Alumna Katie Osabe Finds Rehabilitation — and a Calling
A few short years ago, it would have been easy to look at Katie Osabe (’22, rehabilitation counseling) and see someone living the American dream. She had a business degree, a fast-paced lifestyle and a lucrative corporate career as a producer for photography and video.
Below the surface, however, she hid a darker truth: The dream she was living wasn’t hers at all.
“On the outside, I had everything I ever wanted,” Osabe says. “But what I was living for was my family's expectations of a businesswoman. I didn't even care about being a businesswoman.”
As she searched in vain for meaning, other things filled the void. She was often driven by anger, a symptom of an unchecked mental illness. She abused substances. Before long, she reached a breaking point.
“I ran out of steam,” Osabe recalls. “It was like, ‘So I made this money … and? Is your life better? Do you feel better? Are you still drinking every day?’ I had this moment when I quit my last job where I decided I couldn't do this anymore.
“I pretty much had a mental breakdown where I didn't want to get out of bed.”
Osabe shares her story matter-of-factly, without tinges of sentiment or regret. It’s one she tells frequently of late, not to garner sympathy, but because she knows there are others who might benefit from hearing it.
On the other side of her own rehabilitation, the newly-minted graduate of San Diego State University’s rehabilitation counseling master’s program is driven to help people facing similar circumstances find their own paths.
Destigmatizing Life
Osabe now works as an employment specialist with Mental Health Systems (MHS) in San Diego. In the role, Osabe assists clients with mental health challenges, substance use issues and physical disabilities find employment. Her duties run the gamut, from going over resumes, to arranging interview clothes, to personally interacting with employers on her clients’ behalf.
But above all, she provides kindness, affirmation and an empathetic ear. And she doesn’t shy away from opening up about her own journey when she thinks it will be helpful.
"It's so nice to be able to tell people, ‘If I didn't tell you that three years ago I was in a psych ward, would you know?'” Osabe says. “It doesn't matter what happened, it's how you move forward. I don't like to call attention to myself, but I have no problem disclosing my mental health and substance abuse issues as a way of telling them I'm not expecting them to be perfect. I could never be here if that was the case. I think it makes a huge difference for people to hear that.
“What I find most attractive about this field is being genuine with each other and being unashamed,” she adds. “It's part of destigmatizing life.”
Drawing on Lived Experience
The seeds of a new calling were planted early during Osabe’s own rehabilitation, inspired by her experience as a client of the Department of Rehabilitation (DOR).
"I was literally in the office one day at DOR and I said, ‘This is what I want to do,’” Osabe said. “I want to be able to draw on my lived experience to encourage and motivate people who are having a really bad time. I want to be that person who I really could have used."
Osabe admits she was “terrified” when she embarked on SDSU’s two-year program and doubted she could make it through. Instead, she excelled, maintaining a 4.0 grade-point average throughout the program.
Working with assistant professor Toni Saia, she also received a Summer Research Award from the SDSU Institute for Ethics and Public Affairs to study the experiences of disabled Asians during the COVID-19 pandemic. The project saw Osabe become a published author.
But the most important thing the program provided was access to her new career path — one she finds packed with purpose.
“This is how I pay it forward,” she said. “I don’t have to prove anything to anyone else. I'm living for myself — and to help other people."
