Gloria Seckler

began her journey here at Proctor Hospital as a volunteer in December 1994. Her interest grew as she became more involved with the Addiction Recovery Center.

Her first position on the unit began November 1996, as a program assistant working with young adults. After two years, she became a Certified Assessor and Referral Specialist through the State of Illinois. She continued obtaining education in all addiction-specific areas. After three and a half years, Gloria completed an internship that included not only the inpatient young adults, but also the adult unit. During her internship she co-facilitated several aftercare and outpatient groups, including the Wednesday evenings gambling group facilitated by Don Legan, Licensed Clinical Psychologist. She has now achieved a goal that she finds truly fulfilling.

Gloria says, “Believing in your job makes it easy to be dedicated. Being one of the adult unit counselors has been challenging, to say the least, but extremely fulfilling.” Gloria would like to continue to achieve certifications through the state in order to become a specialist in all addictions including relapse prevention and compulsive gambling. Showing pride in her position and association, Gloria remarked, “If someone needs help and his or her life has become unmanageable because of an addiction, Proctor Hospital’s Addiction Recovery Center is the place to get it. We treat the whole person.”

Stefanie Frie

has been an intern at the Addiction Recovery Center since July. She was born and raised in Remscheid, a town in northwestern Germany, close to Cologne. She graduated from gymnasium (1) in 1996 and did a 3-month internship at a children’s home. In 1997, Stefanie moved to Bielefeld, 100 miles away from her hometown, where she started to study Sozialpaedagogik (similar to social science) at the University of Applied Sciences, Bielefeld. During her studies she gained practical experience in various fields of social work, such as young adult projects, girl projects and resocialization of ex-prisoners. She worked two semesters as a tutor (2), one semester as a coordinator of freshman orientation and four semesters as a professor’s assistant at her university. Stefanie’s studies include a three-semester project with a three-month internship. She chose a project comparing international social work because it gives her the ability to learn about a number of cultures while working in a foreign country.

After two semesters, Stefanie decided to complete her internship in the United States because it fulfilled her long-time desire to visit America to learn more about the people and the culture. Furthermore, the internship in the states is an important additional qualification for her career and a big step in her life. When Stefanie goes back to Germany in October, she will give a report about her time in the states along with a written comparison of the similarities and differences in recovery treatment and social culture.

After finishing her studies next year, Stefanie will complete a one-year internship leading to gets her degree in Sozialpaedagogik. Following graduation, she will go back to the university to graduate in a second subject.

Because working in the social field means working with people and learning about human behavior, Stefanie chose to study Sozialpaedagogik. She is interested in psychology and sociology; human behavior and development. Besides her studies, Stefanie is active in student/university politics, serving as president of the student parliament last year; this year she became a member of the university senate.

Stefanie found the IIAR homepage as a result of research performed while working with a project focused on Internet and identity. She noticed with interest the information about treating Internet addiction, so she made her first contact to Rick Zehr by e-mail, requesting more specifics. After the requisite paper work and visa complications, she finally arrived in Peoria July 9, 2000. This week Stefanie was surprised to notice that she has already been here over a month, a realization that came as a shock because so much happened during the last weeks that the time sped by. Without so much as time to explore her surroundings, she started her internship right after she recovered from jet lag.

Even though our cultures are similar, she has found many unexpected differences, especially in treatment procedures. It was very important for her to get basic information about the philosophy, theories and methods at the ARC through books, videotapes and group observations. Productive discussions with staff members helped her to understand the treatment process, so she had developed a broadened point of view by this point of the internship. She says that the wealth of new experiences influenced her way of thinking and opened her mind to new possibilities.

Before she came to Peoria, Stefanie was excited, curious and had questions about how people would treat her, whether or not they would understand her (and she them) and what kind of life she would have in the United States. Like most of us, she wondered if people would accept and like her, and she was extremely curious about what she would be doing during her internship. Surprisingly, she was even a little apprehensive about what people would expect of her.

Now she realizes there was no reason for worry and wants to thank everybody for being so nice, friendly and helpful. She recalls feeling welcome, and she is grateful for the warmth she found. Stefanie feels that everyone has made her time in Peoria and at the IIAR a wonderful time she will never forget. She especially wants to thank Lou Wright for taking care of her and being a friend.

1) High School including college prep courses
2) Resident Assistant