Case Manager
“Honesty and directness” would be how Dana Muhlberg describes her approach to her role as Case Manager.
“When people come in, I am not afraid to hold them accountable. I’m not afraid to ask them the hard questions. I think most addiction counselors know this has to be done.”
Dana earned her BA in Communications and her MA in Counseling, and is an LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor) and an LCDC (Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor).
The Florida native grew up in a family that relocated frequently due to her father’s job. She began abusing drugs and alcohol at a young age, which led her to drop out of college. As her addiction grew, she ended up homeless for a short while.
“I was a mess–but that’s what addiction does.”
She tried to stop using once or twice but really never wanted to stop for good until she found herself feeling hopeless and suicidal. A phone call from a friend nudged her into treatment. She has been sober since.
“I kept walking through the doors that kept opening, and I haven’t stopped.”
One of those doors led her to her job at La Hacienda in 2013.
“I love coming to work every day. This is the best place I’ve ever worked–they are going to have to kick me out.”
Case Managers provide services from counseling, to running process groups, to meeting with families; giving lectures; reaching out to referrals sources, while documenting everything.
Her wish for her patients is that they can be able to live in the freedom she has found from working and living the 12 Steps, to create what she calls “an amazing life in recovery.”
In the end, she believes her willingness to “hold the tension” with her patients will pay off even if it makes them uncomfortable at first.
“I want them to have that experience of experiencing some uncomfortable emotions and not ‘using’ over them. And then I\’ll go, okay, you just did that here. You can do it out there. I help them build the “muscle” so they can leave here and apply the healthy coping skills we teach them.
