Susan E. Swim, Ph.D.

Executive Director
 Senior Faculty
 Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist #40480
 Faculty, Houston Galveston Institute
 Associate, Taos Institute
 Part time Faculty, Loma Linda University
 Adjunct Faculty, Alliant University
 71 W. Sierra Madre Blvd
 Sierra Madre, CA 91024

Phone: (626) 487-9305
Email: Swiminc@aol.com 
Website: www.nowiseeaperson.com, www.drsusanswim.com

Susan is the Executive Director of Now I See a Person Institute, California, USA, she is on the Faculty of the Houston Galveston Institute, Houston, USA, Taos Associate, USA, and Faculty of Loma Linda University.

 Dr. Swim has been on faculty at the Houston Galveston Institute since the early eighties. She moved to Southern California from Houston in 2002 and continues to participate as faculty. She retired in June 2011 from part-time faculty at the Department of Counseling and Family Sciences at Loma Linda University in Loma Linda, California, and adjunct faculty Alliant International University where she specialized in teaching and supervision from a social constructionist viewpoint. Her retirement allows Now I See a Person Institute to be her full time endeavor. 

 She founded Now I See a Person Institute–Equine Assisted and Naturalistic Psychotherapy using Community Engagement: A Collaborative Recovery Model. This model of therapy is used for all populations and diagnoses. Now I See a Person Institute is a nonprofit organization for graduate and post graduate training and clinical services. Students from various universities come to learn and study under Dr. Swim. 

 At Now I See a Person Institute, Dr. Swim provides workshops and two certificate programs. She offers International Certificate in Collaborative Therapies and certificate in Community Engagement: A Collaborative Recovery Model, developmental series on Collaborative Therapy both providing CEU’s. In 2012 she will launch an online developmental course on Community Engagement: A Collaborative Recovery Model. At Now I See a Person Institute she also provides organizational development, life coaching, wrap around and recovery services. 

 With Now I See a Person Institute she is able to pursue her lifelong passion of training interns and trainees in a model of collaborative therapy that she has developed and researched over several years, Community Engagement: A Collaborative Recovery Model. Within Community Engagement are the premises that therapy is collaborative and self tailored to the needs of each individual. Here clients are “seen” as people and not diagnostic labels. Clients are “seen” within a safe environment and where they are not afraid to speak the unspoken. Dr. Swim within her thirty year career has treated all mental health issues and holds expertise in these areas.

 She is an Editor Emeritus for the Journal of Systemic Therapies, on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Qualitative Research, and an Associate Reviewer for International Journal of Collaborative Practices. Her academic interests are teaching traditional courses while incorporating a social constructionist backdrop. She helped cultivate the on-line HGI-Taos Institute distance learning and continues to facilitate this on-line. 

 She enjoys presenting at state, national, and international conferences on Collaborative Language Systems for Individual, Marriage and Family Therapy, Supervision, Teaching and Research. Among her various interests are: academic teaching; qualitative research and publications on supervision, teaching, and clinical practice centering upon a social constructionist perspective.

Now I See A Person Institute

Now I See A Person Institute (NISAPI) is a nonprofit mental health and substance agency devoted to serving populations who have not succeeded in previous traditional therapy, medications, or institutionalization. NISAPI was created in 2007 by Swim (with the voices of colleagues) to offer a novel, natural and nurturing environment to create sustainable transformation. We provide therapy, recovery, and transitional services (especially family reunification family re-attachment, family life coaching, family therapeutic monitoring) for individuals (children, teens, adults) families and couples. Our clients, most with histories of extensive trauma, histories of unsuccessful therapy or psychiatric intervention (“underserved populations”) come to a normal and nurturing horse ranch to heal, recover, and transform in Los Angeles County. Our collaborative recovery model, Community Engagement: A Collaborative Recovery Model (CEACRM) is evidence based and reflects up to 98% recovery for a broad range of mental health challenges, populations, and diagnoses. Our specialty is severe trauma and severe family conflict. We call this the “underserved populations” since our clients come with long treatment histories, extensive histories of trauma and individuals and families who have lost all hope of change or transformation. Often these clients have had open cases with government services. We include in our community model these voices as well as those community members (judges, lawyers, social workers) to collaborate in sustainable change. In addition to therapeutic services we provide training through our ICCP program with interns and clinicians. NISAPI is a CAMFT approved provider of continuing education. We invite visitors through our hosting program with the Taos Institute to come for extended periods of time. All learners are invited to create their own self-tailored agendas and can come at anytime of the year. NISAPI welcomes you to visit www.nowiseeaperson.com. Here you can see our services, the voices of our clients, current and past articles, our training programs and research.

Susan Swim Resources

Susan Swim Manuscripts