MIRECC / CoE

The PSR Fellowship in the Durham VA Health Care System (VAHCS) is a clinical training program that focuses on the practice of psychosocial rehabilitation and the treatment of substance use disorders. Fellows complete rotations in three core clinics: the Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Recovery Center (PRRC), Mental Health Intensive Case Management (MHICM), and the Substance Use Disorders (SUD) Clinic. The clinically-oriented program is intended for individuals seeking to become highly-trained clinicians, and often leaders, in helping health care systems emphasize functional capability, rehabilitation, and recovery. Diversity and cultural competence is considered integral to effective clinical work as well as the training experience more broadly; diversity is emphasized in various ways, including in didactics, clinical supervision, and the opportunity for a fellow to be paired with a diversity mentor. We are located in Durham, N.C., part of the Triangle region also including Raleigh and Chapel Hill. This is a vibrant, diverse, growing metropolitan region surrounded by natural beauty. The area boasts top-of-the-line music and theatre scenes, high-level sports, plentiful gardens, parks, and performance venues, as well as a thriving academic and research community (e.g., Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill, N.C. State, N.C. Central) with abundant employment opportunities.

The Fellowship Alums

Leslie Ballew, M.Div

Fellowship Class of 2024 - 2025

Professional Interests:My approach to chaplaincy is rooted in my passion for Disability Theory and Interfaith Justice. Am drawn to serve and advocate for populations with stigmatizing conditions and limited supports, which is informed by my own experience with family members with SMI and my own identity as a disabled theologian. Interested in working to integrate my background in Disability Theory with knowledge of the Recovery Model of care.

Stephanie Rehling, OTD, OTR/L

Fellowship Class of 2024 - 2025

Professional Interests:Providing care to veterans experiencing severe mental illness (SMI), community re-integration, health promotion and lifestyle redesign, recovery-oriented care through occupational engagement, addiction recovery, and advocating for underrepresented populations.

Kelsey Ludwig, Ph.D.

Fellowship Class of 2021 - 2022

Professional Interests: Lived experience of loneliness in psychosis, psychosocial treatments for schizophrenia, including digital interventions to alleviate social isolation, exercise interventions to improve physical health, mindfulness based strategies to improve quality of life, as well as compassion-focused treatments, recovery-oriented psychotherapy, and person-centered approaches to mental health care.

Katherine (Katie) Senn, MSW, LCSWA

Fellowship Class of 2024 - 2025

Professional Interests:Trauma-informed, strengths-based, person-centered, recovery-oriented, and whole health care. The intersection of substance use, spirituality, and trauma. Harm reduction practices. The Ecological Systems Theory, especially in considering advocacy efforts.