Here to Help
Sometimes it’s hard to be a kid. Or an adult.
Sometimes people in a family can’t get along.
Divorce is sometimes necessary, but it can be really lonely and stressful to get through.
Raising kids (especially special needs kids) requires hard work, good support, and access to resources or programs and benefits.
Life can be seriously tough, no matter how smart you are,
or how hard you try.
Sometimes people or families need help, support, and community resources.
Smart people seek out the help they need, and keep learning and growing.
Cassandra Duggan, Licensed Clinical Social Worker LCSW #82622
I am an experienced licensed clinical social worker, and a divorced mom of two young adults, one of whom is severely disabled. I enjoy helping people of all kinds. I have a natural affinity for kids, and a deep understanding of how families work, and how they can fail to work, even despite parents’ hard work and best intentions. Let’s get real, life and relationships are hard, and it helps to keep a sense of humor and realistic expectations. I can help you with that. You and/or your family are welcome just as you are. Nobody’s perfect. We all need help sometimes. Smart people get the help and support they need.
I have 30 years’ experience in Masters-level social work and counseling, in the medical and mental health fields. Before becoming a social worker, I worked for 10 years with children of all ages, as a preschool & elementary school teacher, summer camp assistant director, and child care provider. I provided services to emotionally disturbed teens at Fred Finch Youth Center and the Marchus Center. I have a License in Clinical Social Work (LCSW # 82622) and a Master’s in Social Welfare from UC Berkeley.
Though my parents were both midwestern Americans, my family moved from Iowa to Germany for ten years when I was nine years old. My father was affiliated with the US Army there, and my mother worked as a librarian for the Heidelberg University. Living in Europe taught me how to communicate with people who don’t speak my language, that other cultures may have fabulous things my culture may lack, and what it’s like to be an immigrant. As a social worker and a bilingual Spanish-speaking teacher, I have always enjoyed providing egalitarian, thoughtful, and culturally sensitive service to people of many languages and races, including many immigrants. Besides speaking Spanish moderately well, I speak very good German and pretty good French.