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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (May 1, 1993)
Smoke Signals May 1993 Page 1 1 Nanitch Sahallie's Clinical Manager: Bill Carrigan By Tracy Olson Bill Carrigan, one of the newest employees of the Grand Ronde Tribe, is Clinical Manager of Nanitch Sahallie Youth Treatment Center in Keizer, Oregon. His education and work experience is extensive, and it seems this position at Nanitch had his name written all over it. Mr. Carrigan received his B. A. in Social Workat WesternFlorida University "I got to talking to some of the people here, and the clients I sent to Nanitch did real well, and 1 was real impressed with the program, so I made in known I was interested in working here." Carrigan applied for the Clinical Manager job two years ago, but the Tribe had decided to hire in-house. A couple of months ago the position was again available, and , f f -. 1 ": in Pensicola. It was at this time he began working with juveniles who were in a half way house for committing various crimes. "I learned that their real problems weren't the crimes they were committing, but their chemical dependency," Carrigan said. "I was in Wrangle, Alaska for quite sometime. I worked with Tlingkit youth, and their families. I ran groups, started AA meetings. This was around 1976. Then I wrote a grant asking for funds to get my Master's degree, through Seattle University. My degree is in Adult Education and Addiction Studies." This is only the beginning of Mr. Carrigan's long list of experience with youth and Native Americans. From Seattle he worked in Olympia, Washington where he was Youth Substance Awareness Program Coordinator. "I worked with a lot of young people, obviously," he said. "I did classes with kids who had been arrested for alcohol and drug related offences. I did a lot of one-to-one counseling, assessments of kids who were in juvenile hall, and teaching in the school on alcohol and drug education, problem solving skills, and self image." This was in 1978. In 1979 Carrigan moved to San Diego, where he started the first attempted out-patient program in San Diego. He also worked at SCRIPTS clinic and began another out-patient program. Carrigan became familiar with Nanitch Sahallie in 1988 when he moved to Redding to work for Shasta Trinity Rural Indian Health Project. "I was the coordinator for the out-patient program. A lot of the young people I counseled were unable to stay clean and sober on an out-patient basis so I did some researchand found out about Nanitch Sahallie," he said. "We want to be known as a recovering organization. And as a recovering facility, everyone works as a group. People don't like to be told what to do. They want to be a part of something. " Bill Carrigan ...And Employee of the Month Marvin Fragua Nanitch Sahallie is just starting an Employee of the Month policy and the very first winner is Marvin Fragua, Lead Counselor at Nanitch. Mr. Fragua has been working for Nanitch since 1 989. He is a member of the Jemez Pueblo Tribe and attended Nazerine Bible College in Colorado Springs. On being named Employee of the Month, Mr. Fragua had these words: "I appreciate that my co-workers thought highly enough of me to recognize me with this. I enjoy working here, and am very committed to this program. " Some of the criteria for being chosen Employee of the Month are: dependable, dedicated, positive attitude, good role model, caring, contribution, and interaction with clients. The Employee of the Month receives a certificate, one free meal at Nanitch Sahallie, and a wooden pencil box pencils from the Blackfeet Tribe. this time, he got the job. As Clinical Manager, part of Carrigan's job is maintaining the quality of the program, implementing policies and procedures, and to work with staff to get the best possible treatment for the clients. Carrigan explained, "The best possible treatment includes cultural activities, group therapy, Alcoholics Anonymous, one-to-ones, interventions with clients we have problems with, just making sure the i program is running the best is can with 21 to 24 adolescents." . All the employees at Nanitch feel a team approach to operating the facility is very important. "This is a very important concept. We want to be known as a recovering organization rather than an addictive organization. And as a recovering facility everyone works as group. People don't like to be told what to do. They want to be a part of something," said Carrigan. He also explained to me the nature of the treatment and the four phases the clients go through while at Nanitch Sahallie. They are Adjustment, Primary, Secondary, and Self-Discovery. For example, the Adjustment phase is the first phase. It is the period of time when the client is taught skills on how to confront hisher problem, the staff looks for denial, defense mechanisms. It is also the time when a client learns the expectations of treatment. They are taught group skills, schedule, and structure. "It is really a time of bonding," said Carrigan. "We begin to deal with core issues. Feelings versus defenses. We do some trust-building during this phase. We teach them how to except themselves and accept other people." It seems inevitable that Bill Carrigan will be a contributing factor in the continued success of Nanitch's program. NANITCH SAHALLIE (503) 390-5904 Joanna Rogers, Program Director Bill Carrigan, Clinical Manager Josephine Bigclow, Intake Specialist William Anderson, Education Coordinator Karen Schmid, Counselor Karen Scharf, Counselor Marvin Fragua, Counselor Patricia Stephens, Counselor Linn Menzie, Counselor William Anderson, Administrative Assistant Penny Morgan, Administrative Assistant Jeanne Larsen, Clinical Services Secretary Christine Dean, Recreation Technician Clytie Ring, Lead Counselor Technician Christopher Holliday, Counselor Technician Michael Wade, Counselor Technician Ronald Kuhlman, Counselor Technician Patsey Ward, Counselor Technician Sonny Lorentz, Counselor Technician Barbara Miller, Counselor Technician
