The Addiction Pro

B eing an Addiction Counselor is not just another job. It's a calling to help people whose lives are often in shambles, or on the brink of collapse due to the abuse of drugs and/or alcohol. This position requires compassion, emotional intelligence, and an ability to build relationships authentically. It takes a caring heart and a willing spirit to sit across from patients for hours each day while they divulge their greatest concerns, fears, and unresolved trauma in front of you. This is not a profession that tire-kickers and the unhealed should seek. This isn't a profession that people should be in just because it provides a paycheck. Patients deserve better than that. Patients deserve a caring professional who is honest, selfless, empathetic, properly educated, understands human psychology as well as addiction science, is personable, and is truly invested in helping them heal. Being a nice person with a great measure of patience and understanding is also valuable. In fact, yo...

B ack when I was studying in my undergrad psychology degree programs, I was deeply invested in learning about the field of psychology, but I had no idea which direction I was going to go with it. At the time, I was a business professional working in executive, management, and supervisory roles. In my mind, a business professional was what I was and that was what I was always going to be. Working with people addicted to drugs and alcohol wasn't something I would ever be doing... ... or so I thought. As time passed and circumstances changed, I became drawn to the idea of using my psychology education to help people in a counseling capacity. Some life events turned my attention sharply to the addiction field. I'm fortunate and thankful to have achieved pretty much every dream I've ever set out to make a reality. Counseling became my new dream, and I wanted it with my whole heart. The tough part about dreams is that you often have to go through a number of nightmares befo...