Biography

Shantara Bussey-Martin has been in the Behavioral Health field since 2016. She graduated from Florida International University Master of Social Work (MSW) Advanced Standing program in 2018 and has gained clinical experience and provided evidence-based treatment with children, adolescents, adults, and the geriatric/elder population.

She has worked with individuals and their families experiencing symptoms of distress due to mild to severe persistent mental illness, trauma, substance use, depression, anxiety, and co-occurring disorders. Shantara has worked in various job settings, including a behavioral health hospital, client’s homes, an adolescent female group home and a residential substance abuse center.

Shantara has completed numerous trainings, which includes but is not limited to Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Solution-Focused Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Therapeutic Crisis Intervention (TCI), and Motivational Interviewing (MI). She possesses expertise in providing group counseling on topics like life transition skills, criminal behaviors/thinking, addictive behaviors/thinking, substance abuse education, self-esteem, interpersonal skills, communication, coping skills, mindfulness, relapse prevention, anger management, and self-empowerment.

Shantara’s vision as a social worker is to have a career where she’s helping to improve the quality of life and enhance the well-being of others within a caring and compassionate environment with diverse populations.

According to Shantara, “I decided to become a social worker because I wanted to make a positive impact on the lives of others. It is my passion to dedicate time and resources to help others in need. I understand hard times and disappointment; I know that sometimes a single helping hand can make a world of difference to a person with a world of difficulties.”