The last five decades have been a roller coaster for addiction treatment – from the war on drugs to the introduction of medication-assisted treatment. On November 21, we co-hosted a panel discussion with Regis College about addiction treatment, behavioral health and career options in the field for 45 soon-to-be graduates as well as additional viewers tuning in through a live stream.
Speakers included our CEO Kurt Isaacson; Dr. Kevin Henze, professor of psychology and addiction programs at Regis College; Regis student and Spectrum employee Tainara Giacomini; Dr. Romas Buivydas, VP of clinical development at Spectrum, and boots-on-the-ground perspective from members of Spectrum’s clinical staff – Lynn LeBlanc Marrone, executive clinical director and Alyssa Taddeo, clinical supervisor.
Taking place in College Hall at Regis’ Weston campus, just a few miles west of Boston, Dr. Buivydas moderated the panel, opening with Spectrum’s perspective on the last 50 years of addiction and treatment and the nonprofit’s perspectives on the future. Dr. Buivydas has been working in behavioral healthcare for 25 years and continues his work in addiction treatment education with Spectrum.
From there, panelists remarked on the opportunities for career growth within the expanding field of addiction treatment as we continue to face a staggering opioid epidemic across the country. Participants highlighted that substance abuse is typically a symptom of underlying conditions and clinicians must be equipped to address co-occurring disorders such as anxiety, depression and PTSD.
LeBlanc Marrone and Taddeo fielded questions about job skills, sharing with the students that a job in addiction means practicing a number of evidence-based treatment methods such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Trauma Informed Care (TIC) to help people improve their self-care practices, boundary setting and organization skills – all key to sustaining long-term recovery.
When asked what was the most important knowledge she had acquired through her formal education, Taddeo discussed using CBT to understand the theory of brain behavior, the importance of empirically evident practices and understanding The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
The panel was the latest initiative led by the two organizations designed to encourage the next generation of clinicians to consider addiction as a viable and rewarding career path. In 2019, we partnered with Regis to provide opportunities for our staff to pursue graduate degrees in nursing, social work and psychology with tuition assistance.
We offer a variety of internship opportunities in both inpatient and outpatient settings for students to obtain hands-on training with real clients in different stages of recovery, open to Regis College students and beyond. For more information about internship opportunities, please contact Spectrum’s National Recruiter, Erica Schulman at 774-670-4525 or erica.schulman@spectrumsys.org. For information on Regis College enrollment, visit www.RegisCollege.edu.
