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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 f irst 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 f ield 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