Bio
I am a licensed psychologist in the state of California. I am also certified by the APA College of Professional Psychology in the Treatment of Alcohol and Other Psychoactive Substance Use Disorders.
I have been working in the field of chemical dependency on a more than full-time basis since the late 1970's, and I am dedicated to helping people with chemical dependency problems to be clean, sober, and in recovery. I have helped every type of person imaginable get sober. I must say that one of the greatest joys of the work is to see someone move to sustainable recovery after being in the pit of despair due to a substance abuse problem. It is great to run into someone on the street that I have not seen for a long time and hear, "Hey Bill, I have 10 years of sobriety!"
One major thing to realize is that a lot of people have difficulty asking for help for a substance abuse problem. This is due to many reasons and varies from person to person. Some of the struggles have to do with shame, guilt, and uncertainty about the actual inability to control alcohol or drugs. What we work at doing is being non-judgmental and making people feel as comfortable as possible. This is with the realization at most people with alcohol and drug problems are already their own worse critics.
In terms of my academic background, my doctoral work studied the idea that people hit a bottom before making the decision to get into recovery, and everyone has a personal bottom. To develop insight into this phenomenon I researched the interaction of different degrees and qualities of stress with various personality types in making the decision to enter treatment for chemical dependency. Some individuals need more stress, some need less stress related to the consequences of substance misuse as a motivation to seek help. This research has been helpful in working with people with varying degrees of motivation for recovery from substance abuse.
We are always evolving in chemical dependency treatment because we are constantly learning about new research and things to help people get and stay sober.
I have been interested in optimal health and fitness for most of my life. I have run a sub-three hour marathon. I currently cycle about 6,000 miles a year to stay reasonable fit and give balance to an otherwise sedentary lifestyle. I try to take scuba diving trips when I travel and I am a certified dive master.
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