AVALON BIRKE
Who is Avalon Birke?
I am a therapist in RL, with two accredited Master's degrees and extensive RL and SL experience. In RL I work part-time in Acute Care in a local hospital, and part-time in private practice. I am a Board Certified Family Therapist (CFT), granted by the National Accrediting Academy.
I specialize in individual and couples therapy, communication skills, relationships, addictions, trauma, disability issues, and working with chronic illness and pain. I am working toward my PsyD at this time, am a published author, and a college instructor. I have been RL-trained in EMDR, Cognitive Processing Therapy, Violent Communication, Domestic Violence Recovery, Internet Addiction, and more. I see SL residents by appointment - details are in my Profile in-world and at The Counseling Center on Wellness Island. I love my work in SL and it's been one of the high points of my career as a whole, enabling me to reach many more clients in an effective and productive way. I believe that virtual therapy can be an excellent option for many when offered responsibly.
I balance my SL work calendar with my RL patient workload, and usually have 2-3 days per week with SL appointment times. If you need to reach me please send a notecard or email and I will contact you as soon as I can. My IMs often get capped, so if you IM me and do not hear back within 24 hours (usually much sooner), please try an email or a notecard in my profile.
A partial list of my past RL accredited coursework is listed below.
ALL proceeds from my services go to support Wellness Island and our Memussi mainland office. There is not, and never has been, a profit made from The Counseling Center. 100% of donations and fees go to support the island and its work.
Voice and Text:
Sessions are conducted in text, and the fees are listed below. I hope to be offering both voice and webcam services in the summer of 2010. The session fees for these services will be closer to my RL counseling rates, payable via Paypal. As soon as these additional services are offered, I will announce details here.
To make an appointment:
Just check the available times and dates on my Google calendar ("Available" means the time is open, and you can request it) and send me an IM or email with your SL name, the date and time you are requesting, and a brief idea of what you would like to work on in counseling. New clients - if we have not discussed services before, please complete a Counseling Services Intake form and a Policies and Procedures form, both available in our Visitor's Center on Wellness Island and our mainland annex at Memussi.
Appointments are paid for in advance - at the time the appointment is made.
When you are looking at the Google calendar, please make sure you are in the current month, and remember that appointments are scheduled in SLT - if your Google view is set for EST, for example, you may need to adjust the time.
You can help me serve you best by reading the following:
- If you would like to send me a message, a short question or notecard is much better than "hey" or "are u there?"
- My IMs cap often, so notecards or emails for long messages are appreciated.
- Most basic questions are answered in my Profile, on the website, or at the Counseling Center. The Google Calendar is in my SL profile for your convenience, under the Web tab. Press Load Page if you don't see it.
- Important: There are limits to what I am able to responsibly do in SL - some problems need real life attention and must be referred to your real life doctor or therapist. I cannot see residents who come to me with something that I cannot responsibly help with, such as medical or psychiatric emergencies. But I can and do help them find the support they need. We have a number of resources available with emergency RL numbers for you to call if you need urgent RL help, or need support for a problem that cannot be ethically handled online. Both of our locations have Emergency Contact lists - big white signs with a red cross on them. Click them for emergency contact info worldwide.
Scope of Practice: In-world, I am unable to diagnose or treat, therefore my work is focused on talking with you about issues related to relationships, personal growth, identity, addiction, sexuality, anxiety, depression, etc. If in doubt, ask, and I will be glad to clarify. In general, if someone is suicidal, hearing voices, going to harm someone, has just been sexually assaulted, etc - those are serious RL issues. They need RL help and I am glad to help you find RL resources. Other SL counselors may handle that differently - this is my personal and professional judgement call, to protect the wellbeing of each resident who asks for help.
- If you have specific requirements of an in-world therapist, such as a specific technique you want to use or an orientation you prefer, please let me know first. If I fit your needs, great, and if not I will be glad to help you find what you are looking for.
- Do you need a speaker, consultant, interview about SL or online mental health issues? My time in-world is mainly spent seeing clients these days, but I am happy to help other practitioners, groups, or students when I can. It is helpful if you can give me specifics about what you need and how I can help. Email is preferable since I am not on duty in-world everyday - avalonbirke@gmail.com.
