Faces of Aspire: Yvette Howes
Over the past four years, Yvette Howes has been a dedicated member of the Aspire Crisis Team. Currently serving as Clinical Supervisor, Yvette supervises a small team of crisis care coordinators, supporting Aspire’s crisis department in a variety of ways.
“Our team has a multifaceted role at Aspire in the sense that we often need to collaborate with both our doctoral and mid-level practitioners, court systems and community partners to ensure best outcomes for our clients,” Howes says. “That being said, this team can also find themselves engaging with a client who could be experiencing one of their most vulnerable moments. It is both humbling and challenging — this team is always learning.”
Yvette has a rich background in the mental health field with master’s degrees in community mental health and educational psychology. She actually got started with the U.S. Department of Defense in Germany, working with soldiers and their families as they transitioned back from Iraq in a post-9/11 environment. Then she returned to the Green Bay area where she decided to pursue her first graduate degree in community mental health.
Eventually moving to Illinois and working for the University of Illinois, Howes pursued her second master’s in educational psychology. Then she moved to Northwest Indiana, working in the school systems, and finally made her way to Indianapolis, where she connected with Aspire Indiana Health.
“I enjoy supporting a team or folks who are really dedicated to providing the best care possible and best advocacy practices,” Howes says. “I value that in our Aspire Crisis Team — their work ethic and commitment to supporting our community is evident every single day. I also love that every day is different. There is always an opportunity to learn, not only from the people I’m supporting but also from people who are supporting me.”
Howes says the Crisis Team at Aspire is the first line of defense for someone who presents with a mental health crisis.
“They are an integral part of this organization because they really do advocate for everyone,” she says of her team. “I get the privilege to supervise them, but the credit for their hard work in creating safe emotional spaces belongs to them.”
When not working, Yvette enjoys traveling and photography. She also likes spending time with her family and two dogs, Highland Shelties, Lindy and Ella.
