FAQs

When a person struggles with Substance Use Disorder, on average ten other people are also significantly affected by their disease, including: family members, friends, and coworkers. If this is you, your pain and suffering is real too. You may be obsessing night and day; feeling a range of emotions: anger, shame, grief, paralyzing fear and overwhelm. You may feel confused and ill-equipped to deal with the situation and all the inevitable chaos. Maybe you’re feeling resentful because you’ve been lied to and treated like a doormat, or maybe you’re experiencing anxiety, like you’re always walking on eggshells. I’ve been through it all and empathize with you. The most effective method I have found to live a happy, balanced, peaceful and productive life is the BALM, which stands for Be A Loving Mirror. By working with me you will learn life-changing skills that will empower you to get your life back, and at the same time, become your addicted loved one’s best chance at recovery. Typically, when a person with substance use disorder goes into treatment, the family members feel relieved, but they sometimes start to feel left out. Many don’t realize how crucial it is to work on their own recovery. I used to think that if only my loved ones got clean and sober, everything would be fine. You may notice that your loved one is learning a new way to live but you still feel unhappy and alone. After a loved one returns from treatment family members often still have a difficult time understanding the recovery process and find it hard to relate to the changes in their loved one because they haven’t developed the skills and tools to support them. Sometimes there is so much dysfunction within the relationships that the environment can still be toxic, which can quickly lead to relapse. Family recovery education and transformation is what you need. If your loved one is not in treatment, you may not even know how to communicate with them about getting help. Working with me as your Coach and becoming part of our loving, supportive community will lessen your feelings of loneliness and soothe your soul. With a new hope, heightened awareness, and focus on self-care, you will feel better, and your relationships will have a chance to improve, even if you think everything is all but lost. Once you learn, internalize, and practice this approach, you will be able to enjoy life again. You may be surprised by your loved one’s changed attitude and desire for recovery as well.

I encourage you to get all the support you need! For me, support was like a buffet and I took everything I could get. Any help can provide some measure of relief to get you through another day. But coaching teaches you a new way of living. Clients often find that coaching helps accelerate their feelings of well-being, wholeness, and emotional recovery from the traumatic effects of living with or loving a person with the disease of addiction.

You, as the client, will drive the agenda. We will focus specifically on your individual needs. We will discuss what you are committed to accomplishing through our work together, and we will create a plan to achieve your goals. We will talk about what you are learning and how to strategically apply this newfound knowledge to your family’s recovery process. You will have the opportunity to explore your own inner landscape as we work together to identify challenges, limiting beliefs, and we will work on reframing your default thought patterns as well as celebrating your successes!

That depends on your level of commitment and personal accountability to show up and do the work. The courses are easy to understand and follow, but if you’re like me, it may take you much longer to go it alone. I’ve tried many self-help courses and as desperate as I was to change things, it took me three times longer to complete the programs without an experienced guide to support me through the process. Oftentimes, we are in crisis and have no time to waste—this disease is progressive and can lead to a life-or-death situation that may require additional resources. Living with active addiction is too much for anyone and it’s helpful and comforting to have a fresh perspective from an experienced coach you can trust. I’m here to walk alongside you on this difficult journey and offer you my own experience, strength, and hope. You may have been told that you are “powerless” over someone else’s addiction. As shocking as it sounds, you may even unknowingly, be contributing to the problem. Looking back, I know I was even though at the time I thought I was doing everything humanly possible to save my loved ones, I just didn’t know any better. My coaching will empower you to take back your life and teach you how to contribute to your loved one’s recovery by setting healthy boundaries, using leverage, and putting an end to enabling, instead of contributing to their disease.

Coaching often has therapeutic benefits, but it is not therapy. Coaches are not clinicians or doctors. Although Substance Use Disorder often coexists with mental illness, coaching is not focused on psychological issues or delving into the past to analyze what happened. Emotional issues may sometimes arise during coaching sessions, but the goal of coaching is to teach you a proven method to get unstuck, to find the answers within yourself, to move forward, deepen your understanding and to grow, as well as to put an end to the codependency and insanity so that you can enjoy a more fulfilling and productive life.

I can partner with you and collaborate with your organization to make this program work for your clients and their families. If you would like to learn more, please contact me.

The specialized training I’ve received through the BALM Training Institute is also International Coach Federation (ICF) accredited for Life Coaching. Together we can explore how to establish a strong foundation for success, create awareness, break unhealthy habits, find life/work balance, improve communication, take charge and take action, build confidence and self-esteem, let go of limiting beliefs, improve parenting skills, enhance your self-care routine, make changes and implement plans, live with intention, focus on your purpose in this world, live in a higher state of vibration with gratitude, learn to appreciate that the best things in life are free, uncover what’s holding you back from living the life of your dreams and go for it!