NASHVILLE, TN, September 29, 2020 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Mary Alexandra Coleman has been included in Marquis Who's Who. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
Ms. Coleman is a licensed marriage and family therapist in private practice specializing in integrated trauma, grief and addiction treatment. Her earliest understanding of the value of counseling came from watching her father, an Episcopal minister, assist the community, and she felt naturally drawn to help others in the same way. Ms. Coleman's vocation to mental health was strengthened after watching the 1980 drama "Ordinary People," which helped her realize the desire to serve as a resource for young people facing emotional and circumstantial challenges. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in English and psychology from the University of South Carolina, and later completed a Master of Arts in clinical psychology at Antioch University in 1994.
Prior to establishing her private practice, Ms. Coleman worked with at-risk students in private school settings, beginning at the Carden School, where she supported preschool and kindergarten-aged children in meeting social and academic benchmarks from 1990 until 1992. She would spend the next two academic years at the Poseidon School, the Pacific Palisades Charter School and Bishop Montgomery High School, where she was responsible for administering academic, psychological and behavioral intervention, individual and family counseling, and community resources, including parenting workshops and grief support groups for a diverse population of at-risk high school students. In 1997, Ms. Coleman accepted a human relations coordinator position at the Palisades Elementary Charter School, where she created and implemented a pioneering school-wide conflict resolution program based on peer mediation and mentoring techniques, cultural sensitivity curriculum and self-esteem classes. She would concurrently served as the autism program coordinator at Westside Academy from 1999 until 2001, during which time she drew on her established background in human resources and in-school counseling to design, staff and lead a therapy program for students on the autism spectrum.
Ms. Coleman established her private practice in 2001, with locations in Santa Monica and Pacific Palisades, before relocating to her current office in Nashville. She focuses on individual therapy with adolescent and adult patients to identify and treat substance use disorders, is certified in several therapeutic modalities, including EMDR, clinical hypnosis and mediation, and has completed additional training in support of children of divorce and victims of domestic and partner violence. Her philosophy of treatment is based on the idea that trauma and addiction are often linked, and she strives to work with patients to create proactive treatment plans that address problematic behaviors as a part of this system. Since entering private practice, Ms. Coleman has also served as the director of counseling services at the Art Institute of California and a clinical supervisor for master's and doctoral-level psychotherapy interns at the Clare Foundation. As of 2019, Ms. Coleman was adjunct faculty at the University of Tennessee, where she teaches Fundamentals of Counseling.
A gifted writer, Ms. Coleman enjoyed a career in the publishing industry that included work with Rolling Stone Magazine and the publication of a novel, "More Than Kisses," for Collier and Associates, before focusing on her counseling practice. She continues to write, with recent publications including "Divorce and the Fine Art of Bungee Jumping," and "They Always Get You in the End." Presently, Ms. Coleman is currently working on a guidebook for addiction and recovery treatment.
Ms. Coleman is an honorary member of the board of Thrive Saves Lives, an organization providing support for survivors of domestic violence, and hopes to begin offering pro bono counseling to their clients. She advises others to remain true to themselves and their goals, and to honor their own progress, remembering that life is a nonlinear journey. Ms. Coleman is the parent of two adult children, a sonographer specializing in diagnostic imaging in high-risk pregnancies and an architect. In the coming years, she looks forward to expanding her practice, which currently serves patients in California and Tennessee, into her home state of South Carolina.
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Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who's Who in America®, Marquis Who's Who® has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Today, Who's Who in America® remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the world. Marquis® now publishes many Who's Who titles, including Who's Who in America®, Who's Who in the World®, Who's Who in American Law®, Who's Who in Medicine and Healthcare®, Who's Who in Science and Engineering®, and Who's Who in Asia®. Marquis® publications may be visited at the official Marquis Who's Who® website at www.marquiswhoswho.com.
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