- Avalon Birke is my avatar's name. My real name is not something I put on my website for common sense privacy reasons. That said, nearly all my clients know my real name, know where I live and work, and have even seen photos of my real life dog, daughter, etc. :-)
My training: here is a partial list of accredited post-graduate courses in Psychology I have completed. I have a Bachelors degree in Sociology, a Masters in Management, and a Masters in Counseling Psychology - all accredited, all completed with nothing lower than an A- average. Each of the classes below were 5 units each.
PSY 635 Development Contexts in Psychotherapy: Childhood and Adolescence
PSY 629A Development Contexts in Psychotherapy: Adulthood and Aging
PSY 653 Research: Paradigms and Critiques
PSY 623A Perspectives on Psychopathology Individual Psychotherapy and Clinical Assessment I
PSY 623B Principles of Psychotherapy I: Assessment and Interventions Individual Psychotherapy and Clinical Assessment II
PSY 636 Principles of Psychotherapy II: Child and Adolescent
PSY 632A Couples/Family Therapy A
PSY 632B Couples/Family Therapy B
PSY 628 Principles of Psychotherapy III: Group Approaches
PSY 627 Legal and Ethical Issues in Marriage and Family Therapy
PSY 631A Practicum I: Marital and Family Therapy
(Prerequisite: Department approval)
PSY 631B Practicum II: Marital and Family Therapy
(Prerequisites: PSY 631A and Department approval)
PSY 637 Principles of Psychotherapy V: Cultural Competencies
PSY 624 Assessment Techniques for Marriage and Family Therapists
PSY 642 Relational Violence
CHD 640 Addictions: Contexts and Treatments
PSY 626 Human Sexuality in Psychotherapy
PSY 655 Psychopharmacology
Plus ongoing training in EMDR, Domestic Violence Recovery Programs (certified), Non-Violent Communication, Sandtray Therapy, and more. I have an additional Master's degree in Management and a Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology, minor in Education.
MEDIA
Below is a list of a few of the interviews and workshops I have done in SL:
WORKSHOP - "Suicidal Ideation: How Peers Can Help"
November 19, 2009
WORKSHOP - "Peer Counseling In Practice"
October 19, 2008
Co-sponsored with Open Gates Peer Support Community
WORKSHOP – “Depression and Anxiety”
June 14, 2008
WORKSHOP – “PTSD – What is it?”
June 28, 2008
ONGOING – April 2008 to present
“Peer Supporter Training”
WORKSHOP – “Support for Caretakers and Helpers”
Offered February and March 2008
CRISIS INTERVENTION TRAINING
“How to Help in a Crisis”
Offered on an ongoing basis, February 2008 to present
WORKSHOP
“When and How to Refer to RL Help”
March 2008
DREAMS FAIR
“Mental Health Issues in a Virtual Environment”
and
“Medical Ethics” (with Dr. Ren Stonecutter)
April 2008
TAKE PRIDE EVENT
“Self Esteem – Loving Yourself”
April 2008
CONFERENCE: 'Mental Health in Second Life - Potential chances and threats' by SL'ang Life magazine
“Choosing Legitimate Support In-World”
March 29, 2008
CONFERENCE: ‘Health Care Event’ by SL’ang Life magazine
“Wellness Island Overview”
February 9, 2008
WORKSHOP: “Breaking Up is Hard to Do…Learning to Let Go”
January 2008
WELL BEING CONFERENCE at The Cove
“Virtual World - Real Emotions”
Saturday, December 1st, 2007
HERON SANCTUARY OPEN HOUSE
“Mental Health in Second Life”
Sunday, September 16, 2007
MEDIA
http://issuu.com/maniera/docs/maniera_hope_issuu
http://www.metaversemessenger.com/pdf/2008/09/MM20080909.pdf
Podcast January 2009: http://whattheplurk.libsyn.com/ - Episode 5
Interviewed by Draxtor Despres (Life4You SL TV), Voodoo Buwan (SL-Newspaper '07), Eureka Dejavu (blog), and many more. I have assisted in more grad school projects and term papers than I can count, and provided support and resources on mental health to dozens of SL practitioners and educators.