The Oxford Treatment Center has had several professionals use resources of their addiction experts through continuing education programs and will be able to offer even more programs after a decision by the National Board of Certified Counselors last month.

The local treatment center is now an official continuing-education provider. The center earned its Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEP) status in May.

Already a designated provider for the Mississippi Board of Examiners for Social Workers and Marriage and Family Therapists, the treatment center now has more leeway to design continuing education programs for mental health professionals in the region.

“We’re really listening to what mental-health providers in this area want,” OTC employee Brian Whisenant said. “The programs we plan are in direct response to what counselors and social workers are telling us they need. They are letting us know about the kinds of challenges they are facing as they work with their clients, and how they want to grow as professionals.”

Whisenant is the director of community relations for the Oxford Treatment Center and has spearheaded the development of continuing-education programs at the center. The center is a drug and alcohol addiction treatment facility with two campuses in Lafayette County.

A local advisory board will plan the programs, which will include therapists from the Oxford community and the University of Mississippi campus. The center’s most recent continuing education conference focused on mental healthcare for LGBTQ clients, which was a direct request from local mental health providers.

The center began offering continuing education programs last year in an effort to provide training for its staff of therapists and mental health professionals throughout north Mississippi. The programs are offered at the center’s outpatient location off Highway 7 South, which is also a training site for the Mississippi Addiction Counselors Training Program.

“By design, our campus is very separate from the outside world,” Mark Sawyer, Chief Executive Officer for the treatment center, said. “Being part of continuing education programs is one way we can bring out experience out of that environment, where others can also benefit from them. When we can share what we are learning with professional peers, it’s good for both our staff and for the broader community.”

To see upcoming continuing education programs through the Oxford Treatment Center visit oxfordtreatmentcenter.com/events/.