Missoula College Honored for Advancing Addiction Recovery in Montana

By Abigail Lauten-Scrivner, UM News Service

MISSOULA – When Missoula College Assistant Professor Katie Smith found out she would be honored as Recovery Advocate of the Year by Stepping Stones Behavioral Health Services this October, her first thought was of all the mentors, colleagues, patients and students who should share the award alongside her. 

“I’m thinking about all of the people out there who I rely on and are so committed to engaging in this work and wondering, how do we honor all of them?” Smith said. “I’m just so grateful for the people in my life who believed in me and that I get to pay that forward.” 

Smith, who is the discipline lead for Behavioral and Social Sciences at Missoula College, was recently selected as this year’s honoree because of her work training burgeoning professionals to be career-ready licensed addiction counselors (LACs) through the college’s chemical addiction studies certificate. 

LACs work in settings like substance use treatment programs, community health centers, public health organizations and social service agencies. They provide assessment, counseling and treatment for various substance use and gambling disorders, often collaborating with nurses, social workers and other professionals to support recovery. The 25-credit certificate is open to all UM and Missoula College students.

The certificate addresses a critical need in Montana, where an estimated one in 10 residents live with a substance use disorder but 90% are not receiving treatment annually, according to the Montana Department of Justice. Positions for substance abuse counselors are expected to grow 23% through 2030, per U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

“Evidence-based treatment is essential to addressing substance use and misuse in our communities and skilled, compassionate professionals are at the heart of that care,” Smith said. “We’re preparing students to understand individual needs and experiences while recognizing the societal factors that shape substance use and recovery. Students leave the program with increased knowledge, skill and confidence to bring that understanding into their work.”

In Montana, students pursuing a LAC career can pair the certificate with any degree, including an associate’s, before applying for a candidate license and entering the workforce. The certificate may be completed in as little as a year, meaning most students can start practicing within a year or two depending on their existing degree of higher education. 

“Students who complete this program are set up to apply for their candidate license,” Smith said. “After that, they enter the workforce.

LAC candidates must complete 1,000 supervised hours under the purview of an experienced professional before taking their licensing exam and becoming full LACs. 

When Smith is honored on Thursday, Oct. 29, the award will recognize the work she and others at Missoula College do to improve professional addiction recovery in Montana. 

“I think the thing that gives me a lot of hope is that there are people who are really interested in doing the work and doing the work well,” Smith said. 

One of those people is Missoula College student Kristi Monaco, who will complete the chemical addiction studies certificate and her associate’s degree this spring. Monaco will speak at the Stepping Stones Behavioral Health Services event and share her academic journey. 

Monaco grew up in Missoula before moving to bigger cities like Portland, Oregon, and Los Angeles for over a decade. She never imagined attending her hometown college until she returned to Missoula a few years ago to be closer to family. An artist who also works in restaurants, Monaco began feeling a pull toward a new career.

“At this point, I didn’t want to go to school unless it was for something very practical," she said. “I want to do something where I can maybe help people – something meaningful.” 

A friend of Monaco’s in New York City started becoming a LAC, and her curiosity piqued. When she looked up programs, seeing Missoula College’s certificate pop up felt meant to be.  

“I felt like it would be something that I could be good at,” Monaco said. “I have experience with addiction myself. I have that lived experience and insight into what it's like.”

The convenience of the online certificate allowed Monaco to continue working and making art while also taking addiction studies courses and completing her associate’s degree. Her coursework includes classes on the intersections of addiction and diversity, gambling and gaming disorders, pharmacology and addiction, treatment planning and other topics. 

One of the most interesting aspects of her classes is connecting the lessons to her own history with alcohol, Monaco said. Better understanding how addiction is a complex and difficult disease rings true, allowing her to reframe her past and give her younger self more grace. 

She hopes that her own experience will inform her practice after she graduates, knowing that some clients might not want to be in counseling yet. 

“Part of the nature of addiction is a lot of lying, lying to yourself, lying to others to hide it or protect the addiction,” Monaco said. “Being able to trust the person that you're talking to – and knowing that they’ve been there and they understand and that there’s no judgment, there’s no stigma – I think is huge.”

After she graduates and begins working toward her 1,000 supervised hours, Monaco isn’t completely sure where her career will take her. She hopes to potentially work with youth or young adults and incorporate artistic practice into her work with the goal of helping young people struggling with addiction find meaningful points of connection and fulfillment. For Monaco, making art is a powerfully peaceful and meditative method of catharsis. 

“A big part of recovery, I think, is finding connection,” Monaco said. “Because when you’re in addiction, you’re more isolated. You think, ‘Oh, I’m connecting with others. I’m out drinking and meeting people,’ but ultimately it leads to disconnection and isolation.

“I see addiction all around, there’s a huge need,” she added. “I want to help people because I know what it’s like. I just want to, it sounds cliche, help people find their true selves, their true purpose.”

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Contact: Katie Smith, Missoula College assistant professor, Behavioral and Social Sciences discipline lead, 406-243-7924, katie.smith@mso.umt.edu.