aver8f you are reading this, chances are you or someone you care about have an addiction to alcohol or drugs. You wouldn’t be on this website otherwise. You may be wondering how and why it happened. But most importantly, you are wondering how to find the solution to this very serious problem.

My specialty is one-on-one addiction counseling, which stems from over 28 years of counseling experience and many years of addiction recovery. While millions of people seek and find addiction recovery through group experiences, you may not be ready to sit in a room with other addicts and alcoholics and talk about your problems. Not everyone benefits from the same treatment for the same issues. This is why I started Addiction Recovery Counseling. I believe people need the option of beginning their journey to recovery with individual counseling sessions. I want to help you or your loved one find recovery. Here’s how I would like to do that.

It starts with an Intake Appointment

The average Intake Appointment is scheduled for 90 minutes, so that I can get a good understanding of what the issues are and we can discuss a plan for our counseling sessions. We’ll also get through any other paperwork that is necessary before we can begin our sessions.

Once we’ve set an Intake Appointment, I ask that you complete the Intake Forms, which you can find on this website. Although a bit tedious, the information on this form will help us move quicker through the intake assessment, which occurs during our first appointment. I may also use one of several evaluation tools to determine the extent of the problem behavior. Of course we’ll spend time talking about how your addiction has effected you, your family, and your social, emotional, and occupational functioning.

When we’re done with our first appointment, we’ll set a schedule for regular counseling sessions. You’ll probably already feel better, just knowing that there is a viable solution to the pain and suffering that you’ve been experiencing.

Regular Counseling Appointments

A regular counseling appointment is scheduled for 50 minutes, but could last an entire hour. Your progress in sobriety will dictate what we discuss in individual sessions.

It’s important for you to understand that addiction is caused by many different reasons. You may have a family history of addicts and alcoholics. You may experience anxiety or depression, or just have a general discontent and unhappiness with your life. You may have stressors in your job, at home, or with extended family. You may have a serious mental health issue that has or has not ever been addressed. If you find yourself using a substance to cope with any of these issues, then we will want to discuss a more healthy way to deal with them. We may also need to talk about sensitive topics like STDs, HIV, and other common medical problems associated with drug use. These are all issues that can and will be addressed in sessions.

Your progress through counseling will be directly related to your willingness and open mindedness to discuss and try new things. You must be motivated to change your behavior or you will not find recovery. It is not enough to simply stop abusing a substance. Life still happens and you will have to learn how to cope with life sober. I can and will help you with that.

Our sessions will terminate when you have reached your goals and feel ready to move on without me. You may finally be ready to continue your progress with the assistance of a group of other alcoholics or addicts. I am also obligated to terminate our sessions if I believe you are no longer benefiting from them. This may or may not be when you are sober. I will not abandon you; but I have an ethical obligation to refer you to more restrictive services if I believe that is what you need in order to benefit from treatment.