Suzanne Cooper LPC, LAC

The process of addiction counseling looks different for each client. Depending upon where you are in your substance use or in your recovery, we will approach your use with curiosity and solution focused therapy to enable you to meet you needs and goals.

In using CBT, we will address thinking errors, as well as emotional stresses, to enable changes in your behaviors. This approach allows your to experience more confidence and peace in your thinking, which results in more effective behaviors.

I am in my second year of training at the SOMATIC EXPERIENCING® TRAUMA INSTITUTE. This is a psychobiological approach that focuses on regulating and balancing the nervous system and the whole person. Yes, I will ask you, “What do you feel in your body?” but this approach is much, much more sophisticated than that! While this is a “trauma” modality, it can also be useful for anyone who wants to work on their overall mental well being.

When working with individuals on substance use, I let the client tell me what their goals are. The primary concern when working with substance use is safety, followed by health and wellness. Together we will evaluate client concerns and set treatment goals based on need. I do not assume that every individual struggling with substance use has an addiction. I have experience working in drug and alcohol treatment facilities, 12 step groups, and have familiarity with other recovery groups.

Codependency is getting needs met by meeting the needs of others. While this may not sound so bad at first, this pattern has the potential to cause wreckage in our personal experience in relationships, our career, etc. Counseling around codependent behaviors focuses on identifying my clients needs and supporting my client in getting their own needs met.

I have worked on both side of domestic violence and intimate partner violence. I have provided victim centered treatment in the forensic space, as well as trauma therapy for survivors in the private space. Domestic violence is not limited to behaviors deemed illegal by the criminal justice system, but also includes emotional, verbal, and psychological abuse.