BIO for BARBARA BOUTSIKARIS

Barbara Boutsikaris

(pronounced  like “Boots & Carrots”)

Barbara Boutsikaris, MS, is a Vermont Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, Board Certified Professional Counselor and Non-Denominational Ordained Minister. Barbara has worked as an adolescent and family therapist for over three decades. She currently maintains a full-time private practice in Shelburne, VT where she works with adult individuals, couples and families and supervises therapists working towards their licensure.

Barbara was an Adjunct Professor at the University of Vermont in the Graduate Counseling Program from 2003 until 2018. She has been a Keynote Presenter and has presented at professional conferences, schools, and to general audiences on a broad range of topics ranging from self-harm behavior to parenting issues. Barbara’s workshops provide audiences with “thoughtful, humorous, and accessible approaches and strategies, revealing a breadth of professional and personal experience.”

Barbara’s training in Family Systems Theory, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Relational Life Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Solution Focused Therapy, along with personal experience as both a parent and step-parent, inform her work. She is a member of the American Counseling Association and the Vermont Mental Health Counselors Association.

In addition, Barbara has been a member (flutist) of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra since 1989.  She has played all over the country and abroad with many ensembles including the American Wind Symphony Orchestra, The Nebraska Theatre Caravan, The Jersey City Little Orchestra Society, and the Burlington Chamber Orchestra. She currently plays with Duo Alouette, a flute and guitar duo, with Gregg Jordan, guitar.

Barbara is very happily married and has a close relationship with her adult daughter (29) who resides in Brooklyn, NY. 

Education:

1977-1979 – The Boston Conservatory of Music (Flute Performance Major)
1979- 1982 – Boston University (Music Major) – Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music
1989-1991 – University of Vermont (Mental Health Counseling) – Master of Science Degree in Counseling

Board Certified Professional Counselor

Member of the American Counseling Association

Barbara’s husband John and her daughter Maddy, summer of 2021.
Barbara officiating her niece’s wedding October 2021.