Explore Workplace Development

Building the Next Generation of Recovery Professionals

One of the greatest challenges facing rural America is not simply access to treatment—it is access to qualified professionals who can provide that treatment. Across the Black Hills and surrounding regions, communities continue to experience growing rates of substance use disorders while simultaneously facing shortages of counselors, peer support specialists, case managers, and behavioral health professionals.

To address this challenge, Thanka Tatanka is developing a comprehensive workforce development initiative designed to create a sustainable pipeline of addiction treatment and recovery professionals for our region.

Through structured partnerships with regional colleges, universities, tribal colleges, and professional training programs, Thanka Tatanka will serve as a hands-on learning and training environment where future professionals gain real-world experience while helping meet critical community needs.

Our Workforce Development Model

Clinical Internship and Practicum Training

Thanka Tatanka partners with academic institutions to provide supervised internships, practicum placements, and clinical rotations for students pursuing careers in:

Addiction Counseling
Social Work
Psychology
Marriage and Family Therapy
Human Services
Nursing
Behavioral Health
Public Health

Students work alongside experienced professionals in both residential and outpatient settings, gaining practical experience in assessment, treatment planning, group facilitation, case management, recovery support, and discharge planning.

Peer Recovery Workforce Development

Many of the most effective recovery professionals are individuals who have walked the path of recovery themselves.

Thanka Tatanka supports Peer Recovery Specialist certification pathways by:

Providing supervised field experience
Offering mentorship opportunities
Connecting candidates with certification resources
Creating employment pathways following certification
Supporting continuing education and professional development

This approach helps transform lived experience into professional expertise while expanding the recovery workforce.

Culturally Responsive Care Training

The communities served by Thanka Tatanka include rural residents, Native American populations, veterans, agricultural workers, and individuals from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds.

Interns and trainees receive education and experience in:

Trauma-informed care
Culturally responsive treatment approaches
Rural behavioral health challenges
Family systems affected by addiction
Recovery-oriented systems of care
Indigenous perspectives on healing and wellness

This training helps ensure future professionals are equipped to meet the unique needs of the populations they serve.

Keeping Talent in Rural Communities

One of the most effective predictors of workforce retention is local training.

When students complete internships and professional experiences within a community, they are significantly more likely to remain there after graduation. By creating meaningful educational partnerships and career pathways, Thanka Tatanka helps rural communities attract, train, and retain the professionals they need.

The program aims to:

Increase the number of licensed addiction counselors serving the region
Expand the peer recovery workforce
Reduce behavioral health workforce shortages
Improve continuity of care for patients
Strengthen local healthcare systems
Create long-term career opportunities in recovery services

A Regional Investment

Workforce development is more than an educational initiative—it is an investment in the future health of our communities.

Every counselor trained, every peer specialist certified, and every student inspired to remain in rural behavioral health helps strengthen the region's ability to respond to addiction, support recovery, and restore hope.

By investing in people today, Thanka Tatanka is helping build a recovery system that can serve generations to come.

Long-Term Vision

Thanka Tatanka envisions becoming a recognized regional center for behavioral health workforce development—where students, clinicians, peer specialists, and community leaders come together to learn, serve, and grow.

Through education, mentorship, and partnership, we are building the workforce necessary to address the full spectrum of substance use disorders while ensuring that compassionate, high-quality care remains accessible throughout the Black Hills and surrounding rural communities.

Healing individuals. Strengthening communities. Building the workforce for recovery.