D r. Kathleen Heaney is an addiction psychiatrist and consultant for My Home Inc. She has been a valuable addition to the program since 2009. Every month, she provides clinical services and reviews cases for the program to discuss ways to en- sure efficient and effective case management. She has also assisted in applying for a grant the program will use for addressing opioid use disorder. As a liaison for the program, she helps provide information and support between other service providers. Before becoming a psychiatrist, Heaney practiced as a nurse for many years. “I knew I wanted additional training through a fellowship, and I had an interest in addiction treatment.” She was later accepted to the addiction psychiatry program at the Mayo Clinic. Her active work and experience since then in this field have given her an educated perspective on some of the deepest challenges running through drug and alcohol treatment. Through working with My Home Inc, she has been able to deepen her understand- ing of these effects within the Black community and address them through her work. “There is a huge overlap in mental health and drug and alcohol addiction. They travel together. More often than not, if someone has an addiction they also have a mental condition. Finding out which came first is part of what I do.” Heaney works with ad - diction medication specialists, doctors and coun-
trauma, like slavery and racism, that can contribute to health conditions, addiction and mental health issues. This goes beyond what a traditional doctor or nurse typically handles.” For people of color living in pre- dominantly white areas, access to treatment may also be limited or more difficult to attain. “This can then translate into medical and mental effects as well as substance use.” Through her work at My Home Inc, Heaney says she is able to obtain a greater understanding of the needs of minority populations within the space of mental health and treatment for substance use. “We need to know how to serve a diverse community and under- stand how systems can perpetuate certain practices that can be detrimental to people of color.” Through its contracts with the criminal justice system, My Home Inc. works to expand its connection to structural sys- tems and provide resources and support for its clients.
During their team meetings, Heaney works to elucidate histories of trau- matic brain injury, adverse child- hood experiences from growing up in deprivation and early exposure to alcohol and drugs. “These con- tributors underlie a person’s develop- ment. While some people look at a person’s criminal record and point to their actions, we
selors as a liaison to bring specialists to- gether to further educate those working in the fields of addiction care and help them gain a deeper understanding of underlying factors of mental health conditions. When looking specifically at tai - loring these services to the Black community, Heaney referenced the social determinants of health, which are various external factors that contribute to a medical diag- nosis. “Where you live, how much money you make, what your childhood was like, these are all significant factors that often play roles in a person’s quality of health.” Within the Black com- munity, these factors carry great- er significance due to structural and historical elements. “If you
as treatment provid- ers have to examine that through the lens of what has happened to them before.”
She assists these teams in pro- viding addic- tion treatment through evi- dence-based methods. “It’s not just about abstinence. It includes medications, mental health treatment and assessing an individual’s history.”
lay onto these social factors the transmission of historical
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