River Source offers a unique combination of Counseling (1 on 1 & group face to face therapy) and Life Caoching. Each is very different and yet both are essential to the treatment process and provide the best opportunity for long term sobriety. At the River Source we are proud of the knowledgeable, educated and passionate counselors that we have on staff. Most of the counselors are in recovery and have personal experiences with addictions and the recovery process.

Counseling (1 on 1 & group therapy) is a helping process that takes place in an atmosphere of acceptance, respect, and trust. Counselors work with patients / clients (1 on 1 and in group sessions) confidentially to help them understand themselves, their behaviors, feelings, and relationships. The purpose of counseling is to help our clients / patients identify their personal strengths and develop ways to live life more fully.



We help our patients / clients with:

• drug/alcohol issues

• managing anxiety

• coping with and reducing stress

• adjusting to loss (death, relationships, job)

• increasing self-understanding

• making difficult decisions and clarifying choices

• assertiveness training

• relaxation techniques

• resolution of personal issues

• eating concerns

• self-esteem

• Marriage and family therapy

• academic concerns

• improving communication (with parents, friends, roommates)

• gender issues

• coping with incidents of sexual assault/or other trauma



Our counselors assist people with addictions, personal, family, educational, mental health, and career problems. Our counselors specialize chemical dependency and working with the adults population. Substance abuse and behavioral disorder: our counselors help adults who have problems with alcohol, drugs, depression, and eating disorders. They counsel individuals who are addicted by helping them to identify behaviors and problems related to their addiction. Counseling is done on an individual basis with (two) 1 on 1 sessions per week, but we also provide small men’s and women’s group sessions, relaxation groups, eating disorder / nutrition groups, small groups frequently done in a comfortable setting. Our counselors will often also work with family members who are affected by the addictions of their loved ones. If you are out of state we have phone call session with families and the client. Our counselors also conduct programs aimed at preventing addictions.

River Source believes that Life Coaching is critical and brings enlightenment to life, especially in a Chemical Dependency Treatment Center where many of the clients need a new and better direction in life. With the best will in the world, people still struggle to make their lives become what they truly want. The one missing ingredient is the essential process is - interaction with you - by a real coach. Without that, even if we're desperate to see a way through - we generally can't - even if it's staring us in the face. But it really is completely true that Life Coaching can empower you to become your best! Why is it true? We have done so much coaching now that we know precisely why it's true: • Our life experience teaches us that some things can't change. That lesson is wrong, but it seems incontrovertibly true. So pessimism and skepticism are part of life but invisible traps which keep us exactly where we don't want to be. Coaches can undo that stuff.



• The life we currently lead defines who we currently are. It reflects us. It is a product of our limitations. When you read a self-help article, you bring along those same limitations to your reading. To change our life, we must remove our limitations. That involves challenging questions and changes which we cannot usually originate from within ourselves.



• We often lack the tools and thinking skills to complete a balanced analysis of any situation. As those familiar with NLP will know, the human mind, bent by emotion (especially fear) will distort, omit, and exaggerate our world to fit our self image. In a real sense we have seriously bad vision. This is crippling when it comes to sorting out tough problems. Coaches know how this works and can bring external insights to clarify your view of your world.



• Society trains us in many ways that don't serve our happiness. We often develop unhelpful attitudes (for example, an "entitlement mentality" (the world owes us happiness), low stamina and fear of change. Coaches know about these and can compensate for you - keeping you focused, rational, positive and productive.



• Like doctors, coaches aren't fundamentally better people - but they do have some exceptionally useful training, techniques and experience which they can bring to the service of your happiness. I've made this article as good as I can, but my sincere advice to you is to claim your free coaching session and see for yourself how magical coaching really is.

