Celebrating Different Pathways to Recovery – with Alicia Peterson, RSS, Family Recovery Coach, and Lauren Pristo, MPH, Director of Community Engagement

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8:22, 97.3 WZBG. Speaking this time with folks from the McCall Behavioral Health Network. We get a once a month visit, and this time, I want to welcome back a guest we have had in the past, but it’s been a little while. Alicia Peterson is a family recovery coach.

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Lauren Pristo, the director of community engagement. Good morning to you both.

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Good morning.

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Thanks for joining us this morning. Talking about pathways to recovery. And you know, I’ve been privileged to do these interviews with you folks from McCall for a long time. One of the main takeaways that I’ve gotten from this is that nobody follows the same path and it’s really it’s a custom kind of a thing and what looks like recovery for one person is not recovery for another. Is that safe enough to say Alicia?

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Yes it is. At McCall’s we promote many different pathways to recovery and different tools, from harm reduction to inpatient facilities. We allow our clients the autonomy and trying the pathway that they feel the most comfortable with.

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We celebrate every milestone, even if it seems like it’s not a big deal, it’s a part in getting healthier.

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And sometimes heading down that pathway, you gotta double back and try a different path. Isn’t that safe, Lauren?

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Yeah, there’s a lot of different tools that you might need to try before you find the one that’s right for you. And that’s okay. It’s really about just taking those small steps that make you feel a little bit better, a little bit safer, a little bit healthier for that day.

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Another common point that I found here in speaking with folks from McCall too, and you guys do such great work with substance use disorder, but this is intertwined with trauma, health and wellness, mental health as well. It’s one basket, isn’t it?

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Yes, it is. I know that for me, I am an alumni of McCall Behavioral Health and when I started on this journey, I was a mess with mental health and substance use disorder and didn’t know where to begin. And that’s when I began the MAP program, Medication Assisted Treatment. And, you know, like you said, I had to double back a couple times. And that’s when I began the MAT program, medication-assisted treatment. And you know, like you said, I had to double back a couple times. I’ve had a lot of grief in my life.

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I lost my sister. Last week I lost my brother to suicide. And you know, there’s always going to be new things to try that help keep me on the path that I want to keep going on.

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And it’s important to look at those milestones, no matter how small, those little bits of recovery. And you got to celebrate those, don’t you?

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Celebrating every step along the way.

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I want to mention something, an event going on too, and we’ll recap at the end of the program as well. A big part of getting the information out and promoting good health. Let’s talk about Trails to Wellness for a minute which is going to be coming up on the 29th up on the Winstead Green Learn.

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Yeah, Trails to Wellness is an awesome event that the Litchfield County Opiate Task Force has been putting on I think now for three years. And so in our third year we’re excited this time we’re going to be in Winstead. It’s May 29th, 4 to 7. And it’s a really neat opportunity to come try a bunch of different tools to help you in your wellness journey. So we’re talking things like yoga, Qigong, nutrition, all sorts of different options. And some of them may feel a little bit out there for you, but there’s a lot of neat things to test out and it’s an opportunity to try it without a big commitment.

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And also, all of these tools or these activities too, these are take charge things that you can do as an individual in promoting your own better all good health, good mental health and good spiritual health all at the same time.

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Right, and even last year there was a couple individuals who got to try aromatherapy. Alicia do you want to tell that story? Sure. We had a couple of volunteers from one of our inpatient programs. They were gentlemen who were not accustomed to some of the things that we had available and they decided when they saw that I had no one to run the aromatherapy table, and they took charge and they ran it.

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And they actually, they did an amazing job. People loved interacting with them and they are currently using aromatherapy in their daily practice.

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No kidding. Yeah. Sometimes it’s, you know, you gotta put yourself out there and try something that doesn’t seem like it’s, you know, you got to put yourself out there and try something that doesn’t seem like it’s, you know, going to be a fit for you.

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And it’s like, wait a minute, this actually does work. This does me some good.

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And that’s why we love Trails to Wellness is we let everyone do the activities hands-on. So you’re actually getting to bring home aromatherapy oils that you create. You get to make your own little plant and watch it grow. There’s all kinds of hands-on activities for people of all ages.

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I love the embrace we’ve got here between medicinal things. You talked about the MAT program and how it helped you. Yes. And we have gone full spectrum over to aromatherapy, which you wouldn’t think that the two of them would belong in the same conversation, but this really is a big toolbox we’re working with, isn’t it? Yeah, it’s a very holistic approach to recovery and wellness.

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That’s a big priority for us. If you’re just joining us this morning, Alicia Peterson is family recovery coach, Lauren Pristow is director of community engagement McCall Behavioral Health Network, we’re talking about what recovery looks like and celebrating progress along the way, the different tools that go into it and the Trails to Wellness event. Is there a way to sum up really recovery in your experience as well as a family recovery coach in your approach to a family aspect to helping someone get to a better place?

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The biggest thing that I think people need to remember is that autonomy. Your child is going to, their recovery is gonna look different from the things you read in books or you see on television. It is completely individual.

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And all you can do, you can’t change someone else’s behavior, but you can be there to help support them.

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Patience and open mind and a big heart, huh?

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Absolutely, yeah.

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Lauren, if you could recap again, trails to wellness. This is for not just folks who maybe can identify with the situations going on at McCall, but for the public in general, right? Yeah, this is a great public family-friendly event where we can try a lot of different wellness activities.

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So that’s happening, Trails to Wellness. It’s happening May 29th, 4 to 7 p.m. on the Winstead Green. And folks don’t need to, they don’t need to sign up in advance. This is an open thing. Just walk on in and explore. Completely free and open to the public. Yep. And for more information, folks can also check out our social media for updates and additional ideas on wellness activities.

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McCallBHN.org. I thank you both for joining us on the program. I wish you good weather first and good turnout and lots of open minds coming to Trails to Wellness. Thank you both for your time today. Thank you. Alicia Peterson, Family Recovery Coach, Lauren Pristo, Director of Community Engagement, the McCall Behavioral Health Network.

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We get a visit once a month here on Litchfield County’s Community Radio Station 97.3 WZBG. We get a visit once a month here on Litchfield County’s Community Radio Station 97.3 WZBG. Good morning, Jeff.