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Bodhi Simpson, 32Program Manager
Maine Children’s Home for Little Wanderers
Bodhi Simpson is the director and clinician of the Teen Parent School Program at the Maine Children’s Home for Little Wanderers in Waterville. The program (see www. mainechildrenshome.org) is open to pregnant and parenting teens statewide, and provides prenatal and parenting instruction, and academic and life skills courses. Simpson, who has worked at the agency for seven years, brings special talents to her job.
“Bodhi is unique in the clinical therapy world because of her knowledge and expertise in the wonderful combination of art therapy expertise and gifted ability with adolescents,†writes her supervisor, Elizabeth Dostie.
“She has designed and implemented art therapy groups for teens...designed to promote healing from grief, trauma and difficult, often marginalized lives. She has consistently organized and supported collaboration with local agencies and caseworkers, physicians, lawyers, courts, and homeless shelters to help her clients.
“Bodhi works tirelessly, mostly behind the scenes, to promote awareness of the difficulties faced by her teen mom clients,†Dostie continues. “They face homelessness, addicted parents, sometimes abusive boyfriends and indignities such as being unable to sign for themselves and being unable to afford to go to court for help with emancipation papers to enable them to care for their children properly.â€Â
“Bodhi is an advocate time and time again for her clients.â€Â
A native of Benton, Simpson graduated from Lawrence High; UMaine Augusta, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in mental health and human services; and Springfield College, getting her master’s in clinical art therapy and mental health counseling. She has extensive training in Sandtray Worldplay therapy and is a trained SoulCollage facilitator.
Next month she will open her own creative arts therapy practice in Waterville, providing individual counseling, art therapy, and SoulCollage groups to the community on a monthly basis. (Bodhi means “the enlightened one.â€Â)
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