PITTSBURGH, PA, January 20, 2021 /24-7PressRelease/ — Marquis Who’s Who, the world’s premier publisher of biographical profiles, is proud to present Mary Ellen Turner with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. An accomplished listee, Ms. Turner celebrates many years’ experience in her professional network, and has been noted for achievements, leadership qualities, and the credentials and successes she has accrued in her field. As in all Marquis Who’s Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
A role model in her industry, Ms. Turner is currently employed at Mercy Behavioral Health located on the North Shore of Pittsburgh, PA. Mercy Behavioral Health or Pittsburgh Mercy Health System (PMHS) as it is also known is an organization that provides community-based, health, mental health, intellectual disabilities & alcohol and other drug services throughout Allegheny County. Ms. Turner has been employed within the mental health component for 20 years offering both school and office-based therapy. In 2000, she started as a therapist in one of many therapeutic classrooms located in Pittsburgh PA high schools where she worked directly with the classroom teacher and teacher’s aide. Her job was to provide group and individual therapy to the students assigned to this classroom format due to their needing assistance with academic and behavioral struggles in a regular classroom setting. After 2 years, Ms. Turner opted to provide school-based therapy in 4 Pittsburgh Public Schools (elementary, K-8, a middle school and high school) to hone her social work skills. Most of these youth presented with anger, depression, poor self-esteem which resulted in behavioral issues of poor anger management, poor peer interactions, impulsivity, and conduct disorder. Ms. Turner worked with some students in the elementary school (1st and 2nd graders) who burglarized the home of a peer they didn’t like. This was quite an eye-opener for Ms. Turner to see that these very young students willingly committed this act and it didn’t seem to faze them at all. In 2013, Ms. Turner provided school-based therapy in the Shaler Area School District as well as office-based therapy. Mental health concerns with this population were more about anxiety, self-harming and suicidal behaviors, and depression and low self-esteem and gender identity issues. It should be mentioned that while most of Ms. Turner’s professional experience has been with youth ages 3 to 18, she did spend a short period of time working with the adult population in the office setting while providing school-based therapy to kids in the Shaler School District. She reluctantly had to end services for adults due to being transferred to another building at Mercy Behavioral Health that only provided therapy for children and adolescent population. Ms. Turner thanks various supervisors that she had during her 20 year journey including Mrs. Daria Durny, Ms. Jenine Cole, Ms. Lorraine Hayes, and presently, Mrs. Laura Haile. All have given her tools to use to become a much better therapist due to their wisdom and expertise in the field, positive influence, and challenging her in areas that needed to improve.
Ms. Turner worked at Holy Family Institute in Pittsburgh as a foster care coordinator and therapist since 1997. First established in 1900, the organization is dedicated to improving the lives of youth throughout the local community, and offers various mental health and substance use counseling, educational and financial services to those in need. Having long drawn a wealth of inspiration from working with children, Ms. Turner benefited greatly from the tutelage her former supervisor at the Institute, Loretta Dulski, from whom she learned how to be a leader in mental health counseling and gain valuable experience providing therapy in the community. During her time at Holy Family Institute (HFI), she had a unique case involving a female teen living in one of the foster care homes and having a difficult time adjusting to the love and caring her foster parents were trying to give her. She would constantly attack them physically, at times bark like a dog and on one occasion broke a glass door in the home causing glass to enter the eyes of her foster mother. There were many calls to the police for assistance, respite care but the foster parents never gave up on her. Ms. Turner was able to work with this young lady by utilizing reactive attachment work from studying one of the master’s in the field of reactive attachment, Dr. Daniel Hughes, attending an intensive training he gave at Glade Run (mental health facility in Zelienople, PA). With the help of these dedicated foster parents not giving up on this young severely damaged teen, Ms. Turner was able to help her verbalize about her feelings and eventually accept their love. This was one of the most difficult cases Ms. Turner had in her career to date and she states that this young lady graduated from high school and is successfully on her own and occasionally gets in touch with Ms. Turner to let her know how she’s doing. The foster parents still send Christmas cards. Ms. Turner truly believes that she was the therapist that was meant to work with this teen and her foster parents because of the rapport that was established. She is so grateful to have had the opportunity to see it end so successfully.
Ms. Turner’s professional journey began in 1990 as a group supervisor for the Magical Years Development Center, a day care center in Bellevue, Pennsylvania. She subsequently spent two years as a preschool teacher at Light of Life Family Assistance Program nearby. In 1996, she transitioned toward social work as a psychiatric worker upon her recruitment by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Western Psychiatric Hospital, shortly after attaining a master’s degree in the field. The hospital is notably considered one of the nation’s most renowned psychiatric departments and hospitals, as well as a leader in mental health clinical care, research and education. She worked in the Hill District of Pittsburgh, PA providing office, school-based, and mobile therapy.
Ms. Turner prepared for her career by earning a Bachelor of Science in Education at Edinboro University in 1977. She acquired her Master’s of Social Worker degree through the University of Pittsburgh in 1996. She was proud to be chosen to sit on a panel during her senior year to talk with incoming undergrad students of social work about ways to be successful navigating college life. After graduation, Ms. Turner acquired her Licensed Social Work degree in 1996 after passing the exam. A celebrated Marquis listee, she has been highlighted in the 22nd edition of Who’s Who of American Women.
Ms. Turner is grateful to have had an opportunity to work with youth (ages 3 -18) in various settings throughout her career such as community- based settings, school-based settings, preschool programs, foster care, mobile therapy and continues to have a love for youth and helping them feel good about themselves and succeed in life.
Ms. Turner also credits her husband, James E. Turner, and daughters, Stacy Pugh and Shalanda Turner for their nonending support throughout her career. It was a pleasure for her daughters to see their mother walk down the aisle to receive her degree in social work. She also has a granddaughter, Tatiana Pugh who she loves to death as well as a son-in-law Ed Pugh. Finally, she is so proud of her husband who has become an established author of a children’s book entitled “How the Cat Got Its Sound”. This book is so special as it is a made-up story her husband would tell their daughters when they were still small. They never dreamed 30+ years later, it would become a published book. They are hoping to have a link for his book included in this narrative for those who would be interested in the fun-filled adventures of 3 cats to find their sound.
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