Kristina Maley

As a non-traditional student, 50 years old on next birthday, being part of the National Honor Society has been the second proudest accomplishment in recent years. The first being consistent recovery from substance abuse for more than 6 years now without relapse and also starting two support groups. One being a general support group in the Community College in my town and the other being more specific in Relapse Prevention in our down town area of Winona, MN.
I graduated from Southeast Technical College in 2014, with honors (3.72 GPA) and Phi Theta Kappa membership. I joined Winona State University the same year in the fall of 2014 with Social Work being my major, CAST (Child Advocacy) minor, and emphasis on Substance Abuse Counseling. I have changed my Major I'm now a Psychology major. I believe having more Psychology classes and knowledge of mental illness, and disorders will benefit me greatly with the career I'm heading toward. Substance Abuse Counseling in In-patient treatment center settings. I have to say, although I have not wavered from that type of career of helping those with addictions to substances/alcohol to again have hope for a better future, I have been thinking about more detailed positions in the addictions field. For example, I've been thinking about going on after the year 2016 with a Bachelor's degree and working on a Master's degree as teaching others how to be the best counselor's for addicts/alcoholics interests me. I'm also really interested lately in lobbying in states for not just more funding for the treatment and prevention of addiction, but I also strongly believe treatment centers (both in-patient and out-patient) are set up for failure from the start. This is not to say that is something that was done on purpose. We set these programs and centers up with the information we had at the time. There has been little or no changes in how recovery centers operate. Although the message is wonderful, especially here in Minnesota, the statistics are not good for success for many reasons; however, a big reason is the time an insurance company or a Rule 25 form of payment allows someone seeking help to get. If someone is lucky, they will be allowed 28 days of primary treatment today. That number is dropping with some centers now allowing as little as 10 days of primary treatment per client. Being as familiar with addiction as I am, 10 days isn't even quite enough for detoxing a client much less doing any good at all. It takes years to become so ill with addiction (and most times other enormous issues) and 10 days cannot even begin to start a healthy program of recovery. Addiction is a family disease, not just the disease of the addict. That would need to change. Also, sending someone working a good program back to the dysfunction that helped bring them to treatment is another sure failure. Also, after 2-3 primary treatment sessions for anyone, primary treatment is no longer needed, but instead becomes just a repeat of what was already learned with a price tag of 20-30,000.00 for each primary through insurance or Rule 25 funds (funded by the county you live in). Anyway, the only way to change some of these very important issues is through state capital buildings of all 50 states so that we may increase the statistics that are so very low and therefore almost seem hopeless to continue funding. Right now, more than 89% of those who enter treatment for the first time, will in fact stay clean/sober less than 6 continual months. Less than 4% of all addicts who receive treatment will stay clean/sober for 5 years or more and less than 2% will ever enter college for an education to help other addicts while continuing sobriety for themselves. These stats are sobering. Most people who continue to ask for help will enter a primary treatment facility more than 4 separate times before showing some longer times of continued sobriety. This all requires huge change, but not difficult change.
I will never stop trying to not only help others who suffer and/or struggle, but it's become my job to give back continually until my last breath. I've been given another chance to get my life right and will not waver.