Home

Dr. Kruszewski's graduate and postgraduate work focused on risk and resilience for trauma, stress, and chronic illness in both civilian and Veteran populations. In 2012, Dr. Kruszewski had a unique opportunity to serve as the first Civilian embedded psychologist at Marine Special Operations Command (MARSOC), at what was then called the 1st Marine Special Operations Battalion. At MARSOC, Dr. Kruszewski realized her passion for helping to enhance performance and well-being for individuals and organizations engaged in high-intensity missions with global impact.

At MARSOC, Dr. Kruszewski (aka Dr. K) quickly realized that her most important task was to gain cultural competence. With Marines and Sailors constantly deploying, training, and spending time with their families whenever possible, intervention needed to be flexible, effective, and individualized. Dr. K collaborated with senior enlisted leaders, officers, and other embedded assets to shape and deliver interventions and programs. When Ms. Jocelyn Pijpaert checked in as the Military and Family Life Counselor at MARSOC, she and Dr. K had many conversations about how best to serve this community. The question seemed to boil down to: how to fix a car on a train that is moving at 150 miles an hour without rendering the train useless or injuring the passengers on it? In her nearly six years at MARSOC, Dr. K often returned to the same answers: proactive education, culturally-competent treatments and programs, and collaboration with the organization and family members. The goal was to enhance resilience to ongoing stressors while promoting recovery from existing injury. To both fix the train and teach the passengers to notice and address the sounds coming from the train car before it breaks next time.

While it was intensely gratifying to work at MARSOC, Dr. K made the tough decision to leave in December 2017 to open the Center for Stress Recovery and Resilience (CSRR). Her goal was to replicate this model of recovery and resilience-building for individuals and organizations engaged in high-demand personal and professional endeavors. The CSRR has a threefold mission: provide culturally-competent, evidence-based clinical care, enhance CSRR therapists’ professional knowledge and personal well-being via ongoing education and networking, and provide trauma-sensitive resilience-building consultation, training, and psychotherapy for organizations and individuals engaged in high-demand professional and/or personal commitments.

To accomplish this mission, Dr. K recruited Ms. Pijpaert as the Associate Director to provide clinical and programmatic expertise (and make sure Dr. K never forgets where she came from!). Dr. K also hired therapists with clinical excellence, personal integrity, and commitment to culturally-competent care. Therapists at CSRR specialize in trauma, anxiety, sleep, stress (adjustment to illness/injury, caregiving, transition from the military and other life transitions). At CSRR, evidence-based cognitive-behavioral treatments are used in combination with mindfulness-based approaches enhancing present awareness, acceptance, and compassion. Many individuals and organizations working with the professionals at the Center for Stress Recovery and Resilience have never sought psychological services before. Therefore, therapists are transparent and collaborative in assessment, treatment planning/program development, and service delivery.