidal rating scales to both assess the safety and to determine the next steps for an individual in crisis both in the field and the emergency department. Due to the nature of crisis work, I have worked with children as young as 5 years to adults 70+.
During my Bachelor’s I worked in community mental health with the Partner Abuse Intervention Program. I prepared lessons based on a curriculum to utilize in groups that I co-facilitated along with initiating psychosocial assessments to determine the individual needs of clients. I also worked as a house manager for a cilla that held eight seniors where I assisted with day to day activities such as making beds or preparing meals. During my Master’s degree, I focused more on social work in a clinical and/or medical setting. I completed my internship with an intensive outpatient/partial hospitalization program where I completed psychosocial assessments in order to come up with a treatment plan that would utilize Dialectical Behavioral Therapy for individuals who had been discharged from a higher level of care. After graduation with my Masters in Social Work, I worked on a crisis team in community mental health. During that time I utilized de-escalation techniques along with suicidal rating scales to both assess the safety and to determine the next steps for an individual in crisis both in the field and the emergency department. Due to the nature of crisis work, I have worked with children as young as 5 years to adults 70+.
Specializations and Treatment Approach
I have had training in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), De-escalation Skills and Techniques, Mobile Crisis Team Training, IM+CAT and IM+CANS, Crisis Stabilization, and Mobile Crisis Response. I tend to utilize a strengths based approach with a more supportive stance toward change while pulling from different treatment approaches. I currently work with youth as young as 10 and adults.
I believe that building rapport and having a trusting relationship must be the foundation of quality treatment. I believe that you are the expert of your experience as you are the only person who has walked in your shoes day in and day out. I utilize both compassion and humor when appropriate to build a trusting relationship.
I believe that building rapport and having a trusting relationship must be the foundation of quality treatment. I believe that you are the expert of your experience as you are the only person who has walked in your shoes day in and day out. I utilize both compassion and humor when appropriate to build a trusting relationship.
About Me
What are your professional and personal values?
My top five values are authenticity, courage, curiosity, effort and humor. To strive to be your authentic self is not what you do or what you have. It is to display who you really are deep down and living by those values. Courage, it takes great effort to try and face something that is uncomfortable to you but could be helpful. Effort does not have a standardized scale simply because it is specific to you. What may come easy to one person, could be difficult for another and vice versa. Because we are only human, humor; I value humor because humor helps us to connect and get unstuck.
What are some adjectives you would use to describe yourself and why?
I’m empathetic, dedicated, passionate, and curious. I believe that I have the ability to feel with others, to metaphorically step into their shoes in order to better understand their perspective. I am dedicated to and passionate about life-long learning; There is always something new to learn or another perspective to consider. It is okay to allow new knowledge to change your feelings about something. My curiosity is what drives me to search for more information or a further meaning behind something.
What led you to decide that you wanted to be a therapist?
Humans are ever growing, ever changing creatures and I have found that I have always been interested in learning about humans. In learning about ourselves and what triggers certain behaviors and feelings, we can learn how to maneuver those feelings and behaviors into something bearable and potentially enjoyable.
What are some of your favorite self-care activities?
I love naps and a good cup of coffee. By good, I mean strong.
What is your favorite quote/some of your favorite quotes?
“Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive.” -Dalai Lama
What’s the most profound, meaningful, or interesting thing you’ve learned or experienced as a mental health professional? Why do you love being a mental health professional?
No two people or two stories are the same, not ever. This allows me to be ever curious and use that curiosity to help others navigate through a life that is continually evolving.
My top five values are authenticity, courage, curiosity, effort and humor. To strive to be your authentic self is not what you do or what you have. It is to display who you really are deep down and living by those values. Courage, it takes great effort to try and face something that is uncomfortable to you but could be helpful. Effort does not have a standardized scale simply because it is specific to you. What may come easy to one person, could be difficult for another and vice versa. Because we are only human, humor; I value humor because humor helps us to connect and get unstuck.
What are some adjectives you would use to describe yourself and why?
I’m empathetic, dedicated, passionate, and curious. I believe that I have the ability to feel with others, to metaphorically step into their shoes in order to better understand their perspective. I am dedicated to and passionate about life-long learning; There is always something new to learn or another perspective to consider. It is okay to allow new knowledge to change your feelings about something. My curiosity is what drives me to search for more information or a further meaning behind something.
What led you to decide that you wanted to be a therapist?
Humans are ever growing, ever changing creatures and I have found that I have always been interested in learning about humans. In learning about ourselves and what triggers certain behaviors and feelings, we can learn how to maneuver those feelings and behaviors into something bearable and potentially enjoyable.
What are some of your favorite self-care activities?
I love naps and a good cup of coffee. By good, I mean strong.
What is your favorite quote/some of your favorite quotes?
“Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive.” -Dalai Lama
What’s the most profound, meaningful, or interesting thing you’ve learned or experienced as a mental health professional? Why do you love being a mental health professional?
No two people or two stories are the same, not ever. This allows me to be ever curious and use that curiosity to help others navigate through a life that is continually evolving.
