- Friends & Family
- Mental Health
Submitted by: Susanne Johnson
Not only is Danielle an avid runner (and that alone would be reason enough for her to attend a 5K to raise awareness and fund raise for recovery), but she also works for a hospital that cares for people with mental health issues and addiction.
Danielle does not identify as having mental health issues or substance use disorder in her family, nor is she in recovery herself. Some years ago, she happened to read a book titled “Crazy: A Fathers Search Through Americas Mental Health Madness” by Pete Earley. She got interested in the field and decided to steer her career in this direction. The reading of the book turned into taking classes at LSU in Baton Rouge where she studied mental health and substance addiction.
She graduated and now works full-time in a hospital. Her work is always busy and very interesting. Usually she deals with 12-15 cases at a time, which often only stay for a short-term duration, with most clients staying just between five to seven days. As per her own experience, about 80% of her clients have a dual diagnosis, which means they suffer not only from mental health issues, but also from some kind of substance use disorder. She encourages them to seek the appropriate treatment for their problems, whether it be residential or outpatient help.
She loves her work and hopes that some day she might work more in-depth with long-term treatment clients, so that she may see her clients’ progression toward recovery. In her current position she has not had opportunity to follow-up with patients and therefore never knows if they find relief for their disease or if they find recovery or not. But, she is happy to do her part in laying the foundation and guiding them in the right direction.
Danielle is 25 years old and loves to run, at least three times a week. She says it is needed for her physical health, but also for her mental well being. She is very excited about the implementation of a collegiate recovery program to the LSU University, which will help many stay in sobriety while getting the education they deserve.