Dr. Sharon Otis has devoted her life to working with
children and families, with a career that spans over 50
years. More than 35 of those years were spent serving
the local community in Manatee County. As she approaches a
well-deserved retirement, Dr. Otis has much to reflect upon – as
well as much to look forward to in the future!
Dr. Otis began her career as a 3rd grade teacher in Erie,
Pennsylvania. She quickly discovered that she wanted to develop
a deeper understanding of children, which led her to pursue a
master’s degree in School Counseling. After earning that degree,
Dr. Otis went on to earn three additional master’s degrees, as
well as a doctorate in Human Services, and a Ph.D. in Clinical
Christian Counseling.
After relocating to Manatee County in 1980, Dr. Otis began
working as a school counselor at Bayshore Elementary. She went
on to work as a counselor at Samoset and Bashaw Elementary
schools and was the first school counselor at Myakka City
Elementary.
Dr. Otis opened a private practice focused on family counseling
in 1984. She left the Manatee County school system in 1990 and
continued to focus on her practice, while additionally working
at area hospitals throughout the 1990s. She later taught Child
Development at Argosy University.
“I found while working with kids, that I really needed to work with
their parents – so at that point, I broadened the practice to include
relationship counseling,” Dr. Otis explains. Her office, now open
for more than 35 years, went on to offer individual counseling
for children, teens, and adults; marriage and family therapy; and
group therapy for men, women, teens, and children.
Dr. Otis’s areas of expertise include behavioral management,
depression, ADHD, co-dependency, trauma, stress reduction
and temperament analysis. Dr. Otis is a Licensed Mental Health
Counselor, a Licensed Clinical Pastoral Counselor, and a Clinical
Pastoral and Mental Health Supervisor. She is board certified in
managed care and is an expert in traumatic stress, having worked
as a first responder for mental health for corporate tragedies and
crises in the workplace.
Child development, mental health, and education have become
something of a family business for Dr. Otis. Her son, Tracy
Formosa has been an educator in Manatee County for more than
25 years and is currently a Physical Education teacher at Moody
Elementary. His wife, Kim Formosa, is the Speech & Language
Program Specialist for Manatee County schools. And Dr. Otis’s
daughter, Lindsey Phillips, is a Mental Health Director for children
with disabilities in Orlando.
When discussing what she has learned in her decades of
experience, Dr. Otis quickly responds: “I think the most important
thing is that the self-esteem of the child has a lot to do with the
parents.” As noted, Dr. Otis expanded her practice to include
adults and relationship therapy because she believes that healthy
children begin with healthy parents.
“I even like to work with people before they have children. I advise
them to get a dog! They’ll learn that consistency is one of the most
important things. Just as their dog needs to be fed on a schedule
and maintain a regular sleep pattern, so will their children. And
pets teach them that yelling doesn’t change behaviors,” she
continues. “Reward good behaviors and reinforce the behaviors
you want – don’t just discipline behaviors you don’t want.”
Dr. Otis has worked with her own pets as therapy dogs. Sady,
her current sheepdog and third therapy dog, works with parents
to help demonstrate positive reinforcement techniques and to
help children open up and feel more comfortable during therapy.
Over the course of her career, Dr. Otis has written 17 books on
topics ranging from parenting and counseling difficult children
to her latest book about relationships, “Just Your Type: How to
Thrive in Relationships Using Personality Types and More.” All
her books can be found on Amazon and Kindle.
Needless to say, Dr. Otis isn’t slowing down anytime soon.
She plans to write another book after her retirement – focusing
specifically on parenting. She will also continue her consulting
work with parents out of her home. And of course, she will spend
time with her six grandchildren, including four in Manatee County
and two in Orlando.