12-Step Program Recovery

Getting and staying sober – from any substance/behavior – is plain and simple an all-encompassing, arduous and painful process.

There’s no magic pill (hey, you tried that already!) that will take away the pain and discomfort of learning new tools and a new way of living. There’s no way around it… recovery takes work, willingness, honesty and humility.

I’ve heard someone say, “Those early days of recovery are like birthing twins naturally sideways everyday.” Ok, I didn’t hear someone say that, I made it up! Having naturally birthed my two children, I could not think of another analogy that could speak to the pain of early sobriety more that that!!… Ya’ feelin’ me?

Issues are uncovered.

As you start uncovering issues in your recovery (often through steps 4, 5, 8 and 9) that go beyond the scope of your sponsor or program, you may feel like you’ve hit a roadblock. You wonder, “What now? How can I move forward in my recovery, addressing these underlying issues with a trained professional who gets me?”

News flash! Therapy can boost your sobriety and recovery by helping “unstick” you, heal the pain of the past, and guide you to address the root causes of your addiction.

As a well-trained therapist with robust experience working with clients in addiction recovery, I can help accelerate your recovery process. Working together can propel you toward living the 12-Step Promises more fully in your life.

You yearn to feel good in your own skin without numbing uncomfortable feelings. You wish to create and/or sustain healthy habits in your life that support your mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being. You desire lifelong sobriety and a feeling of usefulness to your family or community. You want to be living your best self… even as you are still learning and defining that ‘best self.’

At the end of the day, recovery is about learning to love the you inside your skin, without needing to run or hide from yourself. I see you, I understand you, and I know what you truly want.

Living IT is knowing IT.

Like reading about parenting vs being a parent, there is a world of difference between having academic knowledge about addiction recovery and first-hand experiencing it. Most therapists can attest to having academic knowledge of addiction recovery, but it’s few therapists who can willingly admit, “I am just like you. I understand exactly how it feels to walk through addiction recovery.”

Not only do I have the academic knowledge about addiction recovery and have spent over 15 years working in the social work profession (including substance abuse treatment program work with teens and adults), but I, too, am a fellow 12-stepper.

In 2006, I began my 12-Step recovery journey seeking help for food addiction. Since then, I’ve sat with the struggles of early recovery, worked the 12 Steps, and sponsored others… only to see that the path of recovery is a never-ending journey of spiritual growth and service.

I’ve come to take myself a lot less seriously in the process, as I’ve continued to see the promises come alive in my life more and more each day. With great humility, I share my experience, strength and hope to those on the journey of recovery.

In addition to being a psychotherapist, I have also been a trained yoga and meditation teacher since 2001. With my passion and specialty in helping people create and sustain a daily practice of meditation, I can help you enhance and deepen your “conscious contact with God as you understand Him.”

There is hope.

It gets better one day at a time. I can help you breakthrough the barriers of your past, heal old wounds, and transform unhealthy behavior patterns into positive ones. That “rich life filled with meaning and purpose” that you hungrily grasp for is attainable… and my work with you can accelerate that process!

You can indeed live life a “live beyond your wildest dreams.” Move a muscle, change a thought. Give a call to (805) 305-4543 to schedule a free consultation.