Beth Alter LCSW-R joins Clearwave Mental Health Medicine, PC

Ms. Alter received her Master’s in Social Work from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1981. Following her Master’s she worked for Vermont Children’s Aid Society, for 8 years. She developed school based counseling services in rural communities and worked within the adoption community with pregnancy teens considering placing their babies for adoption.

She has worked for Dutchess County for the past thirty three years and retired in July of 2019. She was the Director of Acute Behavioral Health Services, overseeing HELPLINE (24 hour Crisis Call or Text line), the Community based and Hospital Mobile Teams, the Dutchess County Trauma Team and the newly opened Dutchess County Stabilization Center. She has done work in both the substance use field and with mental health services, both with youth and adults. She has served on the board of the Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault and is a member of the Dutchess County Steering Committee on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault.

She was the liaison from the Dutchess County Behavioral Health services to the county’s Emergency Operational Center. She has been the mental health member of the Crisis Emergency Response Team for 10 plus years. She was a member of the Dutchess County Crisis Intervention Team Steering Committee, as well as a trainer for law enforcement.

 Ms. Alter has coordinated numerous trainings for the provider community over the years, including facilitating trainings on trauma, recovery and resiliency. She is a trainer for both adult and youth Mental Health First Aid.