Recovery Through Compassionate Care for Substance Use Disorder

In “Providing Patients a Voice in Their Recovery,” Mandy Faubel, PhD, LCSW, UPMC Western Behavioral Health at Safe Harbor, and Rebekah Sedlock, DSW, LCSW, UPMC Insurance Services Division with Community Care, discussed the complexities that infuse the relationship between mental health conditions and substance use disorders.

Here they add to the conversation by emphasizing that no one in recovery has to go at it alone and provide valuable information on how to access the recovery and mental health services they provide.

This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.

Transcript

What is your current role with UPMC?

Fauble: I'm Mandy Fauble, PhD, LCSW. I'm the director of clinical care services at UPMC Western Behavioral Health at Safe Harbor, which is a community mental health center in Erie, Pennsylvania, and I support some additional entities in Northwest Pennsylvania. Currently in the substance use disorder space, I serve as the project director for a handful of grants, particularly through the Rural Community Opioid Response Program, which is a set of HRSA [Health Resources and Services Administration] grants, and that is through the Hamot Health Foundation, which is a community foundation, again, in Erie.

Sedlock: I'm Rebekah Sedlock, DSW, LCSW. I'm the project director of substance use disorder services and recovery here at the UPMC Insurance Services Division with Community Care. We are a behavioral health managed care organization that provides coverage for both mental health and substance use disorders.

In my role, I support substance use disorder treatment for all of the 43 counties that we manage. We believe that recovery is possible, and our top priority is to provide accurate education for members and the community and providers regarding evidence-based practices for substance use disorder services.

What would you like potential clients to know about how to access your services?

Fauble: I have like 5 things. Probably the number one thing is that the hardest step often seems like the first for people, and that fear and having experienced maybe negative feedback about your substance use or negative feedback about your mental health concern—you know, when people say things like, “Oh, just stop using,” or “Oh, why don't you get up and take a shower?” The judgment that people experience or maybe the challenges that they faced in trying to get help is a big barrier, but I promise that there are so many people out there that want to deliver judgment-free and compassionate care.

There's a whole community out there waiting to serve people, and that just like any other health concern, sometimes it takes more than 1 time or it takes a period of time. There are ups and downs, and so that process, while challenging, is not one that anyone has to experience alone. Hope is rational, because we are around to help people, and there are a lot of evidence-based strategies that we can use that we know are helpful to people.

Sedlock: I think going to our website and getting acclimated to our health topics and learning more about mental health conditions and substance use disorder conditions. We normalize it. We say that even though you're having these things and you're experiencing them, help is available. These are some things you might be experiencing, and if it sounds like you, give us a call, and we are happy to get you contact information for providers that accept your insurance and can get you into treatment.

We can give you provider choices, and we don't only have standard treatment available. We have nonclinical services available, too, like case management and peer support, as well as the formalized treatment services where you might sit in front of somebody and have 1-on-1 conversations. We just have lots of different ways that people can get help, and we really want to make sure that people get the help that they want.