Journal of Addictions Nursing, 22:147–149, 2011
Copyright © International Nurses Society on Addictions
ISSN: 1088-4602 print / 1548-7148 online
DOI: 10.3109/10884602.2011.602565

INNOVATIVE ROLES

Editor—Joan Kub, PhD, MA, PHCNS-BC
Johns Hopkins University, School of Nursing, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

An Interview with Mary Ryan Woods, RNc, LADAC, MSHS
Mary Ryan Woods is licensed as a Drug and Alcoholism
Counselor in New Hampshire, a Licensed Clinical Supervisor for Substance Abuse Counseling in New Hampshire, and a Certified Psychiatric and Mental Health Nurse by ANCC. She is the Chief Executive Officer of WestBridge, a nonprofit organization that provides community based treatment for individuals and families with co-occurring psychotic and/or affective illness and substance abuse disorders. The organization is committed to using evidenced based practices that have been researched and proven to work with its participants. The nursing leadership and expertise of Mary Ryan Woods in helping to build and administer an organization focused on co-occurring illnesses using evidence based practices is an example for all of us working in addictions nursing. Her path to becoming CEO of a treatment center is exemplary.

YOU HAVE MORE THAN 30 YEARS’ EXPERIENCE IN
MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE
COUNSELING. CAN YOU DESCRIBE YOUR CAREER
PATH?
After graduating from St. Joseph’s Hospital in Elmira New
York, I started my nursing career in the OR. Four years later,
I started on my path of working in the specialty of addictions nursing. I responded to a call at Kenmore Square Treatment
Facility; a non-profit state funded 30 bed facility, to work in their Detox center. From there I went to work in an alcohol detox unit at Catholic Medical Center in Manchester
New Hampshire and eventually to Farnum Center in Manchester where I worked as an alcohol counselor, an intake worker, and an outpatient counselor. These multiple roles and experiences resulted in my recognition of the need for more education, which in my case was a BS in Psychology/Sociology from New England College in Henniker, NH, and eventually a Masters of Science in Human Services Administration from Springfield College, Manchester. My path after that led to clinical roles in New Hampshire state agencies, and eventually to administrative roles at the Mental Health Center of Greater Manchester and West Central Behavioral Health,
Lebanon.

YOUR EXPERIENCES ARE SO RICH AND VARIED. I
WOULD LIKE TO ASK YOU ABOUT SOME OF THESE
EXPERIENCES IN MORE DETAIL. I NOTICED FOR
EXAMPLE THAT YOU WERE INVOLVED IN THE
DEVELOPMENT OF A HALFWAY HOUSE FOR WOMEN
IN THE 1980s. CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT THAT
EXPERIENCE?
In the 1980s there were many resources for men but not many for women. Policymakers did not understand that the models guiding care for men were not right for women. Individuals who were court ordered to treatment were expected to go to work as a part of their recovery and this was to happen within 3 to 6 months into their recovery Women were at a disadvantage, especially if they had children. When I was at the Farnum Center, I helped to develop the Woman’s Halfway House, a 30–60 day program, whose purpose was to bridge the gap between residential and independent living in Manchester. Women need to be in treatment with other women. This was the premise of developing the Halfway House. Women need specialized care and that care can and should include the children. Historically, a woman had to go before courts with addictions problems and was declared unfit to be a mother. Women with substance abuse problems need treatment and parenting skills to be effective mothers.
I KNOW THAT YOUR WORK IN THE NEW HAMPSHIRE
AGENCIES WAS FOCUSED ON THE INCARCERATED AS
WELL. CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THESE EXPERIENCES?
From 1993–1995, I worked for the New Hampshire Office of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention and from 1997–1999, I worked for the Bureau of Substance Abuse Services. My roles in these positions included the