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Wabash Valley branches out
Wabash Valley's new fulltime director, Philip Spottswood, said the addition of a new wing has allowed the center to expand its staff to include three new caseworkers, with plans for three more. An a d d i c t i o n s counselor has been added who is "very experienced" and who plans to give presentations in the schools in hopes of preventing drug and behavioral problems. Spottswood said he would like to do as much prevention work as possible in the areas of mental health and substance abuse. He has already begun to establish relationships with the superintendent and principals at Carroll schools. There he hopes to initiate programs aimed at keeping kids out of trouble. He said he works within the county court system to counsel people who are in need of substance abuse treatment. And when allegations of child abuse are made, he works with the Department of Child Services, giving support to children and parents in hopes of preventing kids from being placed outside the home.
He said Wabash Valley's secondary goal is prevention. "When someone is in crisis, we try to ameliorate it so it doesn't grow and they have to be hospitalized or put into another setting. We want to help to de-escalate the crisis and help the individual to return to normal as quickly as possible." Spottswood said the center strives to help people manage their chronic mental illness so that they don't get into a crisis situation. "We work with a lot of people in Carroll County who have (chronic mental illness) and we give counseling and support so people can maintain themselves with dignity and a normal lifestyle." Spottswood said the center is very much involved with older people. "We see a lot of senior citizens. They struggle with depression, alcohol abuse, more significant losses and chronic health problems, and they may have fewer resources to help them." Up ahead Spottswood said one of his future goals is to develop peerto peer support groups and oneon one relationships. The program would match the center's clients (who have recovered from substance abuse) with those who are still struggling. He'd also like to start a psycoeducation program in which a family who has been through a crisis can help another family who is in the midst of one. He hopes to establish a number of other programs including: a drop-in center, to keep people with chronic mental illness from becoming socially isolated; a supported employment program to help people get back into the job market after suffering a mental illness; and supervised residential housing for people recovering from mental illness and addiction. "It takes an entire community working together. The clinic can provide services, but the community has to provide the emotional and relational support we need to lead productive lives. We need to involve civic groups and churches. Everyone can play a role." Delphi branch director Spottswood was born in the Philippines to United Methodist missionary parents. He attended a Christian boarding school in the Himalaya Mountains of India, and earned his doctorate degree from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. He holds a master's of divinity from Asbury Theological Seminary and has spent the past seven years working as a pastor in Kenosha, Wisc. He is a member of the American Psychological Association, Rotary Club (Kenosha), served on the board of the jail chaplaincy of Kenosha County and was president of the board of New Song Ministries, which helped former inmates restart their lives. He and his wife Michele moved to Dayton three months ago. They have five children and two grandchildren, and they attend Dayton United Methodist Church. |
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