Reclaiming Hope: The Road to Recovery

James Sherrill is a Clinician on Wedgwood’s Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Treatment Services team. He works primarily with teens within the Ottawa County Court system. As a part of our SUD Team, James provides support for kids, and their families, who are struggling with co-occurring substance use and mental health challenges. We sat down with James recently to talk about the important work he does and how Wedgwood is offering hope through recovery support.

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So what can you tell us about the adolescents, adults, and families involved in Wedgwood’s SUD services?

The kids I typically see primarily come to us through court referrals, so we’ve built a relationship with the juvenile court and work closely with probation officers. They connect with us when they recognize a substance use issue. There’s not really a ‘typical’ kid – we see kids across many demographics. I’ve seen kids as young as 10, all the way up to 18; kids who have made good choices and gotten out of the system, and those who transition from juvenile court to adult court and still need on-going support for their substance use and mental health challenges. We help them find healthy, productive ways to cope with their challenges, mental health, and trauma so they can get out of the system, get off probation, get clean, improve school performance, decrease conflict, and rebuild or improve their relationship with their family.

How do you see trauma playing a role in your clients’ substance use?

Trauma is always there. It is always there. Almost every single client has that kernel of trauma underneath all of it. When we think trauma we think war and violence and sexual assault, but you know what – not having a dad at home, that’s part of it. There’s also the sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and physical abuse. The type of trauma varies, but there’s always that kernel of trauma in there.

So what happens during their time with Wedgwood’s Recovery Services?

There’s a lot of rapport building at first, building that relationship. We have an assessment process and then work on setting goals for what they want to accomplish and sometimes even just figuring out what they want to accomplish. We work through the objectives they need to meet those goals. It starts with building that relationship, that trust, and then working through all the little pieces: the trauma, the anger, the little undercurrents of junk that build up and make substance use so much more appealing as a way to cope.

How do you see your role in helping people heal and find hope again?

I help people recognize that these changes are doable, I think that is the big thing. Many come to us with this feeling of, ‘this is my life and this is the way it’s going to be’. But we help them recognize that there is a way to manage the trauma, the hurt, the anger that doesn’t involve creating more problems than it solves. We are shifting their perspectives on what success looks like. I work on helping them make a healthy choice and reclaim their power, amidst the chaos in their lives, to make those good choices and take control of what they can.

How does Wedgwood help set people up for success with continued sobriety and brighter futures?

We are helping people to reclaim that power, feel that success, and to recognize the wins. When they can recognize the ‘small victories’ it empowers them to look toward the next one, and think: ‘What else can I win?’, ‘How else can I get a victory?’, ‘How else can I overcome?’. The seemingly tiny successes build upon one another until there is this monster wall of overall life success. It’s an ongoing journey and doesn’t happen overnight. We have to remind them that there are times they are going to take a few steps back. But I tell them, “You know what, you did it once. You’ve shown yourself that you can do it. You’ve done it once, you can do it again.”

What’s one thing you think would surprise people about working in Recovery Services?

That people who are dealing with substance use disorder aren’t bad people. These are kids and adults, who more often than not, are dealing with a lot of hurt. For them, it’s about finding a way to inject a little bit of happiness to fill a little bit of a hole in their soul more than anything. It’s more than getting high, sure that’s a part of it, but it’s about soothing that hurt. So what we need is more compassion, and less punishment, less stigma, less of the idea anybody who uses substances is a bad person.

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Wedgwood offers a comprehensive range of recovery support services for teens, adults, and families across West Michigan dealing with substance use.

This conversation with James was a part of our Wedgwood Coffee Break Conversation series! Check out more of this conversation on our YouTube channel, or wherever you get you podcasts.

 

 

For more information about referrals, email SUDReferral@wedgwood.org or call our intake lines 616.930.5004 | 616.240.0612 (link phone numbers)

PULL OUT QUOTE: “We help them recognize that there is a way to manage the trauma, the hurt, the anger that doesn’t involve creating more problems than it solves. We are shifting their perspectives on what success looks like.” – James Sherrill, SUD Clinician