piratetherapy.com
  • Pirate Psychology and Archetype
  • Pirate Lesson #1 xXx
  • Pirate in Culture
  • A Pirate wants . . .
  • Introduction to Pirate Therapy
  • About the Book
    • Preface to PIRATE
    • About the Book Cover
    • About the Author
  • International Talk Like a Pirate Day: the Language of RRRrrrrr
  • Creating PTOTMB
  • Merry X-Mas: STRENGTH
  • Pirate Head Injury
  • Pirate Tarot xXx
  • Quarterly Deck
  • Pirate Blues
Bruce B. Hersch, Ph.D.

e-mail: pyrrr8@yahoo.com

Experience

2008-09                  Psychologist Intern      Aurora Vista Del Mar Psychiatric Hospital
Provided group instruction, individual, group, family, and multifamily therapy to adults and adolescents, including treatment for severe mental illness during acute crisis. Ancillary duties: taking psychosocial history, problem list identification and assessment, treatment planning, psychological testing and daily charting of patients' progress. Developed individualized plans for adjustment to daily life.


2004                             Mental Health Clinician                                 Devereux, California
Evaluation of individual needs and development of therapeutic 
mental health programs in an institutional setting. Provided counseling to maximize the functioning potential of clients with special needs due to behavioral, psychological, intellectual, or neurological impairment. Responsibilities included behavior assessment of individual clients, teaching interactions, and therapeutic communication. Worked with treatment team to develop psychosocial and recreational programming. Facilitated community meetings. Data collection, record keeping, report writing. Communication with family members.


1996 – 1998                  Mental Health Case Worker                         County of Santa Barbara
Care Coordinator for children, adolescents, and families in the Santa Barbara Multiagency Integrated System of Care (MISC). Assisted in client enrollment, aided assessment team in evaluating families specific strengths and needs. Developed treatment plans, brokered necessary services, linked community resources, monitored client’s progress, documented service activities, provided a variety of direct services as well as arranged for psychiatric and clinical interventions needed to maintain stable community functioning. Facilitated Wraparound meetings. Utilization review.

1991 -1994  Residential Counselor/Senior Counselor        Phoenix of Santa Barbara
Residential Treatment for mentally ill adults making the transition from institution to life in the community. Participated in interviewing, hiring and training new staff. Responsible for checking the work of the residential counseling staff and giving them feedback regarding completeness. Responsible for weekly inventory and ordering patient medications, attended Residential Treatment Services (RTS) meetings. Facilitated staff meetings. Created the Phoenix Dollars Program that provided jobs and a reward delivery system for the clients.  Treatment planning. Individual, group, and family counseling.

Additional Experience:

Counselor/Residential Counselor       Turning Point Foundation, Ventura (2 sites)
The Drop-in Socialization Center: Counselor for the homeless mentally ill and mentally ill adults. Conducted individual and group counseling sessions. Referred the clients to various community services (i.e. medical care, legal/financial aid, and food/housing agencies). Created the “pre-vocational” program that assisted clients in developing the necessary skills to work in the community. Supervised daily activities of the Center which included daily meal preparation and serving; excursions and outings (supervised up to fifteen people); organized and facilitated special interest groups that included art classes, substance abuse support groups, science projects, pool tournaments, community recycling teams, a computer club, newsletter committee and other social/recreational events. Created the Coupon Economy Incentive Reward Program, client store and food pantry that provided food and necessities for the clients.

Estancia House: Crisis Residential Program. Crisis Intervention counseling in a residential setting for mentally ill adults. Duties include intake interview emphasizing psychosocial history, assessment of patient problems, and development of personal treatment plans. Was part of a treatment team that provided psychosocial rehabilitation as an alternative to inpatient hospitalization. Provided individual and group counseling, social skills training and charted patient’s daily progress. Liaison between the patients and their discharge plans.

Mental Health Worker                                                 Vista Del Mar Psychiatric Hospital
Individual and group counseling of adolescents and adults in an inpatient hospital. Charted patient’s progress. Supervised therapeutic and recreational activities

Counselor/Tutor                                                            Self Employed
Provided personal counseling, consulting and goal-directed programs for individual clients. Academic tutoring in psychology, biology and nutrition at Ventura College.

Staff Research Associate                                                 UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute
Graduate Student Assistant/Social Work Associate               Camarillo State Hospital


Education           

            Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis on Depth Psychology – Pacifica Graduate Institute, Santa Barbara

            M.A in Community/Clinical Psychology – Pepperdine University, Malibu

            B.A. in Psychology – University of California, Los Angeles

Community Activities
1980   Channel Islands Recreation, President
          Director: Harbor Square Beach Fair I,II, III
          Co-ordinator: Oliviera Plaza Arts & Craft Show
          Channel Islands Chamber of Commerce and Homeowner's Association, Bd. of Directors
                     Chairman: Channel Islands Parade of Lights Committee
1991   Journey Toward Being: Mental Health Community Art Show, Camarillo State Hospital, CA, co-ordinator
1992   Phoenix Dollar Program, Santa Barbara CA
1998   Pirates of the Channel Islands, President

                    Pirate's Ball, Channel Islands Harbor
1998-2008   Renaissance Fair, performance art & archetypal pirate research

2000             Millennium Celebration Redondo Beach with Brotherhood of the Coast
2009   Doctoral Dissertation: Pirate Therapy: Quest for the Mystic Bootye 
2009   Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association (PCA/ACA) Pirate Tarot for a Pirate Culture;The Pirate Tarot          x         Mandala: Descent to the Crossroad; Pirate Tarot: Piracy or Fair Use?; Divination, Intuition, and the Pirate Tarot of the Mystic x         Bootye.
2010   Mystic Bootye Foundation, President

2011    Pierpont Relief, Inc., Founding Director
2013   Author of Pirate: Quest for the Mystic Bootye, An Introduction to the Pirate Psychology and the Pirate Archetype

           Author of 
 "Creating the Pirate Tarot of the Mystic Bootye" in Tarot and Cullture, Emily E. Auger (ed.), Association for Tarot                          
                Studies: Victoria, Australia