‘It’s extremely rewarding’: Mental Health and Addiction Recovery Academy opens up new career paths
07/03/24 12:00:pm
Sometimes in life, taking a new path can make all the difference, even if it’s one you never expected.
Katie Kordsmeier can speak to that, after training to get her substance use counselor credentials.
“If I’m begin really honest. I don’t know I would have considered becoming a case manager for Mental Health and Addiction Recovery (MHAR),” Katie says. “But it worked out fabulously. I’m super happy with that decision and have found it to be a really good fit.”
She’s part of Rogers’ MHAR Academy, allowing her to train for and eventually receive her SAC-IT, or Substance Abuse Counselor-In-Training state credential, as part of her day-to-day job responsibilities at Rogers, without needing to pay for expensive courses elsewhere.
“This fits right into my life,” Katie says. “I’m able to get that training while I’m working, which is an amazing deal.”
Beyond that, Katie says she loves showing people struggling with substance use disorder that there’s another path.
“I just really enjoy working with patients and seeing that, even when someone comes in here on day one and they’re not sure what sobriety and recovery looks like for them, that we can, over time, build that relationship and show them the skills they can test out and give them a different way of living,” she says. “I love being with people and partnering with them to figure out how we can be supportive and help them build up their life, however that looks for them. Having a little part in that is really a privilege.”
Through a partnership with Carroll University, students and Rogers employees like Katie can be part of the MHAR Academy, started in late 2023. Approved by the state of Wisconsin, the program allows them to get their SAC-IT and then go on to get their full substance use credential (SAC and CSAC). The MHAR Academy has also been credentialed by the National Association of Addiction Counselors (NAADAC) which allows employees from other states to also take part in achieving their state-specific substance use credentials.
“For individuals looking to pursue substance use counseling training, we are offering the most robust training and education,” says Page Feller, MHAR clinical operations supervisor and instructor for the academy. “The training essentially prepares somebody to come in with little to no experience in the mental health and addiction field and then receive the education and understanding they need to be able to provide high quality substance use treatment in line with best practices.”
She says the program includes a combination of virtual modules, interactive learning, and live sessions, with the flexibility for people to meet the program requirements on their own time.
“The feedback we’ve gotten from students in the program has just been awesome. They’re talking about how beneficial it is to have the one-on-one support, collaboration opportunities, and various forms of learning tailored to a variety of learning styles. I think that’s something that makes this program really unique,” Page says. “Being at the forefront of change in the mental health and addiction field is so exciting. This is an evolving program. Using feedback, we can continuously update these courses and provide additional training to make sure this is really a top-of-the-line program.”
She says a program like this is more important now than ever.
“Between rising opioid overdoses and general mental health and substance use concerns, this is an ongoing nationwide crisis. A lot of times, the lack of education and training is what keeps people from being able to provide the treatment people so desperately need,” Page says. “To know there are people committed to learning so we can slowly break down the stigma, and to know we can help people really understand and provide individualized treatment, is hugely beneficial.”
“It’s a way to help employees who have the ability and just need a little bit of training and licensure to stay with Rogers and help patients, and that makes it mutually beneficial for everybody,” Katie says. “This gave me a pathway to stay here. I’ll be finishing my master’s at Alverno College fairly shortly, which means then I’ll be an LPC and I’ll continue to stay with Rogers.”
As Katie learns the skills to help others find a new path in life, she says she’s happy with the direction her life has taken.
“It’s extremely rewarding. I’m very lucky. Sometimes I’ll be like, ‘How does this get to be my job?’ Like it just seems like that’ s an impossible thing for me, because I came from healthcare administration. I was a social worker,” Katie says. “To go from spreadsheets and budgets to my everyday life now, partnering with people to say, ‘How can we make your life more fulfilling and enriching?’, I mean, that’s a pretty amazing gig.”
If interested in the MHAR Academy, Page says you can talk to your direct manager.
