About Mary Ellen Edwards, LCSW:

Mary Ellen has been in the mental health field for over 20 years and currently is in private practice and consulting service. Her career has spanned working in the fields of mental health and Hospice as well as in domestic violence and has crossed from direct provision of services to developing services to supervision and mentoring of clinical staff‘. Mary Ellen has provided consultation services, training, program and staff development and direct care work with several hospices, including an inpatient palliative care facility.                                 

Mary Ellen is a frequent local speaker on a variety of mental health topics and has developed and taught extended continuing education course for professionals in working with grief and loss and psychosocial issues in death and dying. Her private practice work includes counseling, therapy and crisis intervention with children ages 10 and up, adults, couples, families, older individuals Besides working with those with chronic mental illness, and those dealing with grief, loss, death and dying; victims of domestic abuse, Mary Ellen works with survivors of abuse; those dealing with sexual orientation and lifestyle and those dealing with the myriad of mental health and daily stress and relationship issues. Mary Ellen is a mind-body psychotherapist and has served 6 years on the board of the Mental Health Association of Tarrant Count, Texas and on numerous other boards.

Photo used with permission www.rhythmwed.com

Mary Ellen’s Therapeutic, Community, and Wellness Drumming:

Mary Ellen has received numerous trainings both in drumming and in facilitating drum circles. She is is a multi-trained Arthur Hull (father of the facilitated drum circle movement - http://www.drumcircle.com/ ) facilitator’s playshop graduate and a Remo drum HealthRHYTHMS’ facilitator (http://remo.com/health/ ). Mary Ellen started implementing therapeutic drumming into clinical and support services first in 1996 during one of her Healing Campout Retreats outside of Groesbeck, Texas. A guest Native American Healer led the group through simple guided drumming, creating   a safe, serene and embracing space. She then attended her first, large-scale therapeutic drumming event at a national conference of the Association for Ambulatory Behavioral Healthcare in 1997. She has told facilitators that “I knew drumming would be close to my heart before I ever heard my first beat on the drum”. It was awesome! Psychiatric nurses, doctors, administrators, clinicians, and yes, even some managed care reviewers were incredibly transformed to a joyous communal one. What a true harmonious multi-disciplinary group!

The learning continued as Mary Ellen, in her role as Program Director for a Community Mental Health Center enabled therapeutic drumming groups into services, including drumming with deaf clients and psychiatric clients. Mary Ellen participated in lessons, performances and drum jams with a local women’s group but continued her training and expanded outward. Mary Ellen has traveled across the country and to Hawaii and has taken lessons and training in addition from Remo Signature Series artist, Paulo Mattioli, djembe masters Moussa Diabate, Amara Camara, Yamoussa Camara; Malik Sow, doumbec lessons from Jamal Mohammed among many others and percussion and healing sounds workshops and training from numerous artists and facilitators. Mary Ellen adds bells and wood, shakers American Flute, didgeridoo, Tibetan singing bowls as can and encourages movement and dance.