Interested in the health care industry from a young age, Dr. Barbara Hawes worked in a hospital emergency room as her first venture into formal employment. Discovering her interest in mental health care, she went on to attend Roanoke College, where she was the first to receive a Bachelor of Arts as a double major in philosophy and psychology in 1977. She subsequently completed coursework in deaf education at the University of Virginia, and while pursuing her master’s degree, she served as a mental health crisis counselor in the emergency room at the University of Virginia Hospital. Thereafter, Dr. Hawes completed graduate coursework in counseling psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University. After attaining several years of vocational experience, she received a Doctor of Philosophy in clinical psychology from Charisma University in 2014.
Now recognized as the executive director of Protect Your Health Solutions, Dr. Hawes has enjoyed a prosperous career in the mental health sector within the realms of crisis prevention and counseling. A certified crisis response counselor and certified benefits counselor in the state of New Jersey, she has assisted with disaster recovery and leveraged her advanced skillset to provide aid to clients who are experiencing mental health crises.
Earlier in her career, Dr. Hawes was a senior counselor from 1993 to 1998, through which she helped to develop the first community crisis beds for Vesta, Inc. Subsequently, she served as the director of crisis prevention and stabilization services. From 2000 to 2003, she also served as the deputy director of the Crisis Response System (CRS) of Maryland, where she and her team oversaw and managed various disaster and mental health crises in Anne Arundel and Prince George’s countries. Situations that Dr. Hawes assisted clients in have included the Beltway Sniper case, the anthrax attack, the 9/11 attack on The Pentagon, and Hurricanes Andrew and Isabel, among others. She also served as the director of one of the largest homeless shelters in Philadelphia.
Outside of her primary efforts, Dr. Hawes has served as a presenter for several Psychiatric Nurses Association conferences, where she has presented on the topics of substance use and mental illness. She is also a member of Rotary International. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Hawes was notable for serving as a volunteer counselor for the COVID Hotline with the county’s health department between March 2020 and May 2020. She has earned numerous accolades for her efforts in crisis prevention and stabilization.
