About Dr. Oliver

Biography

Dr. Kim Oliver, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, with nearly 30 years of experience as a clinician, program manager and supervisor in school, hospital, agency and private practice settings. She is also a social work educator, teaching at Fairfield University in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology since 2001. Dr. Oliver is currently an Assistant Professor of the Practice of Social Work and the Director of Undergraduate Social Work at Fairfield's Egan School of Nursing & Health Studies. Her training includes an MSW from Adelphi University and PhD from the New York University School of Social Work.

Dr. Oliver has done post graduate training in Strategic Family Therapy and in Emotionally Focused Therapy. She has a certification in the integration of Mindfulness and Psychotherapy by The Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy, (IMP) in Cambridge MA.  She is also certified in the treatment of sexual addiction and betrayal trauma, by the International Institute for Trauma & Addiction Professionals (iitap). She is trained in EMDR, a method of psychotherapy empirically shown to treat trauma and other issues.

Dr. Oliver has participated in a public service campaign for the Partnership for a Drug Free America. This campaign was part of the Partnership's "Time To Talk" initiative, which helped parents learn to speak comfortably with their children about drugs and alcohol. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5fSugZbfT4

Her current interests focus on the integration of mindfulness and spiritual practice within psychotherapy, as well as the treatment of addictions, trauma, anxiety, bipolar disorder, depression and relationship issues. Her personal experience with an autoimmune disorder, and her experience of having a child whose chronic health issues were misdiagnosed causing serious long term consequences, has led to a passion for counseling young adults with autoimmune disorders, Lyme Disease and other chronic illnesses.

In a former life, Dr. Oliver studied acting at the HB Studio in NYC under the late Jean Kaplan. She also auditioned for the late Sonia Moore, a respected Russian actress, teacher and expert on the work of Konstantin Stanislavsky. She went on to study at The Sonia Moore Studio of the Theater, in NYC, before following her true calling in clinical social work. Dr. Oliver is a Certified Reiki Master(Usui), and has trained to teach yoga to children. She has had a consistent spiritual practice since childhood and is a practitioner of vipassana meditation.

In her current practice, Dr. Oliver sees adolescents, young adults, adults, families and couples. Dr. Oliver is married and has 3 grown daughters.