Mr. Michael Ash is a seasoned and highly accomplished private practitioner with two thriving private practice office sites in Shirley, Long Island and downtown Brooklyn, NY. He is a New York State Department of Education Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW-R) New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) Certified Alcohol and Substance Abuse Master Counselor (CASAC) and Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) Certified Impaired Driving Program Provider and Certified Christian Counselor. His specialty areas are working with the Forensic Mentally Ill Substance Abuse population as well as with those who face life-threatening diseases and or social issues including inadequate housing, trauma, abuse, unemployment, disability, mental health and substance abuse. Mr. Ash is adept and proficient at assisting families that have serious domestic conflicts, sometimes involving child or spousal abuse. He functioned as the Senior Associate Director of the General Care Social Work Department at Kings County Hospital Center within the New York City Health & Hospitals Corporation. He leveraged his knowledge of Social Services policies and procedures to provide exemplary oversight of services that lead to optimal patient care. He consistently demonstrated the ability to capitalize on his comprehension of current standards of care, combined with extensive experience in providing management of patient-focused services. He has a keen ability to immediately recognize and recommend solutions for serious operational issues that lead to costly delays in safe discharges to the community. Mr. Ash began work as a Child, Adolescent & Family Psychotherapist at the Institute for Community Living in Brooklyn, New York. For nine years he facilitated various counseling modalities including Play Therapy & Cognitive Behavior Therapy while encouraging family members to partake in Motivational Interviewing and Solution-Focused Therapy. He performed intake assessments of children, adolescents, and adults while doing marriage counseling for families referred to the institute by other agencies for stabilization in acute crisis or with chronic pathology, diagnosing their symptoms according to the DSM Manual while determining the stage of change. In 2003, Mr. Ash Michael became Director of the Brad H. Discharge Planning Program for New York City Department of Health & Mental Hygiene at Riker’s Island. He was recruited to build and train the infrastructure for the pioneering court mandated, “Brad H Discharge Planning Program,” and coordinated discharge planning services for mentally ill substance abusing inmates with chronic comorbid medical issues connecting them to community-based services. He was also tasked with establishing the policies and procedures to maximize the programs’ impact on the clients. He managed an 80-person multi-disciplinary team responsible for discharging 1,300 inmates per month, around the clock each day, from 13 facilities across New York City, with full accountability for appraisals, discipline and other personnel matters. Mr. Ash trained and supervised staff at the staff at Brooklyn Community Housing & Services (BCHS) as he functioned in the capacity of Clinical Consultant from 2006 to 2014. Through his realignment of this front-line agency, he instituted policies to strengthen BCHS’s administration and operational functionality, removing hindrances contributing to the lowest one-year audit rating, pushing the agency to the highest audit rating in three years. Mr. Ash has adopted a philosophy revolving around the belief that if we reduce disparities between institutional cultural norms and the patient’s belief systems, we will improve the patient experience. The patient engagement dynamic is essential while communication, performance and follow up are tools that he uses to ensure a continuum of care while proving optimal services. When trust and respect are coupled with the ambition to acquire a deeper knowledge and understanding of culture; we can achieve increased patient satisfaction. Mr. Ash’s views his greatest accomplishments as being the ongoing work he does at Kings County Hospital Center working on Lean Projects (Breakthrough/ Rapid Improvement Event) that reduced waste, improve the quality of services and increase the likelihood of successful, healthy outcomes. For a complete list of certifications, educational institutions attended, and memberships, please visit our website - ashlcsw.com.