Philadelphia Continues to Battle the Opioid Epidemic. This School Is Working to Be Part of the Solution.

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Addiction and substance use at large are an especially pervasive issue in Philadelphia. Research from 2021 shows that drug overdoses have risen 30 percent from the start of the pandemic, while the city saw an overall overdose death rate of 70 people per 100,000, the highest such rate among all counties in the state of Pennsylvania. 

With such overwhelming evidence, the question becomes: what is being done to combat the problem? And what can be done in the future?

“The statistics support the need for addiction specialists,” says Dr. Angela McDonald, the dean of Saint Joseph’s School of Health Studies and Education, which trains clinicians and mental health practitioners through its master’s program and graduate degree certificate. “In taking a look at local community health needs, there are not enough practitioners compared to the amount of people who need care.” 

Through these clinical mental health degrees and graduate certificates, Saint Joseph’s aims to help fill these gaps and expose students to the issues Philadelphia faces in the drug epidemic.

“Saint Joseph’s has a history of being committed to helping people — it’s how we approach everything we do,” Dr. McDonald says. “This philosophy is a part of the university’s long commitment toward working to improve the lives of people who are affected by addiction.”

A Holistic Approach

Across each of its schools, the idea of cura personalis, or care for the whole person, permeates Saint Joseph’s classrooms. This value is especially important in training mental health professionals, who must consider not just the problem at hand but also the internal and external factors that might contribute to a person’s drug use. 

What’s more, in thinking about those suffering from addiction, it’s important to remember that individuals aren’t the only ones affected — family members and friends are an active part of the treatment process.

“Addiction doesn’t happen in isolation to one person,” Dr. McDonald says. “These are people with loved ones and relationships. As teachers and practitioners training students, we want to spend a lot of time thinking about the systems and network of relationships people have and the things that affect them.”

At Saint Joseph’s, the different educational avenues available to students include a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling along with a stackable graduate certificate in addiction counseling. The master’s program is available to newly graduated students as well as experienced practitioners, creating diverse classrooms and fostering discussions with different perspectives. 

Saint Joseph’s Multi-tiered Approach

Saint Joseph’s degree program isn’t the only way the school is assisting in combating addiction in Philadelphia. The university is also the home of the Center for Addiction & Recovery Education (CARE), run by Steve Forzato, a former law enforcement professional who worked in Philadelphia for 33 years, seeing firsthand the issues the drug epidemic has caused.

“There are many growing career paths in clinical mental health counseling and there’s such a need for a skilled labor force to treat the mental and physical health of those suffering from addiction,” Forzato says. “What’s important to CARE and to Saint Joseph’s is to match addiction awareness with programs that address these issues.” 

Forzato oversees a team of 34 specialists funded by a $1.2 million Pennsylvania Department of Health grant. One example of the way CARE affects change is by training first responders in naloxone use — the how and why behind it and what they need to know to be effective in the communities they serve. 

Overall, CARE’s mission is to educate the Saint Joseph’s community and the community at large about the base causes of addiction and the impact that meaningful and targeted treatment can have on curbing the problem. CARE also wants to be an educational resource for police officers, EMTs and other first responders to better equip them to advise those they encounter in struggling with substance use disorder while in the field.  

In addition, both Saint Joseph’s degree programs and CARE place an emphasis on advocacy in the addiction care movement. That includes addressing stigmas and biases within the classroom and exploring why they exist in the first place.

“You can’t learn how to be a counselor and not also learn how to view people holistically,” Dr. McDonald says. “You have to want to change the system and make things better.”

Out in the Real World

While classroom instruction is instrumental regardless of the field, getting first hand field experience is a critical method for learning enrichment. At Saint Joseph’s, students are required to complete 700 hours of supervised fieldwork over the course of several semesters. 

And because Saint Joseph’s has strong relationships with clinics and treatment centers, students have the opportunity to talk to those struggling with substance use disorder and apply the skills they’ve learned in a real-world environment while receiving feedback. Students are training to eventually move on to educational institutions, hospitals and clinics, and obtaining this experience before they enter their career can prove invaluable.  

“Mental health practitioners are people whose work is an expression of their values — service and service to others,” Dr. McDonald says. “Getting the chance to do field work is a good model that helps students fine-tune their craft.”

Saint Joseph’s is also set to increase its educational offerings upon its upcoming merger with the University of the Sciences, giving pharmacy students the option to specialize in drug addiction and be a calming voice for those who come into a pharmacy seeking treatment. It’s another illustration of the school’s lasting commitment to being an active part of the solution in a way that aligns with the values it’s long established.

“Ultimately, we prepare students to be educators, healthcare professionals and counselors,” Dr. McDonald says. “We take pride in seeing people for who they are. We have a deeply reflective curriculum that guides students not just to gain knowledge but to integrate it into their decision making, moral reasoning and sense of ethics. That legacy and commitment has been at Saint Joseph’s for a long time.”

For more information on Saint Joseph’s educational offerings in clinical mental health counseling, head here.