Gabriella Pelosi – Staff Spotlight

Gabriella Pelosi has joined Cazenovia Recovery at a captivating time in our history. Her position of Clinical Aide at Turning Point House, which is new to the agency, reflects some of the upcoming transitions related to the Medicaid Redesign. While she has only been with the agency for two months, she has already made a very positive impression.

She has a bachelor’s degree from John Carroll University in Communications and English and she’s in the process of earning her master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from St. Bonaventure University. She expects to graduate in May of next year. Previously, she ran a support group for eating disorders through the Buffalo Centre, though she was excited to change her focus. “I wanted to work in drug and alcohol addiction because there are a lot of parallels and there’s so much hope,” she said. “I also wanted to personally and professionally challenge myself.”

As a Clinical Aide, Gabriella is responsible for providing screenings for residents, documenting treatment provided, and running her own therapy groups. One group reviews coping skills for residents while they adjust to new situations while another discusses what it means to be emotionally safe. Her favorite is a group that focuses on mindfulness and meditation. She considers this position a perfect fit since it has allowed her to “learn the basics and fundamentals of the agency.”

Gabriella is already putting what she’s learned to great use for the people we serve. Not long ago, a resident took a temporary leave from the program to help take care of his father. Before he left, he and Gabriella collaborated on creating a safety plan that he could follow while he was gone. “We created timelines, fun activities, budgets, and detailed daily schedules together,” said Gabriella. She also gave him a list of people he could contact if he needed to talk about what he was experiencing. This way, support was only a phone call away. Thanks to Gabriella’s thorough and effective plan, this resident was able to cope with this potentially traumatic and triggering experience. He has since returned to his recovery at Turning Point House. “He’s doing great,” Gabriella was happy to say.