Phaedra Trethan, Cherry Hill NJ- Courier-Post |
Updated 9:14 a.m. ET Jan. 18, 2019
Camden County College in Blackwood, NJ
Camden County College will offer a 13-week certification program for peer recovery specialists, which will include peer recovery coaching, training to assist overdose victims get into addiction treatment, parent coaching and other services. starting on Saturday, February 9, 2019
It’s an in-demand curriculum that Camden County College President Donald Borden wishes was not, so, well in demand.
Recovery coaches and counselors specializing in addiction recovery are desperately needed as New Jersey — and the nation — struggle with a devastating opioid epidemic that killed 3,163 people in New Jersey just last year. Camden County College, with campuses in Blackwood, Camden and Cherry Hill, offers a two year associate degrees in addictions counseling.
So the college, working in conjunction with the Camden County Addiction Awareness Task Force, will introduce this new certification program for people on the front lines of the epidemic.
“I grew up in the 1960s and ’70s, when people were protesting the Vietnam War,” recalled Borden. “So it’s incredible to me to think that more people are dying from opioid overdoses than died in that war.” According to the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, 323 people died from opioid overdoses in Camden County in 2018; 2,933 people received the overdose reversal drug Naloxone, also known by the brand name Narcan. Certified peer recovery specialists are currently working in the four major Camden County healthcare systems, in emergency departments and are among the first to assist people who’ve overdosed and were revived with Narcan.
The state-funded Opiate Overdose Recovery Program requires certification before counselors can work with overdose victims in an emergency room setting. This training fulfils the training requirement for the state certification of a Certified Peer Recovery Support Specialist offered by the NJ Addiction Professionals Certification Board, Inc.
The certified peer recovery specialist program, Borden said, will begin on February 16 in the Blackwood NJ campus. The course ADD-104, will be taught by Melissa Killeen and is based on Melissa Killeen’s 2013 book, “Recovery Coaching: A Guide to Coaching People in Recovery from Addictions,” and will use the curriculum developed by the Center for Addiction Recovery Education (CARES) . Both are recognized by many in the counseling field as the definitive texts for coaches and one of the first books written about recovery coaches.
LeRoy Stanford, the addiction counseling program director, will oversee the program. Contact Professor Stanford at lstanford@camdencc.edu or register on the College’s web site- https://www.camdencc.edu/admissions-financial-aid/how-to-apply/register-for-classes/
The program was created in response to the overwhelming need for people who specialize in addictions counseling. Camden County College President Donald Borden explained, the college can adapt more quickly than many four-year institutions. “We can work with people in the area, find out what their needs are and train people who to meet those needs,” he noted.
“That approach, that mentality, was applicable in this circumstance,” he added. “Addiction transcends race, geography, age and socioeconomic status, and even though we wish it wasn’t the case, the fact is, [addiction specialists] are in high demand.”
Many who choose a career in addictions counseling, Borden said, have had personal experience. They are in recovery from addiction or they have had loved ones who’ve struggled with addiction.
“That, I think, gives them an empathy and understanding for people who are going through this,” he said. For those in recovery, finding steady employment can help them remain on track, giving them a sense of purpose and reducing their risk for relapse or recidivism.
Phaedra Trethan: @CP_Phaedra; 856-486-2417; ptrethan@gannettnj.com
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