Advocacy in Action: Matt Glowiak

Matt Glowiak, PhD, NCC, ACS, LCPC, CAADC, always knew he wanted to help people and enjoyed doing that through his counseling work, but it wasn’t until his late 30s that he discovered the powerful impact he could make in local politics.

“In my 20s, I was really repulsed by politics. I wanted absolutely nothing to do with it. I ended up getting to a point where I’m like, there's so much going on in the world. You have the set of skills. I felt compelled that I had to do it,” he says.

Dr. Glowiak is now a local politician in his hometown of Bolingbrook, Illinois. He also serves as a Governing Council member for the Will County Health Department & Community Health Center, a precinct Committeeperson for Wheatland Township, and was recently elected as Trustee of Wheatland Township.

His day job as an Associate Professor at Hazelden Betty Ford Graduate School is inspiring counselors-in-training, but being involved in local politics provides opportunities for Dr. Glowiak to educate community members.

“Many people are touched by mental health and addiction but are uncomfortable talking about it because of the stigma,” Dr. Glowiak shares. “People always open up to me about some very difficult types of struggles. But the big part was really instilling hope in people. Whether or not I win or lose an election, I'm going to remain rock steady.”

Part of this work is creating opportunities for community members to learn about mental health. In 2019, Dr. Glowiak reached out to the mayor of Bolingbrook about starting a mental health–focused television show on the community television station: Mental Health Matters with Dr. Matt. On the show, he interviewed community leaders about mental health topics to help combat stigma.

“I don't know how many people actually watched the television show on the community television station, but one of the things that I really started to notice is that it caught on. A lot of the communication outreach I would receive was in the background. Things just continued to build. So there’s my TV show in the community, I started showing up to more local events, and I was just seeing things start to escalate in terms of the network I was building,” he shares.

Dr. Glowiak continues to create mental health video content on his YouTube channel, but it’s not always easy. He shares challenges counselors may face when it comes to advocacy. The work falls into place once counselors make themselves available.

“A lot of people struggle to show up. Maybe they have insecurities. Maybe they don't necessarily have the time to do it. That's really the thing, just showing up when you can,” he says.

Counselors don’t need official additional training to become advocates. They are already equipped with the skills to advocate. Dr. Glowiak says this includes attending behaviors, active listening, being personable, and following ethical standards to protect the public. He also shares that a commitment to continuing education can transform advocacy work.

“We’re not perfect people. We’re imperfect, and that’s really where the beauty is,” Dr. Glowiak says. “You're continuing to learn. We really have to take a look at the individual issues for what they are. We have to take a look at the individual people running for who they are. That’s really what this is about.”

NBCC is dedicated to providing National Certified Counselors with resources to advance mental health in their communities. The Grassroots Action Center, Government Affairs Newsroom, Government Affairs Digest, Guide to Advocacy Communication, and the Advocacy 101 Tool Kit are designed to support counselors in all stages of advocacy work.

National Certified Counselors are invited to use these resources to create lasting change. Dr. Glowiak explains that all counselors can create an impact in their communities. The key is to simply start.

“With everything going on in the world, there are a lot of unknowns. Sometimes you feel, ‘I'm not going to make an impact anyway. It’s completely hopeless.’ Remember, if every single person thought that, nothing would ultimately get done. We need people to step up, to step out and go out there, and continue doing this work,” he says.

Matt Glowiak, PhD, NCC, ACS, LCPC, CAADC, is an Associate Professor and Training Director at Hazelden Betty Ford Graduate School and contributing faculty at Yorkville University. He is a contributing writer to “Choosing Therapy” and a politician at the local level in Bolingbrook, Illinois.

**Opinions and thoughts expressed in NBCC Visions Newsletter articles belong to the interviewees and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or practices of NBCC and Affiliates.