We recently met with Stephanie Dziuk, who works on the Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) team. This program provides treatment, rehabilitation and mental health support services to adults living with mental illness and substance use disorder who have experienced multiple hospitalizations. Some of these clients are formerly homeless individuals. Services include: 24-hour crisis support, counseling, medication management and fills, housing support, nursing services, help managing symptoms, social skills building, and community living and job skills training. Services can be provided in the community or at the client’s home.
Tell us about your role at Integral Care.
I work on the ACT team. I am pursuing my LPCI (Licensed Professional Counselor Internship) and have to collect 3,000 hours before I can become fully licensed. On Mondays, I hold individual counseling with four different people, which is mostly trauma counseling. I also facilitate the Social Skills Group with another one of my teammates. Every Wednesday, we alternate between serving clients in the community and practicing our skills as a group in the office. Clients come to me for individual counseling or I meet them in their homes.
What do you like most about your job?
The population of people served by ACT team are typically marginalized. A genuine human connection can mean the world to them. I enjoy that I am able to help clients feel like they are important and that they matter.
What made you want to work with this population?
I felt drawn to this population early in life. I was taking speech class through a community college and we had to do a group presentation. I chose the topic of mental illness and fell in love with the idea of working with the types of individuals we serve.
Describe about an impactful experience you have had here.
A year ago, one of the individuals that I work with weekly was in distress. She required repeat hospitalization. She didn’t go in very often, but when she did, it was really challenging for her. We’ve been working together for about 7 months. She is going to be graduating from the ACT team to a less intensive level of care soon. She communicates with family members and other people whereas before, she would isolate in her apartment. But now she socializes. She wants to use her lived experience with depression to reach out and help others who are struggling. Seeing true success in this field is amazing.