Debbi Dooley, RN, MS, CDP

Debbi began working at JF&CS in August 2007, with her initial primary role as Case Manager for aging individuals with significant mental health or other life cycle challenges. Since then, her work at JF&CS has also included the following: case management for various caregiver support programs; facilitation of numerous groups including five different family caregiver support groups, two agency-based caregiver groups, and two process groups for women; supportive counseling for elders and their care partners; counseling for clients in Weinstein Hospice’s Palliative Care program; and clinical case management for clients in need of additional support. Since 2012, Debbi has provided Geriatric Care Management services for JF&CS. In addition, she has provided many years of eldercare for numerous family members, including her mother, who lived to the amazing age of 99 years and four months.

Debbi received her degree in nursing from Georgia State University in 1974 and focused her early practice on women’s health and inpatient obstetrics. In 2004, she graduated Summa Cum Laude with a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology and Sociology from Agnes Scott College. In 2007, she completed a master’s degree in professional counseling from Georgia State University with a focus on supporting elders and their caregivers. During her graduate-level education, she provided counseling and case management in a year-long internship at Emory’s Wesley Woods Transitions Senior Program, a partial-hospitalization day-treatment program for older adults in need of intensive mental health support. A life-long learner, Debbi has also completed several aging-related post-graduate certificate programs. She received a Certificate in Aging from Boston University’s School of Social Work, certification as an Eden at Home Associate, a Certificate in Understanding Dementia from the University of Tasmania, recognition as a Certified Dementia Practitioner from the National Council of Certified Dementia Practitioners, and a Certificate in Horticultural Therapy from the NC Botanical Garden, in conjunction with University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Although she values formal education, Debbi readily admits that the elders and families she serves have been her best teachers.