by The School of Social Work
September 7th 2023
Share
We are happy to announce that Leah Allen has been hired as the Interim Central Oregon Site Coordinator.
Leah Allen MSW, LCSW is from Eugene Oregon and completed her Bachelors in Science with a double major in Psychology and Sociology from the University of Oregon. After graduating, Leah traveled and explored the world for about 5 years before returning to Oregon and pursuing her Masters in Social Work with Portland State University. Leah attended the Central Oregon distance program and completed her MSW in June 2013. Leah then became a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in 2015 and has been pursuing her passion in clinical care since.
Leah has over 13 years of practice working with people in various capacities and her passion for social justice was realized while working with oppressed people experiencing extreme states (see Hearing Voices Network). This work inspired Leah to pursue her Masters in Social Work due to the focus on anti oppressive practice and social justice in action. Leah has focused her continued educational pursuits on supporting people who have and continue to experience trauma and has specifically focused on Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Internal Family Systems (IFS) as these modalities seek to honor the truth of the individual and guide them towards empowered healing.
Leah was hired as an adjunct in 2022 and has enjoyed learning more about Trauma Informed Teaching practices and non traditional ways of teaching and supporting students. Leah is excited to reenergize the Social Work program in Central Oregon, she hopes to be a part of creating an excellent program for Social Work and for creating change in our community. In 2022 Leah also joined the board of Bendable Therapy, Oregon's first non profit created to support individuals pursuing Psilocybin therapy. The mission at Bendable is to ensure life saving mental health treatment is accessible to all.
In her free time Leah enjoys camping, listening to music, traveling, and loving her people.
Please join me in welcoming Leah Allen to the School of Social Work in this new role!
Junghee Lee, Ph.D.
Professor and Interim Dean at School of Social Work
Portland State University