Rev. Elizabeth (Betsy) D. Ritzman, director of the Wellness Center at Dominican University, is a licensed clinical professional counselor and an ordained minister in the American Baptist Churches of the USA. Ritzman received a bachelor's degree in psychology, social work and religion from Ottawa University in Ottawa, KS; a master's degree in divinity from McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago; and a master's degree in counseling psychology from Kansas State University. Prior to her position with Dominican, Betsy served as director of the mental health counseling practice at AltCare Health Center in Oak Park; director of the AIDS Pastoral Care Network at Access Community Health Network, Chicago; and director Midwest Resources for Counseling and Psychotherapy in Oak Lawn.
Her focus is on identifying best practices in health care and mental health and developing the competencies of teams and organizations to provide "excellent, innovative and compassionate clinical care so communities and individuals can stay connected to their potential for growth and transformation". Betsy directs the Wellness Center operations, provides administrative supervision to all staff and provides psychotherapy to a limited number of students.
Minerva Bonadonna brings more than 15 years of customer service experience to her position as office manager for the Wellness Center and her welcoming spirit and management skills are often a student's first experience comes to for help and answers. Previously, Minerva held administrative positions at Chicago Women's AIDS Project and Allstate Insurance. She was born in Puerto Rico and grew up in the Wicker Park and Humboldt Park neighborhoods of Chicago. As the proud mother of two wonderful young adults, her closeness to her college-aged children inspires her to empower Dominican students to live a healthier and more productive life. In her spare time, Minerva loves to spend time with family and friends. She also likes reading biographies and going for long rides, and considers her work at Dominican to be a blessing as well as a continuous learning opportunity. Minerva manages the logistics for student visits including office reception, coordinates the data management systems, safeguards the private health information for our students and supervises student workers.
Prior to joining Dominican as the Wellness Center’s nurse practitioner, Kate Sikic served for many years as a nurse and clinical educator in a variety of hospital and community health settings. She has 27 years experience in Intensive Care, post open-heart surgery, general surgery, Cardiac Rehabilitation and Clinical Education. She holds a master of science in nursing from the University of Saint Francis in Joliet, IL, and she is board-certified as an adult nurse practitioner. Previously, Kate served as a clinical nurse educator at Provena Mercy Medical Center, Aurora. As a nurse practitioner, Kate is certified to diagnose, treat and prescribe medications and to perform many basic procedures in the office. She works under a collaborative agreement with James Baraglia, MD, with Rush Oak Park Hospital system. Kate is married and has three children and a wonderful dog, Julie. Kate believes “the whole person needs to be treated and cared for, not just the disease. I see all my patients as persons of infinite worth and dignity”. In addition to providing primary care for Dominican students, Kate oversees our lab facility and coordinates our day-to-day liaison with Dr. Baraglia’s office and Rush Oak Park Hospital.
Dr. Michael Purcell is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist with a diverse professional background. Prior to joining us, Michael was splitting time between providing psychotherapy to clients at a group practice and coordinating an NIMH-sponsored research project at Rush University Medical Center. He has extensive clinical experience in hospital, school, and community mental health settings. Michael earned his doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology from the Illinois School of Professional Psychology in Chicago in 2004. Michael’s roots in the area are deep having attended Fenwick High School in Oak Park and going on to earn a bachelor’s degree at Loyola University and a Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology at Concordia University. One of his first jobs out of school was for Rosary College in the Library. He resides nearby in the Gakewood neighborhood of Chicago with his wife and three children.
Michael values collaboration in his clinical approach and seeks to help clients recognize and utilize their strengths in overcoming obstacles in their lives. In addition to providing counseling to students directly, Michael also provides training and supervision for graduate interns and counseling staff, coordinates the development of mental health outreach programs across campus, and other administrative duties.
After completing her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Dayton in 1991, Kathleen moved to Chicago to live in a volunteer community and to work as an adult educator and community activist.She also worked for five years developing educational and career programs for women who were homeless.While Kathleen valued working for change at the macro level, she felt most drawn to working with individuals on their personal development.In 2001, she obtained a Masters of Social Work from Loyola University.Kathleen is certified by the State of Illinois as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and a school social worker. Much of her clinical work has been in outpatient community mental health settings on the Near West Side where she specialized in working with teenagers and adults.In addition to individual therapy and supervising student interns, Kathleen ran groups for clients with social anxiety.Kathleen primarily utilizes psychodynamic and relational theories to guide the therapeutic process.
Joyce Rawdhetubhai is a licensed clinical psychologist who earned her doctoral degree at the Illinois School of Professional Psychology in 2007.She has worked in various community and clinical settings, including Youth Outreach Services, Pillars, and a group private practice in the southwestern suburbs.Joyce has experience treating children, adolescents, adults and families with anxiety, depression, relationship issues, self esteem and substance abuse.She uses a collaborative and interpersonal approach when working with clients and also focuses on psychodynamic, systemic and cognitive behavioral techniques.Her interests include helping others manage their anxiety and depression using stress management techniques, such as mindfulness and breathing to help focus their attention as well as exploring how their thoughts might impede their progress.Joyce also enjoys exploring how family dynamics contribute to stressors and relational concerns with clients.
Katie Rauh is a Registered Nurse with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Loyola University of Chicago. Her clinical experience covers Neurology, Neurosurgery, Operating Room, and Post-Operative care. Katie is very excited to work with the Wellness Center staff and the students of Dominican University to promote healthy lifestyles. She feels health promotion and disease prevention education is essential for a healthy community. Her Dominican values of building strong minds, bodies and spirit were instilled over her twelve years of being educated by the Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters. She believes strongly in the service of others and currently is serving her sixth year on the board of directors at Trinity High School.
Dr. Baraglia is affiliated with the Rush Oak Park Physicians Group and his office is located at 7734 W. North Avenue, Elmwood Park, IL, just a few blocks from the Dominican campus. Dr. Baraglia has many years of experience caring for Dominican students, both through his office and occasionally on-site in the Wellness Center. He is a graduate of Rosalind Franklin University School of Medicine and Science and Chicago Medical School, completed his residency at West Suburban Family Practice, and is board certified in Family Practice. Dr. Baraglia has a compassionate heart and a great sense of humor, and very much enjoys his work with Dominican. He provides clinical oversight, chart review and consultation for the Wellness Center clinicians.
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Call: (708) 524-6229
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