I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and a Licensed Addiction Counselor (LAC) in private practice, Vista Counseling Services, LLC.  I specialize in domestic violence, addictions, and general mental health.  Overall, I have a holistic perspective with my work and utilize EMDR, Neurofeedback, and ADS NADA acupuncture protocols in my treatment practices.  I am an approved domestic violence treatment provider, supervisor, and trainer in the State of Colorado for the Domestic Violence Risk Needs Assessment (DVRNA) tool, provide a quarterly 2-day Female DV Offender training, and more.  I am currently enjoying consultation services with legal representatives and providing evaluations for civil and custody litigation matters.

Credentials

Licensed Mental Health Counselor, State of Florida (Licensed in 1999)

National Certified Counselor (Certified in 2000)

Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor (2015 – meeting criteria established by NBCC)

Florida Supreme Court Certified Dependency Mediator (Certified in 2006)

Florida Supreme Court Certified Family Mediator (Certified in 2010)

Batterers’ Intervention Program Director (State of Florida Certified in 2006)

Batterers’ Intervention Assessor (State of Florida Certified in 1997)

Batterers’ Intervention Facilitator (State of Florida Approved in 1997)

Twelfth Judicial Circuit Court approved Social Investigator (Approved in 2009)

Collaborative Divorce Facilitator (meeting IACP standards in 2014)

Professional History:

2006 to present – Director, FISHER COUNSELING & MEDIATION SERVICES, INC.

Providing psychotherapy and other services to individuals, partners, and families.

Batterers’ Intervention Program provider. Providing assessment and psycho-educational group treatment to court ordered and voluntary clients for Domestic Violence and/or Anger Management as appropriate. Separate groups for men and women in Sarasota and Bradenton locations.

Drug and alcohol abuse assessment and treatment. Providing services to clients (court ordered and voluntary) through individual or group counseling.

Contract provider for Safe Children Coalition.  Providing psychotherapy and psychoeducational services to clients (parents and families) including bio-psychosocial assessment and counseling in group, family, couples’ or individual settings.

12^th Judicial Circuit. Social Investigator – complete evaluations and make recommendations and/or Parenting Plan recommendations in Social Investigations for Family Court litigants.

Collaborative Divorce Facilitator – provide neutral facilitation and coordination of Collaborative Divorce Team meetings; help parties identify goals, address emotional challenges, keep the collaborative process moving toward a mutually satisfactory resolution.

2014 Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida Health Educator. Facilitate community presentations as part of the BCBS Medicare Wellness Program in Sarasota and Ft. Myers.

2006 to 2013 – Contract provider for Manatee Glens Corporation.  Complete/provide Comprehensive Assessments for children (in Manatee, Sarasota or DeSoto County) removed from parents or guardians and placed in the dependency/foster care system due to abuse, neglect or abandonment.

2006 to 2013 – Contract provider of Juvenile Dependency Mediation services for the 12^th Judicial Circuit, including Manatee, Sarasota and DeSoto Counties.

1997 to 2006 – Manatee County Citizens Review, Inc. Program Coordinator. Responsible for the development and implementation of program policies and procedures and overall functioning of the Citizens Review Program; supervised the scheduling of case review hearings referred by Manatee County Juvenile Court; ensured that all children in out-of-home care under the supervision of DCF received reviews that were timely and comprehensive. Recruited, screened, trained and scheduled 35 – 38 (on average) volunteers. Trained and supervised paid staff. Developed Budgets. Developed Outcome Measures. Wrote grants that secured continuous funding; ensured reporting requirements were met. Provided community and media presentations.

1995 to 2006 – Domestic Abuse Intervention Project (Part time). Assessor and Facilitator. Conducted assessments of individuals and facilitated batterers’ intervention and anger management groups for both male and female populations.

1985 to 1997 – Manatee County Sheriff’s Office. Director, Victim Advocate Program. Developed, implemented and managed the Victim Advocate Program. Supervised staff and volunteers. Provided on-scene crisis intervention to child and adult crime victims and witnesses; provided ongoing counseling regarding the criminal justice system and victim recovery; provided training to staff advocates, volunteers and Manatee County Sheriff’s Office law enforcement officers; wrote grants; ensured adherence to reporting requirements for continued funding; provided community outreach and media presentations.

