Surviving Addiction as a Family

My name is Michele Glaser. I grew up in New York and recently moved to Florida for a job opportunity.  I pursued a degree in Social Work concentrating on Addiction. I have a Masters in Education and Social Work.  I am a certified alcohol and substance abuse counselor and I am currently pursuing my PhD in Social Work with a specialty in Addiction.  I am currently a therapist at Singer Island Treatment Center in West Palm Beach.  It is by far the best job that I have ever had and I am lucky enough to have the most amazing people that work with me.  Working in a treatment center you are always on your toes, dealing with each client on a individual basis as there is no cookie cutter approach to treatment.  I am in recovery from an addiction to cocaine and I am able to offer my clients a perspective on addiction that I wish that I was able to have when I was in treatment.  I remember what it is like to sit as the client and I am now working as a therapist which I truly believes gives me an interesting connection to my clients. There is a sense of commonality because clients understand that I have walked through this fire and there is a sense of hope that I can give.  I am able to say to my clients that “I kniw your struggles and I know that treatment is hard.  I know all this because I was in your shoes”.  I have also been able to emphasize that I can tell you how to get sober, I can share my tools, my coping skills and my life skills with you, however I will never say that I can get you sober because the only person that can get themselves sober is the client struggling with the addiction. I wish there was  a way to make this process easier and I could guarantee sobriety and happiness in sobriety.  However, it is up to the person to truly want it.