Bio

~~ Active Aging & Care Transitions ~~

Active Aging & Care Transitions

Wellness and Healthcare Planning You can do it ...We can do it together

BIOGRAPHY

Active Aging & Care Transitions

Diane L. Lasichak, BA, BS, MA,MSW, LICSW, BC-DMT, CMC

Certified Aging Life Professional (aka Geriatric Care Manager)

Culminating over 40 years of continuing education and increasing specialization in wellness, aging and the elderly, Diane began her Aging Life Care Services (formerly geriatric care management) private practice -- Active Aging & Care Transitions – in 2012.

As part of her AACT work in brain health, memory and wellness, Diane was trained at the UCLA Longevity Center in their Memory Training programs and is a Certified Cognitive Stimulation Instructor under the Cognitive Stimulation Program developed at Western Oregon University by Dr. Rob Winningham, PhD.

She also is a certified Ageless Grace Educator and Trainer, a trained NIA Technique Teacher (Brown Belt) and “Move To Heal” instructor; a certified ACE (American Council on Exercise) Group Fitness Instructor and a licensed Silver Sneakers/FLEX Instructor certified to facilitate Classic, Cardio-fit., Strength and Balance/Stability programs and Yoga.

As part of her Geriatric Care Manager services, she is a certified/licensed BCAT (Brief Cognitive Assessment Tool) Administrator and a Certified BCAT Master Clinician.

Diane graduated from Western Michigan University (WMU) with bachelor’s degrees in Social Work, Physical Education and Dance, as well as specializations in elementary and secondary teaching. She then taught at the American International School in Monrovia, Liberia (1973-1976) before moving to teach a final year at the International School in Tanzania (1977).

She returned to the U.S. in 1977 where she obtained a Master’s Certificate in Gerontology from WMU. In 1980, she completed her studies at UCLA for her Master of Arts in Dance/Movement Therapy (DMT) and completed her thesis on Dance Therapy with Gero-psychiatric Outpatients: Issues of Loss and Separation Anxiety to graduate in 1982.

Living in Geneva, Switzerland from 1980 to 1984, Diane gave a series of workshops on dance/movement psychotherapy to graduate students in dance in Zurich, and was a DMT volunteer at the Geneva Psychiatric Hospital with gero-psychiatric inpatients.

On her return to the U.S., Diane worked on the Psychiatric Unit at Greater Southeast Community Hospital, first as the Dance/Movement Psychotherapist and soon as Group Therapies Coordinator (1985-1994) where she also gave numerous workshops on wellness- and aging-related topics.

During that time, she earned master’s-level certificate in Gestalt Psychotherapy, certification in drug and alcohol abuse counseling, and became a Fellow with the Washington DC Area Geriatric Education Center Consortium. Eventually, she also obtained her BC-DMT (Board Certified – Dance Movement Therapist) certification.

In 1994, Diane obtained a Master’s in Social Work from the University of Maryland, and then worked five years as the Director of Social Services at the 150-bed Livingston Healthcare Center, a residential nursing home facility in Ft. Washington, Maryland (1994-1999). She obtained her LCSW licensure in 1999.

In 1999, she started an over ten-year association with Erickson Retirement Communities , a company building and operating a series of continuing care retirement communities (1999-2010). She began in 1999 as the manager of Social Work at Greenspring Village in Springfield, VA. She moved to Warminster, PA in late 2002 to help start the new Ann’s Choice community as Director of Resident Life (2002-2008). In March 2008, Diane transferred as Director of Resident Life at the new Ashby Ponds campus in Ashburn, VA.

Diane left Ashby Ponds in 2010 to work as Manager of Social Work at INOVA’s Commonwealth Care Center in Fairfax, VA (2010) providing and supervising a variety of social services, including care planning with nursing care residents, counseling residents and their families/caregivers on care options, coordinating comprehensive safe discharge plans, and identifying useful community and care resources for continued follow-up. In late 2010, Diane decided to establish AACT. She obtained her CMC (Care Manager Certification) in April 2011.

Diane is an active member of the American Dance Therapy Association, the Academy of Certified Care Managers, the National Association of Social Workers, the National Center for Creative Aging, and the International Council on Active Aging.

Diane was born and raised in Detroit and Dearborn Heights, Michigan. She now lives in Shoreline, WA.