Information Hub / BlogProviding Therapy for Foster Youth While Supporting Therapist Communities

Join Kristin, from Mental Health News Radio, as she speaks with Reed Connell, Executive Director, and Deanna Linville, Director of Clinical Programs, at A Home Within, which helps provide free therapy for current and previous foster youth.  As Reed Connell states, A Home Within’s therapists are all part of a ‘community of hundreds of therapists nationwide who volunteer to provide one on one therapy to current and former foster youth for as long as necessary.’  In this podcast, they explain their organization and discuss how they are personally and professionally navigating the use of their passion for helping foster youth receive stable and undisrupted therapy, therapy that they will not ‘age-out’ of.  They explain how the organization also helps support the community of their therapists nationwide.

Reed Connell, Executive Director of A Home Within, has spent nearly 20 years working in foster care, mental health, housing, and special education settings and has developed a sophisticated knowledge of childrenʼs programs and policy development. Reed has worked with statewide and national coalitions to design, pass, and implement a range of important children’s legislation, and has worked with a range of nonprofit organizations and government agencies on resource, program, and capacity development. In 2014, Reed co-founded Social Change Partners, LLC to support nonprofits and government agencies in meeting the needs of children and families. Reed also works with a range of mental health systems change efforts, including Breaking Barriers and The California Children’s Trust. Reed holds an MSW degree from UC Berkeley with a concentration in Management and Planning.  

Deanna Linville, currently Director of Clinical Programs at A Home Within, is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in the state of Oregon and an AAMFT approved supervisor. She has two decades of experience providing direct mental health care, clinical supervision, and training as well as conducting clinical research. Linville joined A Home Within in June 2020 to work as the program clinical director offering her clinical and research consultation services to clinical directors, volunteers, and staff. Her professional experiences to date inspire and inform her clinical research and allow her to stay on the cutting edge of best practices for training mental health professionals to provide ethical and culturally responsive care. Linville earned her MS and Ph.D. degrees at Virginia Tech in Marriage and Family Therapy as well as completed a 12-month doctoral fellowship at the Chicago Center for Family Health, where she gained specialized training and experience working in collaborative family healthcare settings. She has published over forty manuscripts as well as developed and tested numerous clinical interventions aimed to reduce health disparities, prevent eating disorders, and promote family wellness. Linville also works at the University of Oregon as an associate professor in the Couples and Family Therapy MS program.