virginiamcdonough1@gmail.com

Born and raised in and around Chicago, I was part of a very large family. I began my professional life as a Social Worker visiting the elderly poor in the inner city. Later I became a therapist at a public school for emotionally disturbed children. After starting a private therapy practice for individuals and couples I realized the connection between spirituality and counseling. Most of the people I was seeing were experiencing wounds to their spirits. I began exploring various spiritual paths: doing and then leading Vision Quest in Canada, going on retreat to Bali etc. I feel fortunate to have come to the Diamond Approach because it is a path for our times. Professionally I am active and curious. I have served on my state board of the National Association of Social Workers and attended the National Assembly as a delegate in Washington, DC twice. I am a Federal mediator doing meditations for the US Postal Service and the Americans with Disabilities Act under the US Department of Justice. Yet close to my heart is the desire to be skilled at helping people recover from trauma and grief. I am trained in several trauma recovery modalities. Personally I enjoy travel, hiking, biking and kayaking. I am a mother of three and grandmother to four. Making baby quilts is a new horizon for me.