COE DIFFERENCE MAKERS: Driven by a Belief that ‘Recovery Works'

Dr. Sonia Peterson has devoted most of her adult life to helping people with disabilities attain employment and independence. 

In more than 20 years as a practitioner in the vocational rehabilitation field, Peterson worked as a vocational counselor for people with all types of disabilities and as a supervisor and manager with the California Department of Rehabilitation. 

In 2019, she brought that wealth of experience to San Diego State University full time as an assistant professor in the Department of Administration, Rehabilitation and Postsecondary Education (ARPE). 

“I'm kind of new to the academia thing, but I'm not new to what our students are training to do,” Peterson said. “I don't know of any other program like ours that provides the rich experience that our students get and has such great collaboration with the state vocational rehabilitation agency. I feel so lucky to be here.” 

Peterson oversees the Concentration in Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling and Clinical Mental Health LPCC program, which focuses on approaches to help people with psychiatric disabilities. She also helms a new certificate program on co-occurring disorders, which gives future counselors insight into the frequent intersection of mental health and substance use disorders. 

Learn more about Peterson’s work, in her own words: 

On the link between employment and recovery 

“I’ve seen data that show 1 in 25 people will have a mental illness significant enough that it affects their daily lives, limiting their ability to travel or form relationships. And a lot of times, it gets bad enough where people can't work. Well, we know that the two biggest barriers for people with disabilities — including people with psychiatric disabilities — are isolation and poverty. That's why programs like ours are all focused on work.”

On her passion for vocational rehabilitation 

“I know that recovery works. Psychiatric disabilities are invisible disabilities and we're not aware of people who are in recovery. The media really portrays people living with mental illness in a negative light and perpetuates stigma and stereotypes. But there are people who have struggled with mental illness or substance use disorders who are in recovery — living, working and thriving. I also love working with the students — seeing the light bulbs go off and hearing about their experiences doing fieldwork. To hear a student say they tried a technique we taught them and it works — that's fun!” 

On improving the field through research 

“My research centers on disparities in the service delivery system. If you come into that system with a psychiatric disability, you have a lower chance of getting services and ending up with a job compared to people with other disabilities. And I know the service delivery system because I worked in it for 16 years. So I love sharing data with my colleagues and promoting effective evidence-based practices.” 

On her career’s unlikely origin story 

“I got certified as a massage therapist in 1993 and then moved to Iowa City, Iowa to work at a day spa. I'd end up talking to my clients a lot about what was going on with them physically and emotionally. Some of them were on kidney dialysis or had amputations, and a lot of people were stressed out or dealing with anxiety. One of my clients was a professor in the rehab counseling program at the University of Iowa, and I asked them about the program. I had decided I really wanted to learn how to be a counselor. I ended up getting my masters in rehab counseling thanks to a grant that required me to go work for a state vocational rehabilitation agency, or an affiliated agency, afterwards. That’s what brought me to California. It's funny how things come full circle — that’s exactly the type of grant I now oversee at SDSU.”