Staff Profile Update: Karissa Forino
If you spend any time with Karissa Forino, you’ll soon learn that she is passionate about her work at AlphaCare as she daily serves many clients and their babies. In addition to her expanding frontline experience, Karissa is adding to her knowledge base by diving deeper into the methodology of helping others via earning a Master of Social Work degree from Campbellsville University in Kentucky.
An initial interest in working with at-risk and disadvantaged populations led Karissa to earn a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology & Criminal Justice from Eastern University. During that time of learning (including a study-abroad program in Malawi, Africa), she became even more committed to empowering others through innovative and inspirational leadership. Karissa interned for two years at AlphaCare prior to being hired as a Client Advocate. Concurrently, she began (and continues) to volunteer as the Missions Coordinator with Pamoza, a Christian-based community development organization. Karissa looks back on her journey thus far and sees how all of these experiences have provided invaluable steps to her current role, as one who comes alongside underserved families.
Since Karissa is pursuing a clinical social work track with a trauma focus, her classes are geared toward individual therapy skills. She is making her way through the coursework requirements for this Christian university completely online while working 32 hours per week at AlphaCare. Karissa is thankful that AlphaCare has both accommodated and encouraged her aspirations for higher education through a lighter work schedule. Her personal and professional development will be a blessing to AlphaCare as employer and employee grow together to serve our moms with ever-increasing excellence.
As if working and studying were not enough, Karissa also interns as a requirement of her Master’s degree at a community behavioral health clinic in Norristown, PA. For 12 hours per week, she provides psychotherapy for clients of all ages and backgrounds, assessing and treating a variety of mental health needs in the Outpatient Therapy Department. Karissa shared the work she does at AlphaCare and her passion for serving and supporting pregnant women with her internship supervisor. In God’s providence, Karissa’s supervisor occupies a special niche in her community: she is one of the only therapists who is contracted by a local OB-GYN clinic through the internship agency to provide therapy services to pregnant and postpartum women! Therefore, Karissa’s supervisor is delighted with Karissa’s interest and is determined to give her relevant experience with pregnant and postpartum women so that Karissa can then utilize those skills at AlphaCare. Additionally, Karissa’s supervisor is planning to connect Karissa with specific training and tools that will guide and inform her experiences.
Karissa clearly sees God’s hand in this orchestration of her internship in a non-Christian agency and her coursework at Campbellsville. She is eager to utilize all that she is learning to best meet the needs of clients. Karissa has already implemented her education by developing measurable metrics for AlphaCare’s client outcomes. Please keep her in your prayers as she works towards graduation in May of 2022, and studies to develop a specialized focus for treatment tailored to pregnant and postpartum women at AlphaCare.