What to expect
After you've contacted us to set up an initial consultation session, we'll follow up with you to confirm your appointment. When you first arrive we'll ask you to complete some intake paperwork and then you (and your child) will meet with Dr. K. In most cases Dr. K will meet with family members together and separately during the consultation. If you have any prior medical, school or counseling records that might be useful - please bring them along. Dr. K will gather some background information and history from you. She'll also ask you some additional questions to try to best understand the challenges you've been having. Then she'll work with you to determine the best next steps based on her assessment and recommendations. In follow up sessions you'll work on the goals you set with her during your initial consultation. At the beginning of each session you'll answer four brief questions to see how things have been going. At the end of each session you'll answer another four brief questions to rate your progress toward your goals. This process is called routine outcome monitoring and it's been shown to help people be more successful in counseling interventions.
This is a cash only practice and so we don't direct bill your insurance company. However, we can provide you with a receipt that you can submit to your insurance or your flexible spending account (FSA) for reimbursement.
More about Dr. K(ruczek)
Licensed Health Service Provider in Psychology
Training and Education
I earned my doctorate in counseling psychology from Ball State University with a specialization in family therapy. My clinical child psychology internship was at the Medical College Hospital's (MCVH) Virginia's Treatment Center for Children (VTCC), a facility that provided inpatient, residential, day treatment and outpatient services for children with chronic medical and mental health conditions. Internship was followed by residency at Children's Hospital in Richmond Virginia, a rehabilitation facility that provides both inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation services for children and teens with chronic medical conditions and traumatic injuries.
Teaching and Research
After residency, I returned to VTCC where I served as clinical faculty for eight years. As clinical faculty I provided assessment and interventions for patients and served as an attending psychologist (supervising psychology and psychiatry interns, residents and fellows) throughout VTCC and MCVH pediatrics. It was there that I began conducting research on trauma based interventions for children and teens. Our family then returned to Indiana and I joined the faculty at Ball State University (BSU) where I have continued to conduct treatment outcome research, specializing in trauma informed counseling. It has been my pleasure to contribute to the training and development of hundreds of graduate students in counseling and psychology, especially during my 15 years as Director of the BSU Counseling Practicum Clinic. Throughout my time at BSU we have obtained hundreds of thousands of dollars in grant funding to provide mental health clinic supports to those in our community who are uninsured or under-insured. While at BSU my work has extended beyond the clinic to include school interventions and summer camps, and my research expanded to include play and animal assisted therapies for children with autism and emotional-behavioral challenges.
Background and Philosophy
I grew up as the oldest in a family of five with two working parents. My father was a high school teacher and my mother was a nurse. So it's not surprising that my career and passion is working with children, teens and their families. My work as a psychologist has been devoted to helping young people grow and develop so they can become happy and healthy adults in all life areas: personal, social, career, and leisure.
I believe life sends us challenges that can result in our feeling ungrounded and easily blown off course. Oddly enough - those same challenges that make us feel so vulnerable can help us become stronger -- if we're able to look at them as opportunities. My goal for those who come to work with me is that we find ways for you or the young person in your family to cope and even thrive in the face of life's adversities.
My thirty plus years of clinical work and research have led to my belief that engagement with nature and animals; enjoying music art, and play; and learning to breathe again - are the keys to health and happiness.
What is a Care Farm?
Dr. K's Respirare Counseling center is located on Mount Olive Farms property on Nebo Road in Muncie, Indiana. It's just a short drive north on Nebo from the Meijer and Menards on McGalliard.
Dr. K and her family are working to establish Mount Olive Farms as a care farm. You might be asking yourself "what in the world is a care farm?" Care farms originated in the UK and use farming practices to promote healing, mental health, and social or educational services. Early on these farms were used to help young people and sometimes those who were incarcerated learn about farming activities. The goal was to help people get back in touch with the land while also teaching them skills in animal care, vegetable or crop production and even sometimes woodland management.
Right now we're easing in to this work by offering animal assisted therapies and opportunities to connect with nature through art and play activities. We'll see how we grow and develop over time!