EXPERIENCE

Wisconsin Department of Corrections, Madison, WI
Psychologist - Licensed                                                                                       January 2012 – Present
  • 2012-2013 Merit Award winner for performance of exceptional performance of duties.
  • Provide direct individual and group services to a diverse group of offenders spanning the full range of DSM Diagnoses.
  • Administer and interpret psychological assessment for use in therapy and for classification.
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of psychological programing utilizing statistical analysis.
  • Assess offenders’ suicidality or risk for self-harm. Make recommendations, over 300 a year, regarding the placement in and removal from observation and the use of full body restraints.
  • Provide on-call emergency services.
  • Consult with other professionals and field staff in the planning of holistic treatment options.
  • Provide individual clinical supervision to psychological interns.
  • Collaborate on the development and implementation of training in psychology and behavioral/cognitive sciences for staff.

Minneapolis Internship Consortium, Minneapolis, MN
Pre-Doctoral Psychological Intern                                                              August 2010 – August 2011
Interprofessional Center for Counseling and Legal Services – Primary Rotation
  • Provided individual and couples counseling to uninsured community mental health population.  
  • Engaged in program development and outreach by providing trainings to psychology, social work, and law students; presenting information about the Interprofessional Center to outside agencies; and interacting with community partners.
  • Provided individual clinical supervision.
  • Administered clinical, career, and neuropsychological.
  • Completed objective clinical and neuropsychological assessments as an expert witness for court cases. Defended the findings of these assessments in court testimony.
Park Avenue Center – Secondary Rotation
  • Provided individual counseling for clients with co-occurring mental health and chemical dependency in a combined inpatient/outpatient treatment facility.
  • Co-facilitated process and psychoeducation groups for the treatment of client’s mental health and chemical dependency.
  • Received training on chemical dependency, co-occurring disorders, and effective treatments.

Neighborhood Involvement Program, Minneapolis, MN
Mental Health Administrative Specialist                                                  January 2005 – January 2012
  • Directly influenced policy decisions that led to an increase in student training program and a 30% increase in number of clients served.
  • Compiled and analyzed program data to create a plan for the Mental Health programs to address state funding cuts while maintaining full services.
  • Organized and prepared program data for several county, state, and private funder reports.
  • Continually worked to design new systems that produced greater speed and accuracy in data reporting, which allowed for a 25% increase in data without an increase in data entry time.
  • Delivered in-depth training for new volunteers with colleagues, provided daily brief and back up supervision to crisis phone line counselors, and collaborated in the organization, educator training, and scheduling of over 400 multiple sexual violence prevention presentations a year.
University of Minnesota Counseling and Consulting Services, Minneapolis, MN
Practicum Counselor                                                                                  September 2009 – May 2010
  • Provided personal counseling to a diverse group of students with a wide range of presenting concerns.
  • Assisted students with academic difficulties by providing them with information about university resources while also addressing client ambiguity and lack of motivation.
  • Integrated information from client interviews and career assessments to assist students in choosing a major and searching for a post-graduation career.
  • Participated in program outreach including National Depression Screening Day and a student resource fair.
  • Engaged in individual supervision, group supervision, and peer consultation to enhance personal counseling skills, collaborative growth, and interconnection within the counseling center.
Interprofessional Center for Counseling and Legal Services, Minneapolis, MN
  • Practicum Counselor                                                                                          August 2008 – July 2009
  • Provided counseling for community mental health population with presenting concerns spanning many of the clinical disorders and involving some of the personality disorders.
  • Partnered with Social Work and Legal Services using the Interprofessional Center model to provide comprehensive services to meet client needs.
  • Received training in and provided personality, career, cognitive, and neuropsychological assessment for youth, adults, and geriatric clients.
  • Administered forensic psychological assessment for Legal Services Elder Law and Immigration cases.

Metropolitan State University, Saint Paul, MN
Practicum Counselor                                                                                  September 2006 – May 2007
  • Provided general issues counseling for a group of ethnically diverse college age and adult learners.  I worked predominately with depression and anxiety.
  • Hosted seminars, groups, and counseled students on job search and career building techniques.
  • Performed outreach activities to increase students’ and faculties’ awareness of the counseling program’s services.  These activities included informational meeting with university programs, attending resource fairs, presentations, and classroom visits.
  • Organized and conducted campus wide assessments for National Depression Screening Day and National Alcohol Screening Day.

Neighborhood Involvement Program, Minneapolis, MN
Crisis Counselor Intern                                                                        September 2004 – January 2005
  • Answered 24 hour crisis telephone line and provided walk in counseling services for past and recent victims of sexual assault or abuse, focusing on affirming immediate feelings, dispelling myths, assessing for suicidality, creating safety plans and providing resources.
  • Provided sexual abuse prevention education to kindergarten – 5th graders.  Through this experience I also practiced brief counseling with children, learned the mandated reporting process, and discovered the importance of prevention services.

EDUCATION

University of St. Thomas Graduate School of Professional Psychology, Minneapolis, MN
Doctorate of Psychology – Counseling Psychology, September 2011
Dissertation Topic: Clients with Internet or Video Game Overuse: A Clinician's Guide

University of St. Thomas Graduate School of Professional Psychology, Minneapolis, MN
Master of Arts – Counseling Psychology, May 2007

University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
Bachelor of Science - Psychology & Philosophy, May 2005

LICENSE

Psychologist – State of Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services
WI License # 3110-57

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

University of St. Thomas, Minneapolis, MN
Primary Researcher                                                                                    January 2009 – August 2009
  • Impact of Sexual Trauma on Client Improvement and Therapy Length
  • Organized a group of colleagues as we collected, analyzed, and presented data.
  • Facilitated the analysis and interpretation of research results.
  • Acted as liaison between the research team, the organization whose data we were using, and the University of St. Thomas IRB.
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
Research Assistant                                                                                           January 2003 – May 2005
  • Worked on a study looking at the effects of stereotype threat.
  • Gained experience interacting with participants as a controlled variable, practiced using proper techniques for transcribing data, became familiar with how to meet standards for coding data with high inter-rater reliability, and practiced data entry and basic analysis skills.

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

University of St. Thomas Graduate School of Professional Psychology, Minneapolis, MN
Counseling Practicum Group Supervision Co-Teacher                                Fall 2010 – Summer 2011
  • Taught four semesters of group supervision to Master’s level psychology students.
  • Facilitated group discussions, provided student evaluations, assigned and graded assignments to further practicum learning experiences.

PROFESSIONAL PRESENTATIONS
  • Buhr, N. C. (2010, December). Working with Victims of Trauma. Presentation to Interprofessional Center for Counseling and Legal Services, Minneapolis, MN.
  • Buhr, N. C., Kocian, A. N., McCartney, S. M., Miller, J. D., & Sorensen, R. J. (2009, August). Impact of Sexual Trauma on Client Improvement and Therapy Length. Poster session presented at the APA Convention, Toronto, Canada.

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

American Psychological Association                                                                  October 2004 – Present