Supervisor Spotlight: Mary Beth McCormick

Like many of us serving in this field, Mary Beth McCormick, Program Director of Turning Point House, is driven by the desire to help other people. After having worked for Cazenovia Recovery Systems for five years, she has noticed that she finds “inspiration in the success stories of our residents.”

Mary Beth holds a Bachelor’s in Psychology from St. John Fisher, a Master’s in Mental Health from St. Bonaventure, and is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor. During her education, she interned with an organization that served young adults in outpatient, and this sparked an interest in recovery. She knew she wanted to work with adults, and once she got started in the field, she “ended up loving it.”

Turning Point House (TPH) has been Mary Beth McCormick’s home-away-from-home for half a decade. Besides her current position as Program Director, she has also served as a Counselor and Counselor Associate there. She also oversees some of our other programs as a Community Residence Manager, but Turning Point House, an intensive residential rehabilitation program that helps men who have had multiple unsuccessful attempts at recovery, is her main focus.

She finds the six-month stay at TPH to be helpful since “it allows us to get more involved in a resident’s recovery,” she said.  Mary Beth believes that both the structure and routine the program offers are “very important,” and having such “dedicated and invested people” among her staff makes her job at Turning Point that much easier.

In the near future, Mary Beth hopes to encourage more family involvement at Turning Point House. She’s looking into starting a weekend family group and an orientation for family members of residents. “I want to give them the comfort of knowing that their family member is in good hands,” she said.

As a testament to Mary Beth’s drive to see our residents succeed, she shared a great success story of a resident at TPH. This individual relapsed and left the program for over 24 hours. Facing a probable discharge due to his absence, Mary Beth reviewed his case and made the decision to bring him back to the program. According to Mary Beth, “he’s made a complete turnaround since coming back.” She said that “he’s now a role model, is seeking a sponsor, and is very active in his recovery.” Thanks to Mary Beth’s sensitivity and acumen, this resident is well on his way to a stable life in recovery.