1988 to 1996 – Manatee Area Vocational and Technical Training Center and Sarasota County Technical Institute Police Academies. Instructor (Part time). Taught in the Law Enforcement and Corrections Academies. Subjects included: Domestic Violence; Human Diversity; Interpersonal Communication; Victim Assistance; Suicide Intervention; Crisis Intervention and Death Notification.

Presentations:

June 27, 2015 – 23rd Annual Conference Florida Family Child care Home Assoc., Inc., Clearwater, Fl. Workshop: Domestic Violence and It’s Impact on Children

June 5, 2014 – Ft. Myers Florida Blue Center, Estero, Florida. Community Wellness presentation. Problems, Treatment and Support for Older Adults Facing Depression

October 17, 2013 – The Citizen Dispute Settlement Program – Twelfth Circuit of Florida. Domestic Violence Education and Mandatory Reporting: What you Need to Know

April 19, 2012 – The Citizen Dispute Settlement Program – Twelfth Circuit of Florida. Domestic Violence and Mediation

November 12, 2011 – Florida Osteopathic Medical Association. Domestic Violence: Characteristics of Victims and Offenders

October 21, 2011 – The 12th Judicial Circuit Family Court Professional Collaborative F.C.P.C. 6th Annual Conference. Domestic Violence: The Honeymooners

April 23, 2010 – The 12th Judicial Circuit Family Court Professional Collaborative F.C.P.C. 5th Annual Conference.   Managing Mayhem: Addressing Domestic Violence by Women

Current Professional Affiliations:

American Mental Health Counselor’s Association (member)

Florida Mental Health Counselors Association (member)

Family Court Professional Collaborative (past Vice President)

Florida Alcohol & Drug Abuse Association (member)

Next Generation Divorce Sarasota (Vice President)

International Academy of Collaborative Professionals (member)

Previous Professional Affiliations:

Manatee Victim Rights Council (founding member, past president)

Manatee County Domestic Violence Council and Task Force (founding member, past chair)

Florida Network of Victim Witness Services (past board member and secretary)

Family Law Advisory Group – 12^th Judicial Circuit (member); (past co-chair Court Services Subcommittee)

Current Community Affiliations:

League of Women Voters of Manatee County, Treasurer (Past President, Past Secretary)

PRISM Youth Initiative (President, past Secretary)

Manatee Pride (Chair)

Our Domestic Batterer Intervention Program is court approved and our agency is a member of the Wisconsin Batterers Treatment Providers Association.

We offer counseling services for male and female perpetrators of domestic abuse. We are a GLBT friendly agency. We offer couples counseling (female/male, male/male, female/female) for relationship issues. PLEASE NOTE: We DO NOT counsel couples in a domestic abuse relationship until after the perpetrator and victim have completed individual counseling services.

We offer individual psychotherapy counseling services for just about any issue that a client is experiencing. We offer dual diagnosis alcohol and drug abuse counseling.

All counseling services are administered by a Masters level or higher mental health counselor. Our counselors believe education and research are an important part of understanding client issues so we frequently attend conferences and seminars to stay attune with new developments in the world of mental health counseling.

Mr. Montague has been facilitating BTP classes and establishing programs since 1997 through out Northern California from Santa Barbara to Eureka.  He established Affordable Counseling and Educational Services, Inc. (A.C.E.S.) in 2001 to better serve the 7 county Sacramento region.

ACES is a full service counseling program holding licenses, contracts, certifications and approvals to provide services to county and state D.H.H.S., C.P.S., Probation, Mental Health, Family Court, Criminal Court, Parole, C.O.E. and Victim’s of Crime, client’s.  For a full menu of services please see our web site at:  

As a C.E.U. provider, primarily to BTP facilitators and licensed professionals, we also participate in community based provider programs such as Judicial Councils, Reentry Orientations, Provider, Family and Community Resource fairs.

All of our professional and clinical staff hold professional degrees with our clinical staff holding advanced degrees with varying levels of licensure, certification and credentials including drugs and alcohol.

We provide services in English and Spanish to both victims and perpetrators without bias or regard for but sensitivity to religious preference, sexual orientation, gender, culture, heritage, race or creed.