From left are Rotarian Tory Irgang, mental health counselor Osaze Ibhawe, and Michelle Jones, Rotary president-elect.

Tory Irgang introduced the guest speaker at the weekly meeting of the Rotary Club of Jamestown.

Osaze Ibhawa works with Urban Mental Health Counseling Services in Jamestown. Ibhawe is a licensed mental health counselor with years of experience collaborating with individuals navigating through challenges and finding mental healthiness and wellbeing. Prior to establishing Urban Mental Health Counseling Services PLLC, Ibhawe earned a bachelor of science in psychology from Enugu State University of Science and Technology in Nigeria, and a masters degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Canisius College. He is a Nationally Certified Counselor – NCC, Internationally Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor – ICADC, Credentialed Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counselor Advanced level – CASCAC Advance, and EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) for trauma treatment/therapeutic support.

Ibhawe has had the opportunity of working as a family-based mental health therapist, worked with adolescents and young adults experiencing first psychotic episodes such as schizophrenia, schizoaffective, and bipolar disorder. He has also worked in most behavioral health units of UPMC hospital, which includes the adult and children inpatient units, the 28 day short-term, and 90 day long-term addiction rehab, as well as a crisis/evaluation counselor for the assessment of safety/risk severity for inpatient hospitalization and psychiatric treatment or support as needed.

Outside of his professional life, Ibhawe is passionate about studying and learning, and enjoys spending time with his family and friends.

Following the introduction, Ibhawe indicated that he would do his presentation based on questions from the audience. The questions were: where was he from and why did he choose Jamestown, and why did he choose counseling as a career? Ibhawe indicated that he initially wanted to study accounting and economics when he first considered college because that’s what his parents did. However, he was unable to immediately get into accounting school and a friend of his urged him to consider psychology. He took a couple of courses, and he immediately became interested in learning more, eventually deciding that was the career path he wanted to pursue. After attending Enugu State in Nigeria, he came to the U.S. to earn a master’s degree at Canisius College in Buffalo. While at Canisius, he met his future wife – who was an employee with Chautauqua County, and she convinced him to come to Jamestown after he graduated. He said he didn’t initially like Jamestown but has since grown to love it. During the past six years he has worked in the community providing counseling services and eventually opened Urban Mental Health Counseling Services.

Ibhawe explained that he feels privileged helping residents in the area affected by substance abuse. He learned in college that it’s often not someone’s fault for having substance use issues. Instead, it is often a result of prescribed medication that a person becomes addicted to and then is unable to stop relying on the drugs, and substance abuse takes hold. He said people fall into addiction to find balance in their lives when dealing with problems or challenges. He said his goal is to work to help individuals find the balance they need without the need for drugs or alcohol.

There are various types of help and assistance that Ibhawe can provide. He said often a person needs immediate help with substance abuse while waiting to be accepted for long-term care, and so he works to provide help through counseling while they are waiting. He also tries to provide them with a referral if they don’t know where to go or turn when seeking long-term addiction services. He also provides services and help to those who have relapsed because addiction is a struggle that doesn’t always end neatly or immediately. Ibhawe said he helps these individuals by providing one-on-one mental health counseling, assisting with group counseling sessions, and providing substance and chemical management services. He is working on creating a new public education program to better equip others in the community with information and knowledge on how to work with those dealing with addiction. He said the main point of his work is to inform others that they are not alone. If they need help, they can get it.