Sharon Bale-Pena

Sharon Bale-Pena is an LCSW and a certified school social worker in the state of New Jersey.  She received her MSW from Fordham University in New York and her BSW with a minor in family studies from James Madison University in Virginia.  She currently works as a mental health clinician for a School Based Youth Services Program providing individual, group and school wide services for high school students. She also works in a private practice providing psychotherapy to adolescents and young adults. She previously worked with the Juvenile Justice Commission providing social work services to adolescent boys in a residential setting.  Sharon’s areas of interest include working with adolescents who have experienced complex trauma and high achieving students who are experiencing mental health crises. Sharon is passionate about working towards equitable access to mental health services and exploring how schools can step into this gap to ensure all children and adolescents have access to the help and support they need to thrive.

Children & adolescents are grappling with a mental health crisis which has been heightened by the aftereffects of the COVID-19 Pandemic and a nationwide shortage of mental health providers. Additionally, youth report feeling increasingly lonely and disconnected from peers, family, and school.