Kim Conley
2013 Mental Health Hero Cartoon-A-Thon
Drawing by Chato Stewart
Kim has been an advocate in one capacity or another for 19 years. She began her career working as a Victim Witness Advocate for the Middlesex District Attorney’s office. In addition to assisting victims and witnesses of crime navigate through the criminal justice system, her primary work entailed assisting women who were experiencing domestic violence obtain restraining orders, find safe housing, and secure the financial resources that they needed to become independent. While she was familiar with the impact of trauma on the mental health of an individual, it became clear while doing this work that it also could have a profound effect on the family and on the community. Kim had always had an interest in family systems and how they functioned so it seemed like becoming a family therapist would be a natural fit.
Shortly before receiving her MEd, Kim gave birth to her son. Eddie was born two months early and struggled with developmental delays. She made the difficult decision to leave her career and focus on the needs of her son while struggling to complete her degree and internship at the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center. While caring for an infant, she conducted individual sessions and group counseling sessions for woman and their families whose lives had been impacted by sexual assault. She continued her work at the agency as a volunteer for the legal department and on the hotline for a short time, but realized that her full attention needed to be at home.
When her son began to attend school full time, Kim was able to focus on her career again and began working as a Clinical Case Coordinator for a community based program through The Guidance Center in Cambridge, MA that helps to reunify children who have been removed from their parent’s custody. Through weekly therapy sessions, and parenting …
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