Michael Pierre Henson

Addictions Therapist/SBA Veterans Business Certified/Author/Poet

 
I am a third-generation native of Washington, DC. I am the fifth oldest of ten children, currently residing in my birth state. I have come out of retirement to address some of the concerns that are plaguing my home and I plan to take them to the nation and worldwide.  

 

I attended the DC Public School system and was always school-oriented and pretty savvy at a young age. I grew up in the projects of Washington, DC. I graduated from Dunbar High School in 1976, the same year I entered the US Army. I studied Administration to Justice while enlisted. I planned to attend Howard University upon my honorable discharge in 1979. I went to Strayer College and studied Business Administration and Computer Science from 1981 to 1986 and received an AA degree in 1986. In 1999, I attended a counseling training course at Howard University, where I received my Registered Addictions Counselor Certification.  In 2006, I went back to school at Trinity Washington University and received a bachelor’s degree in human relations in 2009. In 2012, I received a master’s degree in professional counseling from Trinity University. I was not able to sit for the board exam at that time to acquire my License Profession Counselor Certification, due to a traumatic brain injury when I started the program. I graduated with a 3.7 GPA and was required by the disability coordinator to write research papers in lieu of testing since I could not retain much of the information because the injury had wiped my brain slate clean. Since 2010, I have been on the mend and have made miraculous progress since that time. I have been and still am intimately involved in doing the work of a counselor, behavior specialist, and community activist, with specializations in substance abuse, mental health, and violence in the community in which I was born and raised.  

 

At Dunbar High School, I was the 1976 Bicentennial Youth Debate National Champion. At Strayer College, I was the Job Research Committee President. At Trinity University, I was awarded the honor of becoming a member of PSI CHI.  

 

In 1999, I became involved in working with thousands of individuals who suffer from opioid addiction at three of the largest methadone programs in Washington, DC. In 2018, I  retired from the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center Substance Abuse program, officially called the Substance Abuse and Rehabilitation Program (SARP) I retired in 2018. I facilitated many groups during my tenure that focused on everything from tobacco use to HIV and AIDS, behavior modification, aftercare, and lifestyle enhancements. The individuals in these three programs had the most respect for me and my work. I worked with them on their behavior both in and outside the program. I went in with ‘clean hands’ and retired years later with ‘clean hands.’ I was afforded the responsibility to help the programs change their characterization from being a numbers-only participation program to a program characterized by its positive client, consumerism, and patient progress.  

 

During my internship at an elementary school in DC from 2011-2013, I worked as a student counselor for all the students but I specialized in working with the students with behavior concerns. I created three specialized groups where I met with these students during their lunch break. The most successful group was called ‘Let Them Talk’. We would have lunch together and they were allowed to say things that they felt they could not say anyplace else. All they needed was a platform that did not ostracize them for saying what they felt. I taught the entire student population the use of hand greetings to build student comradery. I am the grandfather of 33 grandchildren and, therefore, my children are my specialty, as much as the individuals I have counseled in my profession. I have made great headway with each child and have seen the changes in their behaviors, before, during, and after moving on.  

 

During the pandemic, I wrote three books, one of which was published and the other two in the process of publishing. The published work is called Memories of a Counselor. I bought one thousand and gave away about nine hundred and eighty of them. The book is more about content than price.  

 

For the last year and a half, since coming out of retirement to address the ills plaguing my hometown of Washington, DC. I have seen personally the violence and open-air drug markets.  Recently,  I decided I needed to use all of my skills, knowledge, and abilities to assist in bringing wholeness to my hometown and its residents, with the hopes of taking my program and skills nationwide. Towards this goal, I have been coordinating focus groups in Southeast DC who report with little to no hope of a bright future. Each group’s focus is substance use and lifestyle enhancements. The group is open to whoever feels they need to attend and there is no stigmatization applied to anyone for any problem or concern. The way I facilitate the group allows everyone who attends to feel safe and respected. Additionally, I have been instrumental in assisting a colleague in Baltimore with individuals who have been in his housing program, conducting focus groups for them as well.  

 

Presently, along with the other duties with which I am involved, I am a student with Catholic Charities, training for my Certified Addictions Counselor II and Licensed Professional Counselor credentials. I am a Certified Peer Support specialist and a member of (NAADAC) and The American Counseling Association and certified as an SBA Veteran in business.
    

 

QUALIFICATIONS

Addictions Therapist

Expertise in 12 Core Functions of Addictions

Persuasiveness in communicating effectively with diverse populations.

Organizational effectiveness and ability to meet and exceed deadlines.

 

EDUCATION

Trinity Washington University, Master of Arts in Professional Counseling 2012

Trinity Washington University, Bachelor of Arts in Human Relations 2009

Training resource Associates, Howard University 200 hours in Addictions Counseling Training

2001

Strayer College, Washington DC, Associates Degree in Computer Programming 1986

Dunbar High School, Washington, DC 1976

 

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

Department of Veterans Affairs                                                                                October 2006 — retirement

Addictions Therapist: duties performed were Case Management,

Group Therapy, Individual Therapy, Behavior Management
 

PIDARC                                                                                                                              October 2002-August 2006

Senior Substance Abuse Counselor
 

OASIS CLINIC                                                                                                                 April 2000 — October 2002

Substance Abuse Counselor
 

HONORS AND AWARDS  

Certified Peer Specialist DHHS/DBA 2023

Outstanding Scholastic Achievement and Excellence Award 2008

The National Honor Society in Psychology (PSI CHI)

Honorably Discharged Vietnam Era Veteran, 100% Service Connected October 1976 – October

1979

 

 

REFERENCES FURNISHED UPON REQUEST