Meet the Miracle Makers: Team Member Valerie Dorsainvil, LCSW

Valerie Dorsainvil, LCSW has been a Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Social Worker at Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and Orlando Health Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies since 2016. Here, she answers some questions about what that means for the families of patients going through long-term treatments at the hospitals.

How would you define the work you do at Orlando Health Arnold Palmer?
As a licensed mental health professional, I offer a mixture of clinical skills as well as case management.  I complete ongoing assessments of a family’s dynamics and needs in order to guide them as best I can. I assist with coping and adjusting to a new diagnosis, communicating with the healthcare team, addressing barriers to care such as insurance or transportation, coordinating supportive care such as home health nursing or specialty medications, and provide psychoeducation and brief counseling to address symptoms of anxiety, depression, behavioral issues or refer to ongoing outpatient counseling, if needed.

What is the most rewarding part of your job?
I often get involved with a family during the most terrifying time of their life; when they are being told their child has an illness that is going to affect everything. It is an extremely personal moment to sit with a family and the patient to process all their thoughts and feelings. There can be so many uncertainties, and treatment is a rollercoaster of emotions and events. Yet, children and families are so resilient. They go through this journey and grow, learn, and change. I get to witness those same patients and families later conquer the very situations and experiences they believed they could never handle and overcome. I get to personally witness the strength of love and the human spirit. There is nothing more powerful or more meaningful to my job than that.

Hear more from Valerie in the full team member spotlight here.