What is Life Coaching? How does it work, and would you want it? Life coaching a still relatively new and many people don't know what it's all about so this page is designed to be a sort of beginner's guide. You might also want to look at the life coaching FAQ below. It is a CBT - a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy - talking therapy, aimed at increasing human happiness. Through conversation, clients are helped to understand why they find themselves in their current situation and then to find strategies, motivations and focus to design and move towards new, better situations. Different life coaches work in different ways, but pure life coaching is not mystical, it's down-to-earth. It's primarily cognitive - in that it's main tool is the client's own thinking mind. But it is also informed by the un-conscious and emotional components of the human psyche. It is a "cognitive behavioral therapy" (CBT). Life coaching differs from counseling in that it is primarily focused on the present and the future. It may be necessary to look back to find the route causes of some unhelpful thinking patterns, and then untie some knots, but then we come back to the "where are we now?" and the "where do we want to go?".

Who is Life Coaching for? You! It's for anyone who wants to improve some aspect of their life. You might want a new job or career, or promotion in the one you have. You might want to write your novel, or find your perfect partner, or find new self confidence, or get rid of a destructive habit. You might want to get more balance between your working or private lives. Maybe you want to start your own business, or find the focus necessary for passing important exams. You might just be unhappy without knowing why. Whatever you want to change, coaching can probably help, with just a couple of notable exceptions. If you have a mental illness or a hard drug problem, then coaching is probably not the best option for you - you're more likely to get the help you need from a therapist specifically qualified in those specialties.

How Does Life Coaching Work? Most is done by phone (or internet telephony), in sessions running for between 30 minutes to an hour. Sessions usually happen weekly, but they can run less frequently. Clients may have just one session, or they may work with their life coach for many months. Every case is unique, but as a rule of thumb, major change happens between session 4 and session 8. What you pay varies widely - my menu of services and prices is here. So what happens in the session? Well, again, every case is unique.

Exactly what we do depend on the client, the issue being worked on, and where we are in the process, but here are some things which are almost always true:

• The sessions are relaxed, friendly, fun and positive experiences

• The sessions are completely confidential

• Clients remain in charge at all times - you can set any boundaries you need

• Life coaches do not tell clients what to do

• Professional life coaches have a raft of techniques available to them. Through listening in special ways and by asking careful questions, coaches encourage clients to find understanding in their lifes, and the answers they need

• Many coaches, including me, also use a branch of psychology called NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming).



This provides a range of tools to help clients change their behaviours and the underlying thinking which drives it. For example, anchoring helps you to call up useful mental states (like confident happiness) easily. Re-framing allows you to take a situation you cannot change and see it in a radically different way. You can explore this extensive website to find a great deal of information of how chemical dependency treatment and Life Coaching are synergistic.

How Can You Change Your Life TODAY? At it's most fundamental, your life is what happens to you between your birth and your death. They say "life is what you make it", but most of us feel like victims in our lives, rather than the architects of them. Accepting responsibility for our own lives is a very difficult but absolutely essential first step in learning to take control our lives. Uncontrollable events certainly can sweep us away now and then, and of course the final event will sweep us all away at some point. But between now and then, most of what happens in our lives - our careers, our progress towards our dreams, our relationships, our health, our happiness, our spiritual growth - are all down to us. The Tyranny of Freedom This should sound great - but for most of us it's going to sound bleak. Because we know all that stuff - in theory, at least. Yet that isn't the way our real lives are unfolding for us. We may be in the wrong job, or the wrong career. We may live in a house we hate, in a city we hate, on a continent with the wrong climate. We may drive the wrong car, live with the wrong partner, live under the wrong haircut, and in the wrong shaped body. AND IT'S ALL WEARING A BIT THIN! The fact is that most of us exert poor control over the events in our lives. We complain, but we don't seem able to grab the wheel and to steer ourselves in new directions. As we grow older, we see the dreams fade. Some will smile as they look back at the simple optimism and ideals of our youth. Others will be a whole lot less philosophical about our decline. The fact is that society doesn't train us for the practicalities of being successful (however we define that term). We're taught that thinking of our own wants is selfish. We shoulder big jobs and family responsibilities which could well keep us tied up for a few decades. Somewhere along that road, we lose the plot - we're driven by events we set in train - the mortgage, the kids, the job - and it's tough to re-assert control. Well, the good news is - all of this is exactly what your Life Coach is here to help you with.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How will I know if coaching is for me? If you are struggling with any part of your life, just want to assess your current situations or just want to improve your life, then life coaching is for you! We'll actually use the coaching process to identify an area you may want to work on, and to look at the steps we would take should we decide to work together. You'll get a chance to see River Source’s way of treatment and how Life Coaching will enhance your life.

