Jennifer Valva brings more than 20 years of clinical experience across multiple levels of care, including outpatient, inpatient, crisis and residential settings. She is an educator, therapist and ethics committee chair for CT’s Certification Board.
As InterCommunity’s vice president of behavioral services, she champions integrated, client-centered care and staff development. She is committed to fostering peaceful, professional environments and supporting both clients and staff in achieving their goals through innovation and integrated care.
What have been your significant contributions to your organization in the past year?
Over the last year, I have created systems to improve client care and staff development. I have created clinical grand rounds for clinicians to support clinical growth and clinical skill building, and a centralized admissions team to improve access to InterCommunity’s residential treatment programs.
I have also created a system for people seeking outpatient services to receive information about access to care within 24 hours from a behavioral health professional.
Tell us about a challenge in your job that you were able to overcome.
A challenge that presents to many behavioral health providers is managing client care and documentation time. I created and continue to create clinical documentation templates to decrease time in documentation by streamlining what is required, so the most time can be spent on client care.
What’s your next major goal?
My ongoing goal is to continue to improve patient care, improve access to care and support staff growth with skill, knowledge and competence.
How are you involved in the community?
In addition to continuing to practice individual therapy as well as community crisis work, I am an active member of the CT certification board, which ensures competence for substance use professionals. From supporting certification as well as investigating ethics complaints, I continue to value quality care from all helping professionals.
Fun Fact
I am a certified yoga teacher and Reiki practitioner.