{"id":1805,"date":"2018-10-11T21:51:49","date_gmt":"2018-10-12T04:51:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forourwellness.org\/?p=1805"},"modified":"2025-05-12T13:45:04","modified_gmt":"2025-05-12T18:45:04","slug":"road-to-recovery-the-chicago-school-and-midnight-mission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thechicagoschool.edu\/insight\/for-our-wellness\/road-to-recovery-the-chicago-school-and-midnight-mission\/","title":{"rendered":"ROAD TO RECOVERY: The Chicago School and Midnight Mission"},"content":{"rendered":"

We see our students as agents of change… it made sense for us to address the social issues that surround us \u2013 homelessness and addiction.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

By: Lucy Birmingham<\/p>\n

Daniel Peterson had hit rock bottom when he met psychotherapist Angela Arcaro last year at Midnight Mission in the heart of Los Angeles’ Skid Row. He had been through countless recovery programs over the years, but none had kept him from relapsing into drug addiction and homelessness. \u201cThe difference was therapy with Angela,\u201d he explains. \u201cShe helped save my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Angela\u2019s success with Daniel and her other clients at the Mission comes from her own remarkable journey out of the depths of drug addiction and an abusive marriage to doctoral candidate at The Chicago School. \u201cPeople in recovery need to know that you understand what they\u2019re going through,\u201d she explains. \u201cI get it. I\u2019ve been there. So that has been a huge part of helping me to help others.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"She also maintains an unusual policy. \u201cI\u2019m more of an existential therapist,\u201d she reveals. \u201cNormally we go by boundaries. For instance, I shouldn\u2019t have an open door policy. I should be more firm about appointment times and holding my clients to that. But I feel with this population, they need to be heard when they want to be heard. As therapists, we need to be more available.\u201d<\/p>\n

An open door policy has been the mainstay of the Midnight Mission since it was established over a hundred years ago as a safe place for homeless men to seek help and recovery. \u201cNow anyone can walk in here at any time, 24-hours a day, and get the help that they need,\u201d says Jeanette Rowe, Director for Programs. \u201cThat\u2019s really special in a county the size of Los Angeles. There are so few doors that are wide open like this. It\u2019s something to be very proud of.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Mission provides 290 beds in its shelter program, in addition to many other services. Services include the Homelight Family Living program, which offers housing for homeless families with the goal of family reunification; and Crisis in Bridge Housing, a program that allows homeless single men and women to stay at the Mission for up to 90 days while getting stabilized and securing housing. The agency also offers job training, job placement, and the Healthy Living Program, a one-year recovery program for men aimed at self-sufficiency through education. In response to the increasing number of homeless women, the Mission has also established a shelter and support program.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The number of homeless in the Greater Los Angeles region has risen dramatically to approximately 53,000 in 2018, from about 35,000 in 2007, according to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA). This number is second only to New York City. The cause is not only drug and alcohol addiction, but also a lack of affordable housing as a rise in rents have forced people out of their homes. Most have never been homeless before.<\/p>\n

Angela wanted to work with the homeless, and like many students participated a training program The Chicago School established with the Midnight Mission three years ago. Seasoned licensed psychologists who have retired from agencies like the Department of Mental Health, but continue to work as consultants and in private practice, supervise the students.<\/p>\n

\u201cAngela has done some amaz\"\"ing work at the Midnight Mission,\u201d says Terry Masi, Senior Director of Clinical Training at The Chicago School. \u201cWe see our students as agents of change,\u201d says Masi. \u201cAnd having a campus here in L.A. so close to Skid Row, it made sense for us to address the social issues that surround us \u2013 homelessness and addiction.\u201d<\/p>\n

The University is in a unique position to do that. \u201cThe Midnight Mission does not have the funding needed to hire a licensed psychologist to provide mental health services,\u201d she explains. \u201cSo this is where we come in by providing our practicum students [in training].\u201d<\/p>\n

The Chicago School has a distinctive structure to its services, and feels that the results garnered by this different approach merit its use. \u201cWe spend more time with clients, I believe, while applying evidence-based practices with a holistic approach,\u201d Masi says. \u201cWith Daniel, for instance, Angela has applied cognitive behavioral therapy to address some of the ways he thinks about his situation, and how to change that. There is also psycho dynamic therapy where we are able to have the client look at the defense mechanisms that they employ in order to keep their addiction going.\u201d The Chicago School does not choose just one specific approach to treatment, she emphasizes. \u201cWe\u2019re using many, so we are able to meet the client where they are.\u201d<\/p>\n

Angela was almost 50 and a working, single mother with a teenage son when a friend suggested they look at schools to earn a Doctor of Psychology degree. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t my intention to go back to school. I had just finished my master\u2019s,\u201d she says. But the weekend and evening classes The Chicago School offers worked well with her schedule. She also liked the atmosphere of the downtown L.A. campus with its diverse and older students. \u201cI felt I could really fit in,\u201d she says. The scholarship the School offered made it financially possible. \u201cIt was a sign that I really needed to go through with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Through her training and work at Midnight Mission, Angela has found that many of her clients have experienced childhood trauma, and were struggling with issues in the past. \u201cTrauma can give you illnesses such as depression and anxiety, and drug or alcohol addiction allows you to avoid dealing with those issues,\u201d she says. \u201cIn Daniel\u2019s case, he knew the 12-step recovery program, the AA [Alcoholics Anonymous] Big Book, in and out. He could quote passages from it, and would intellectualize it. But the book was not giving him the answers he needed,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Angela\u2019s therapy focused on family dynamics and family systems. \u201cIt helped Daniel to open his eyes and see the patterns he was making and the decisions he had made.\u201d She says, \u201cI wouldn’t call his condition a mental illness. I\u2019d call it trauma. His depression and anxiety came from his traumatic childhood events. His drug addiction came from that. We like to drown our sorrows in our addiction. Now, though, he\u2019s doing great. I wish I had a before and after photo,\u201d she adds with a big smile.<\/p>\n

For Angela, hope has led her forward. \u201cWhen we have a sense of hope, we change,\u201d she says. \u201cI should have died at the hands of my abuser, but it was hope that drove me to go back to school. It\u2019s what drove me to where I am today. I know I\u2019m here for something bigger, and I need to share that with people who are going through the same struggles that I went through.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/section>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We see our students as agents of change… it made sense for us to address the social issues that surround us \u2013 homelessness and addiction.\u201d By: Lucy Birmingham Daniel Peterson had hit rock bottom when he met psychotherapist Angela Arcaro last year at Midnight Mission in the heart of Los Angeles’ Skid Row. He had been through countless recovery programs over the years, but none had kept him from relapsing into drug addiction and homelessness. \u201cThe difference was therapy with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":1811,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[704],"tags":[728,764,205,834,531,932,954,532],"coauthors":[1057],"class_list":["post-1805","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-for-our-wellness","tag-addiction-recovery","tag-chicago-school","tag-drug-addiction","tag-homeless-drug-addict","tag-midnight-mission","tag-psychologist","tag-recovery-program","tag-skid-row"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nROAD TO RECOVERY: The Chicago School and Midnight Mission - Insight Digital Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Discover how The Chicago School and Midnight Mission are helping individuals rebuild their lives through psychology.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thechicagoschool.edu\/insight\/for-our-wellness\/road-to-recovery-the-chicago-school-and-midnight-mission\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"ROAD TO RECOVERY: The Chicago School and Midnight Mission - 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