My name is Jacqueline Gosley-McFarlane. I was born and raised in London, England, and relocated to Queens, New York as a teenager. I received my Master of Social Work degree at New York State University at Stony Brook in New York and relocated to Tampa, Florida, in 2004. My introduction to the field of social welfare began when I worked as a Befriender at a substance misuse inpatient center in Stockwell, London, where I counseled adult patients going through various stages of drug and alcohol recovery, educating the participants on accessing the methadone clinic and the acupuncture clinic interventions provided by the center.

I spent many years working with children and adults with intellectual disabilities in community-based residential settings. I provided behavioral interventions, support, and guidance to individuals, assisted and trained family representatives in behavioral techniques, and maintained consistency in the individual’s environment.

While pursuing my graduate study, I interned at Passages Counseling Center in New York, providing individual and group therapy and facilitating women’s groups with adults abusing various substances. I learned an array of therapy techniques I utilized while counseling the population. I also had the opportunity to intern at the Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency room at University Hospital at Stony Brook, where I provided intake and assessments, coordinating hospital inpatient services, outpatient referrals, community services, and discharge planning. While at this placement, I encountered individuals of all ages, including children from various economic backgrounds struggling with mental health issues. I enjoy working with individuals providing empathy, compassion, and empowerment while helping to identify key issues they are struggling with and working through those issues while guiding them to identify and utilize their own hidden and/or transparent strengths.