5 stars for my counselor, Chris. I know this sounds cliche but Chris saved my life. It’s been 1 year and 6 months now.. and there’s really nothing I can say to justify my appreciation.. but I’ll try. His approach to counseling is unique and extremely effective. I have an extreme anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and depression along with an opiate addiction. When I first began seeing Chris I was experiencing 3-4 panic attacks daily and extreme anxiety all day long. I’ve had past experience with mindfulness, CBT, and DBT skills but nothing seemed to help. (Except heroin, which is why I’m in recovery). I was very uptight at first, not wanting to open up to someone I don’t even know (which is natural) however, I quickly began to understand that he was really there for ME. Over time it became more and more apparent that his patients are his number one priority. After I was able to open up about my problems, my anxiety level dropped drastically. Four panic attacks turned into two, then maybe one every other day, until now? Zero. I still have anxiety and I away will. But he helped me understand that it’s just a part of me and I’ve accepted that now. His approach to counseling is second to none. He’s taught me more about mental health, addiction and recovery then I ever imagined. I’m even motivated to go back to school due to his lessons! And NOT EVEN ONCE did he make me feel like I was required to do something. As noted before, his approach to recovery is incredible. I learned how philosophy applies to the origins of modern psychology and it’s historical value. It helped me understand the roots of my addiction and mental health, but where he really shines is his ability to teach me skills to use AFTER I leave our meeting. (In the real world) Over time this translated into confidence. I couldn’t even get out of bed, terrified to even text my best friend, injecting heroin all day to getting my life back! I have relationship with my family and good friends again as well. There’s so much more I’d like to say but there’s no way I could put it all into words.
Thank you Chris, thank you.
-Taylor P