Prevention specialist looks to have positive impact

Amy Pushchak has a background in education, and her new position is allowing her to expand that experience. Pushchak started last fall as Sanders County’s Prevention Specialist at Western Montana Mental Health Center (WMMHC).

Pushchak said her grant-funded position focuses on prevention. “We want to prevent the risk factors and promote the protective factors. Risk factors are the influences on kids to drink, make unhealthy choices. What I am going to do as a protective factor is to help prevent those decisions,” she explained. “Risk factors are characteristics at the biological, psychological, family, community, or cultural level that precede and are associated with a higher likelihood of negative outcomes. Protective factors are characteristics associated with a lower likelihood of negative

outcomes or that reduce a risk factor’s impact. Protective factors may be seen as positive countering events.”

The prevention specialist is building relationships with colleagues in the Northwest region of the state and they are able to share resources and ideas. “It’s great that we can support each other,” Pushchak said. She will also be forming a coalition of community partners to ensure that activities support the core goals of the grant and WMMHC.

Pushchak stated that her goals are first to prevent the onset and reduce the progression of substance abuse, and second, to strengthen the comprehensive preventive approach.

Pushchak said that research has shown the scare tactics are not the best practice in getting messages across. She said she is learning that children need to be educated at a young age. “If they are exposed from third grade up, then they are going to start making different decisions when they are approached,” she noted. As the prevention specialist, Pushchak said she will promote that there are other outlets for people who are thinking about using substances or for those who are thinking about suicide.

“I think prevention is very important,” Pushchak said. “I hope to bring awareness to Sanders County, build relationships and educate about alternative activities and also help make those opportunities available to kids.” She added that alternative activities can include music, dance and outdoors experiences. Pushchak’s grant will help gear for some Project ASCENT campers this summer. “The earlier we can start teaching kids about alternate choices and health decisions, the more likely they will make those decisions when presented with choices.”

Pushchak and her husband moved to Thompson Falls from Colorado, where she taught elementary school for 14 years. “I love living in Thompson Falls. I had never been to Montana prior to visiting last year. We left and I said, ‘we have to go back.’” Along with her new role as prevention specialist for WMMHC, Pushchak is teaching yoga as an adult education class through Thompson Falls Schools.

Pushchak is available by phone at (406) 827-9067 or by email at

[email protected].