Ms. Bowler is a Substance Abuse Counselor in Arlington Public Schools. In addition to counseling, Ms. Bowler consults with stakeholders, conducts schoolwide prevention programs, teaches psychoeducational lessons in classrooms, assists families with referrals to treatment services, and delivers presentations in the community. Ms. Bowler is also an active member of the Arlington Addiction Recovery Initiative, Arlington’s opioid and other addiction task forces. In 2011, Ms. Bowler co-facilitated Arlington’s Second Chance: Substance Abuse Education Program, which continues to operate as Second Chance Arlington. She developed creative approaches to deliver the 3-day curriculum to the teens and the complementary 3-hour program for their parents. Students primarily attended the program as a diversion from legal or school-related sanctions. Ms. Bowler also wrote and twice revised the Second Chance Facilitators Manual and trained new teams of facilitators. Ms. Bowler’s person-centered approach to counseling is deeply informed by her work early in her career with child trauma victims. Over her 30-year career in the mental health field, she has worked with youth from diverse cultural, age, and gender groups. Her goal has always been to inspire young people to understand their risk factors, increase protective factors, and develop healthy coping skills so they can become responsible and caring members of their chosen communities. Ms. Bowler began her career as a caseload Counselor with the Phoenix Job Corps, briefly worked as a Prevention Specialist with La Frontera – Empact Suicide Prevention Center and worked with Scottsdale Prevention Institute as a Student Assistance Specialist for schools throughout the Phoenix Metropolitan Area.

Credentials

• Master of Counseling from Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ.
• Master Addiction Counselor (MAC)
• Certified Substance Addiction Counselor (CSAC).
• Licensed as a Pupil Services Support Specialist with the Commonwealth of Virginia