Meet the Team: Spencer Blake

Spencer Blake is a Residential Counselor at Ember Recovery. Spencer has worked at Ember Recovery for three and a half years.

“What motivates me is being able to give a client a piece of their life back and being able to help a parent see that child they once knew prior to substance use starting.”

Spencer’s responsibilities as a Residential Counselor vary throughout the week. They consist of meeting with clients daily, running therapy groups, doing proper paperwork to update client insurance companies, families, and JCS/HHS services of client’s progress, and makes phone calls to parents or workers to update them and answer any questions.

“This job impacts me greatly. Though it can be tiring dealing with substance use it is a very rewarding position being able to see the lives that get changed in the process.”

Spencer grew up in Osage, Iowa. Once graduating from high school, he received his associates at North Iowa Area Community College and finished out with obtaining his bachelor’s at Iowa State University.

Spencer first got started in the field with needing an internship for his education at Iowa State University. He took a direct care role at Woodward Academy and once his internship was finished, he stayed there for another year as a direct care staff. While working at the academy, Spencer worked to obtain an Alcohol and Drug Counseling certification which led him to his current position at Ember, and now he has his International Alcohol and Drug Counseling certification.

“In that time of working at Woodward Academy I really enjoyed working with teenagers who had a troubled past and wanted to continue to make a difference in a life, but I discovered the area of addictions counseling in that time.”

Spencer’s favorite part about working with youth at Ember is being able to see clients get back their childhood and teenage years through activities such as playing sports or board games.

“Clients may have a history of trauma, substance use, and other factors that caused them to either lose the ability to have those activities and or had to step up in their family to fit a more parental role, so being able to see kids being kids without all the stressors of the world makes my day.”

In his free time, Spencer enjoys hanging out with his wife and three cats, being outdoors, spending time with family and friends, and cooking. Thank you for all your hard work at Ember, Spencer!