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Anna Messano - Director of Mental Health Services, Collier County Jail

Anna Messano is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Director of Mental Health Services at the Collier County Jail in Naples, Florida. She is in charge of counseling services as well as the residential substance abuse program, Project Recovery. Prior to her current position, Anna spent several years working in the crisis and emergency services units at The David Lawrence Center (DLC), Collier County’s community mental health and Baker Act receiving facility.

Her duties there included providing assessments, evaluations, individual and group therapy for adults and juveniles with substance abuse issues, receiving and assessing Baker Act clients, as well as providing intervention to adults and children experiencing a psychiatric crisis due to a variety of causes. She was a founding member of the facility’s Mobile Crisis Team and aided other facilities and police officers in evaluating clients for Baker Act appropriateness in addition to offering brief crisis support and linkage to other services. Anna has been active in educating local police officers in the areas of Baker Act criteria and mental health referrals.

Prior to working at DLC, Anna was the Residential Supervisor at the Shelter for Abused Women & Children in Naples, Florida, where she was responsible for staff and residents in the 60-bed residential portion of the facility. She also has been an instructor for RCPI since 2001. Anna has earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from the University of South Florida and a Master of Arts degree in Mental Health Counseling from Florida Gulf Coast University.