EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Thomas D. Brown M.Div., LMHC, LMFT, NCC, is an established psychotherapist in the Tampa Bay community with over 35 years of service and experience.  Tom has managed and supervised other non-profit organizations that provide counseling, teaching, educational seminars, support groups, intake assessments and community services. He holds a Masters in Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary along with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Vanderbilt University.  He is licensed as a Marriage and Family therapist, Mental Health Counselor, National Certified Counselor and is a ordained minister. He is a qualified supervisor for Marriage and Family Therapy and Mental Health Counselor. Tom is certified as a Victim Services Practitioner Designation from the Office of the Attorney General. He brings a wealth of knowledge, experience and foresight for the LIFE Center of the Suncoast, Inc. Tom is bringing his expertise to assist and provide service to all that come through the LIFE Center.

SR. THERAPIST

Sheryle R. Baker, M.A., LMHC, worked as the Executive Director of The LIFE Center for the past 32 years as a bereavement psychotherapist, consultant and clinical supervisor of mental health graduate students and interns from U.S.F., Nova and Argosy Universities.  Sheryle trained with international Death and Dying author and psychiatrist, Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross.  Sheryle is  certified in EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocess therapy), an evidenced based therapy that helps reduce post-traumatic stress reactions and intrusive images.  She is also trained in A.R.T. (Accelerated Resolution Therapy), a brief-oriented trauma therapy which Sheryle utilizes with Military veterans who suffer from PTSD. She has presented hundreds of local and national lectures and workshops on Healing through Grief and  Traumatic Loss, Psychological First Aid and Art & Imagery in Death & Dying Counseling with Children. Sheryle is certified by the Red Cross Mental Health Disaster Team as a trauma consultant and therapist.  She has completed numerous training in Critical Incident Stress Management and is a Victim Services Practitioner through the Office of the Attorney General and the VOCA program (Victim of Crime Act) State of Florida.  Sheryle has provided trauma incident consultations to businesses and corporations throughout Tampa Bay for the past 15 years. Her honors include:  Executive Director of the Year Finalist through ESCOT;  Victims Services Award from The Office of Justice Department, Washington, D.C. Sheryle was recently honored in April 2014 with the Medical Hero Award in Mental Health sponsored by the Temple Terrace Chamber of Commerce.  In 2013, Sheryle received the Purple Heart Award from the Florida Network for Victim/Witness Services (FNYWS) for her work with victims of crime.