Board Members
Kathleen Adams, LPC, PTR, CM
Kay is a psychotherapist, adult educator and registered poetry/journal therapist. In 1988 she founded and still directs the Center for Journal Therapy, a global institute with headquarters in Denver, Colorado and in 2008 opened the cyber doors to its professional training division, the Therapeutic Writing Institute. Kay has been a NAPT member since 1992 and received her PTR credential in 2000. She was on the board of NAPT for 12 years and was president 2000-2002. She was on the Federation board from 2003-2008 and rejoined the board in 2023 in a strategic planning role. Kay lives quietly in the western suburbs of Denver with her husband, Ken Perreault, and their apricot poodle, Banjo.
Michelle Bee: A Conjurer of Words & Healing
Michelle Bee is more than a therapist—she is a storyteller of the soul, a keeper of sacred spaces, and a guide for BIPOC women reclaiming their voices. As a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Certified Biblio/Poetry Therapist, Holistic Wellness Coach, and Women’s Mental Health Specialist, she blends the art of words with the science of healing, crafting spaces where liberation takes root.
With over 15 years of experience, Michelle’s work moves beyond conventional therapy. Her expertise in perinatal/postpartum and peri-menopause/menopause mental health, trauma-informed care, neurobiology, and culturally responsive healing allows her to hold space for the complex emotional landscapes BIPOC women navigate daily. She invites her clients into a rhythm of mindful awareness, somatic embodiment, and ancestral wisdom, helping them process racial stress, identity trauma, and the unseen weight of oppressive forces.
Her sessions are not just conversations—they are poetic excavations, where journaling, storytelling, and song become instruments of transformation. To work with Michelle is to explore what it means to be confined yet boundless, imbalanced yet whole, human yet divine.
A published poet and author of Searching for SHE and 33 Days of Healing Words, she continues to honor the call to sync biorhythms, rebirth ecological systems, and restore harmony to self and community. Whether in therapy, coaching, or clinical supervision, she walks alongside fellow seekers, conjuring words into healing and guiding souls back home to themselves.
To learn more about Michelle visit https://michellebee.com/
Kristen DeFazio-Schmidt, MLS, CAPF, CJF
Kristen has served on the IFBPT Board since 2018. She serves as the Ethics Chair and her committee work has included the website, credentials, training guide, and curriculum. Kristen has been an educator for 26 years, instructing all ages (elementary, middle school, high school, undergraduate, and graduate) ranging from the public-school sector to the private collegiate level and tutoring. She has worked in the equipment rental business as an Office Manager and CBO for the past eleven years. She is a writer, poet, and bibliophile. Kristen is currently a Member at Large.
Anjana Deshpande, LCSW, CPT, CM
Anjana is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and a Certified Journal and Poetry Therapist. She is also a Certified Mentor, and provides training to those who wish to enter the field of Poetry Therapy. Anjana is faculty at the Therapeutic Writing Institute and has taught “Introduction to Poetry Therapy” at Drexel University. Creator of the “Expert Companion method of Therapeutic Writing,” Anjana is a published author and provides workshops for clients and clinicians. At present Anjana works as a Readjustment Counselor at the Department of Veterans Affairs. She is also the President of the IFBPT board.
Lorrieann Geyer, MA, BCSE, CAPF
Lorrieann is currently an instructor of English and Global Perspectives at a public high school in Florida. She taught at a private therapeutic high school for ten years in New Jersey. It is at that location where she found the profound impact of reading and writing poetry with fragile youth. She completed her thesis on this subject and went on to study with Dr. Sherry Reiter while serving on the National Association of Poetry Therapy as Academic and Outreach Chair from 2017-2021. Lorrieann received her CAPF in August of 2020 and also holds a Board Certification with the American Academy of Special Education Professionals and relocated to Florida three years ago. She has joined the IFBPT as Secretary and looks forward to working with our organization.
Dottie Joslyn, CAPF
Dottie is currently treasurer for IFBPT. She is a poet and writer and a retired bookkeeper. She served for several years on the NAPT board as the bookkeeper and membership chair. She worked at the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI) chapter in Southwest Missouri as a poetry and journaling facilitator. She has a book of poetry, Just Show Up.
Charity Oi-ming Fok, MSocSci, MExAT, PGDE, CPT
Charity is a registered educational psychologist in Hong Kong and in the UK. She has worked with children/ young people, families, and educators for 16 years. She is also an expressive arts therapist, applying multimodal arts (visual art, drama, writing, dance and movement, music) for therapeutic purposes in her intervention work. She completed her CPT training in 2022. Charity will be part of the credentials committee and international relations committee.
Robin Rosado, CASAC Advanced, CAPF, ADS, CA
Robin currently serves on the IFBPT board as Member in Training Chair. She is an addictions counselor in New York City, using the healing power of poetry to assist in strengthening individuals’ self-esteem and sense of empowerment in their recovery journeys. She is a poet and the founder of Calliope’s Cocoon Inc.
Nancy S. Scherlong, LCSW, SEP, PTR/CJT, CM
Nancy is a licensed clinical social worker in the states of CT and NY, trauma-informed wellness coach, registered poetry (2002) and journal therapist (2014) and certified mentor (2005). She is the Immediate Past President of the International Federation for Biblio/Poetry Therapy and past chair of the certified mentor committee (the liaison role to the sister organization – The National Association for Poetry Therapy NAPT). Nancy has been part of the poetry therapy community for over 30 years and has served on NAPT’s board as well as the VP of Membership and as the Government Affairs Chair to the National Association for Creative Arts Therapies Associations. She teaches for the Therapeutic Writing Institute (TWI), believes in the power of arts for social change and serves as lead faculty for Adelphi University’s postgraduate certificate program in the Applied Expressive Arts in Counseling and Kint Institute, as well as former faculty for Columbia’s online MSW program as an online academic and field advisor. She has co-authored several chapters on the healing power of poetry and is currently enrolled in Columbia University’s Narrative Medicine Certificate Program, as she is poised for mental health advocacy and reform work, in consultation with organizations and corporations. Her consulting business is Change Your Narrative LCSW PLLC.
Hyesook Son, PhD, CAPF
Hyesook Son is a CAPF and Professor of English at Sungkyunkwan University in Korea. Author of Alterity and the Lyric: Heidegger, Levinas, and Emily Dickinson and Literature and Spirituality in the English-Speaking World, she has written extensively on American poets and poetic tradition. Her An Anthology of American Poetry has earned widespread recognition, both as a collection for those seeking to explore the depth of American poetry and as a reliable educational resource in Korea. She has also translated Nicholas Mazza’s Poetry Therapy: Theory and Practice, along with numerous other literary and academic works, into Korean. She is currently a director of The Humanities and Healing Institute.