Dr. Deborah Wilcox recently joined the adjunct faculty of Saybrook University’s School of Mind-Body Medicine. Dr. Wilcox holds a master’s degree in public administration, a master’s in clinical community counseling, and a doctorate in counseling education. She has previously served as an instructor at Kent State University, the University of Dayton, Union Institute, and the University of Cincinnati, providing instruction in multi-cultural counseling, adolescent development, public health administration, and grant writing.
Dr. Wilcox was one of several authors co-presenting a poster at the meeting of the American Public Health Association this week in Boston. The topic of the poster was “Building Communities of Wellness,” and the poster reported on a research project of the “Ohio Wellness Management and Recovery Center of Excellence.” The project uses a train-the-trainer model, coordinated the efforts of 26 community based organizations, and trained 420 persons to facilitate small group experiences. The small group model aims at enabling participants to engage in shared decision making, person centered care, and self-directed wellness practices. In addition, the group model fosters multi-cultural awareness.
225 of the newly trained facilitators are themselves “persons in recovery” from substance abuse or significant physical health disorders. The project also creates alumni clubs to provide the facilitators with long term support and direction. The project aims to increase the resources available in the community for long term recovery and wellness.
Readers may learn more about the wellness management and recovery project at www.wmrohio.org