Currently

Clinical Services   

At our office in Bigfork we offer clinical assessments, psycho-educational evaluations, counseling, and consultation. Click the links to learn more about these services.

Counseling is Fun!

Seminars and Professional Development

We teach a seminar for educators and others working with children in a learning environment, Recognizing and Managing Child and Adolescent Mental Health Disorders in the School Setting. This two day professional development experience helps school personnel better understand the impact of mental health on learning and how to intervene more successfully with these children. New seminars are in the development phase. 

Adjunct Professors

Both of us work as adjunct professors at the University of Great Falls in Montana.  We teach undergraduate Counseling Techniques and Group Counseling classes.  In these classes we instruct the students on the core skills needed by counselors in working with their clients.  Some of these students are studying to become licensed chemical dependency counselors, some work with incarcerated individuals at the state level, and others are working toward a master’s level of education and state licensure as an LCPC. As adjunct professors, we also provide a credit option for our seminar, Recognizing and Managing Child and Adolescent Mental Health Disorders in the School Setting.

Head Start

As the Mental Health consultants for the Northwest Montana Head Start since 2006 we stand on the front line of early identification and intervention.  Our job is to visit all five sites, observe students in their classroom setting, meet and consult with staff, parents, and administration relative to students’ well being and plan in house interventions as well as make referrals for outside services where needed.

Early Childhood Project Trainer

Diana has been a licensed Montana Early Childhood Project trainer since 2004.  In this position she is able to offer training and professional development to all early childhood educators and licensed day care and preschool providers. Diana and Tom have developed an early childhood version of the seminar Recognizing and Managing Child and Adolescent Mental Health Disorders in the School Setting which they present periodically across Montana.  

Past Projects

Running Start Program

Tom codeveloped the Running Start Program at Flathead Valley Community College in Kalispell, Montana. This program gives our valley high school juniors and seniors a chance to earn dual credit and attend classes at the college. To get the high school credit, the classes have to meet a graduation requirement. Tuition is half priced for these youngsters. They have to have a 3.0 gpa, pass a readiness placement test, and get a referral/recommendation from a teacher or school counselor. It’s a simple process and the teens we work with who pursue this opportunity LOVE it. They are treated like adults, can take unusual classes of a high quality, and they see their future clearly. If you want to know more about this program you can contact Tom.

Montana Youth Court Research Project

In the year of 2000 we were involved in a research project codeveloped by the Montana Department of Corrections and the University of Great Falls in Great Falls, Montana.  The purpose of the project was to investigate the effectiveness of dispensations in the youth court arena and evaluate the rates of recidivism relative to various crimes and their dispensations. In addition, the research team was to give recommendations based on these findings.  In all, 11 youth court districts participated, three of which were in our region of western Montana. The task was to read the files of hundreds of children who had entered the youth court system.  This included open files and those dating back several years. Some of the cases examined had open dispositions and others did not.  Data was collected and analyzed and the findings and recommendations were then presented to the Montana Department of Corrections. One of the outstanding observations was that few of these children or their families had received any mental health counseling. This was one of the strong recommendations made by us and others on the team and, as a result, the past eight years has shown a significant increase in the youth court’s emphasis on families getting this kind of support.