Best Addiction & Substance Abuse Counselors in Plymouth, MA

Throughout my counseling career, I have always been interested -- fascinated, in fact -- in finding meaning and value in the experiences of others, joyful and sorrowful, frightened or courageous, and in helping them to grow in their own lives. Although I am not rigid in my approach to therapy, I see myself as a Narrative Therapist (Dulwich Model), with a strong background in Gestalt Therapy for dream work and understanding polarities (contradictions) in our lives, Gendlin's Focusing for sifting through psychological uncertainty, and along with Focusing, a strong interest in mindfulness-based stress management as a support technique for personal growth.. I have worked as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in Massachusetts since 2012 (including my licensure training), and for many more years prior to that as an Associate Psychologist (Masters Level) in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. I also worked for several years as a Certified Alcoholism Counselor (CAC) in Massachusetts in both inpatient and outpatient settings with a strong 12-step orientation. I am myself a recovering alcoholic, with 40 years of continuous sobriety -- a day at a time! I have a particular interest in working with people living on the Autism Spectrum, both adults and younger folks. Like many who work in the field, I bring personal family experience to the work, and I take pride in my ability to find common ground with people living on or near the Spectrum. More generally, I have an abiding interest in working with military family members, including those who have long since left the life of being a Military Dependent. As a former Army Brat and "Third Culture Kid," (TCK) I bring particular awareness and concern to the life-long issues of those whose developmental years were spent "inside the Fortress, " as Mary Edwards Wertsch describes it, including those TCKs who grew up in cultures and countries overseas.

I have over 10 years of experience working with people who have experienced homelessness as well as serious mental health and addiction. I received my Master's degree and went on to become a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC). Besides counseling, I have done a great deal of social work for those who are low-income, facing many challenges including housing stability. My approach is to work at each person's own pace and learn as much as I can about who you are to better help provide support. This leads to providing what treatment approach will work best for the individual (or couple). I also highly draw upon Solution-Focused Therapy, Narrative Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for the work I do with clients. My goal is to provide you with a therapeutic experience that allows you to feel relief and shifts sooner rather than later and to give you a sense of confidence moving forward in both yourself and the therapeutic process. As my client, you can expect to be treated with respect, care, compassion, and have someone walking beside you who will support you in becoming the best version of yourself that feels right, true, and honest to you. I look forward to meeting you, getting to know more about what is going on in your life right now, and beginning to help you feel better through our time together. For your reference, my online office hours are Monday-Saturday. Sunday is my personal day and I am not available for messaging or sessions that day. Any messages I receive after Saturday evening will be responded to on Monday. For the foreseeable future, for any new clients I begin working with, I am available via messaging and live chat sessions only (not phone or video).

I am licensed in Pennsylvania with 20 years of professional work experience. I have experience in helping clients with stress and anxiety, coping with addictions, trauma and abuse, & depression. I believe in treating everyone with respect, sensitivity, and compassion. I will tailor our dialog and treatment plan to meet your unique and specific needs. Taking the first step to sign up for therapy can take courage and I am proud of you for getting started! While I try to schedule times that work for each of my clients, most of my hours are in the evening (8-10p) and on Saturdays and Sundays.