Practicing Life-Saving Triage Counselor looks back, and ahead
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A form of triage
rowing up in Brooklyn, N.Y., Valeria Warnic thought about becoming an attorney someday. “But I guess my higher power had other plans for me,” says Warnic, a member of the counseling staff at Men and Women For Human Excellence. Seeing family members struggle with drug and alcohol addiction was a factor in pointing Warnic in a different career direction. “At some point, I decided I wanted to help people [as an addiction counselor].” Her early years in the helping profession involved working at a children's group home and in the juvenile justice system, where Warnic observed the residual effects of addiction. “I saw a lot of children who had been taken from their parents because of substance abuse, and I saw young people smoking marijuana.” Warnic, who relocated to the Atlanta area in 1991, also worked for a residential treatment program for women and children, before joining the MWFHE staff in 2015.
In the course of their work, addiction counselors practice what could be considered a form of healthcare triage, Warnic notes. “We start by focusing on what the client's greatest need is. Maybe they haven’t had a physical exam in six months, or maybe they're not stabilized on their mental health medication.” “For the first 90 days after someone is admitted, we make sure we put the resources in place to stabilize them, so they can focus on their recovery. It can take a month to three months before we see them stabilize and get fully involved in the treatment process, based on their individual motivation and their needs.” Since addiction is a disease of denial, clients are not always fully willing to participate in treatment, at least initially. Warnic's experience in the field has taught her strategies to help clients get past their denial and accept the fact they have a disease that requires intensive care.
“We’re doing a service for people by helping restore their ability to live clean and sober lives.” - Valeria Warnic 16
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