2. Why can't I get the same support from friends? Good question! Here are some answers for you: a) Your coach is professionally trained to coach you. She or he has specific skills in listening, questioning techniques, motivation, communication and more. All of these will be focused on freeing you to become what you want to be. Your friends are unlikely to be qualified in these ways. b) Our coaches are trained and experienced in the management of people and projects, so they know a lot about the real world and how to motivate and direct people. All of this expertise is available to you during our coaching sessions. c) Our coaches are paid by you to work for you over the weeks and months of the coaching relationship. There are no hidden agendas; they are not going to lose patience, become bored or self-interested. Your friends may be less reliable and less devoted. d) Family and friends may be reluctant to tell you straight, because they fear that the truth will lose their relationship with you. They're more likely to tell you what you want to hear. Your Life Coach will want to maintain a first class relationship with you too, but they are paid to help you, and will tell it like it is when they need to. e) Some of those around you may be part of the reason you want to change. We all fear change - in ourselves - but also in others. How often do you notice friends offering you fatty foods when you're on a diet? Without even realizing it, those around us can undermine our determination to make positive changes in our lives. f) Our friends and family often come from the same background and areas as us. They may have accepted their lot in life, and may see change as impossible. They may even see ambitions as arrogant and unreasonable. Their negativity and skepticism about your potential for personal growth - or the way the world is - may be a big problem which your coach can help you with. g) There may be some things you can't say to family and friends, because they're very private - or because your family and friends are part of what you want to change. Your Life Coach is professional and detached, and your work with him is confidential. You can be completely honest.

3. Why can't I just read a good Coaching Book? You can, and you should! But a book can never do what a coach can do. A coach is there when the untidy business of theory meeting practice happens. A coach will get to know you and understand why you fail and how you can succeed. They will develop a relationship with you from which you can draw confidence, energy, and motivation. The regular appointments will motivate you to "do your homework" - this is where the real life-changing happens. It doesn't happen between the pages of a book - you have to go out into the world and tinker with it!

4. How does Life Coaching differ from counseling or Therapy? Life Coaching is not about deep self-analysis or regressing to childhood events. It is forward-looking - focused in the present and the future. It is practical and down-to-earth, looking at concrete ways to make real progress in the world in the areas listed above.

5. Are there any problems which Life Coaching is not appropriate for? Yes. Life Coaching is not appropriate for the following: serious medical conditions, drug addiction, or mental illness. That is why we also offer counseling as part of the River Source Treatment program. Your coach will not necessarily be an expert in finance, business management, law, or relationship counseling. A coach can help you in these areas. Not by giving professional advice in them, but by helping you to find the professional help you need.

6. How Much Does it Cost? If you are in-patient at the River Source, the Life Coaching is included in your fees and there is no extra cost. Please contact us at 1-888-697-7332 for details.

7. If have another question not answered here Just contact us at info@theriversource.org or 1-888-687-7332. No obligations. No charge.

8. Which areas do you serve? Most of my coaching is done as part of the in-paitent / residential treatment program at the river Source. Some can be done by phone and skype etc. If phone costs are an issue, we can use Internet Phones - I have a raft of alternatives available. If you prefer personal coaching face-to-face then meeting may be possible. If you want me to travel to you, then you will need to live within 50 miles, and there will be additional charges for the time and travel costs. Contact us for a price for your location. Alternatively, you may prefer to travel to us; we coach at our center, coaching offices and in quiet public areas.

9. How many sessions will I need? It depends on each individual. We are all different and have various life experiences we can't guarantee how long it will take in your particular case, but from extensive experience, the average is between 4 and 8 sessions. By that time, we have usually explored the problem space, defined clear, believable, exciting new goals, designed robust strategies to reach those goals, and started out down the path. We will have explored the "brain space" of the client too - finding their fears, hiddden beliefs and the other things which trap people into small sad lives for poor reasons. After that, they can push forwards on their own. Some folks stay with us during this period, but drop the frequency - this way they maintain focus and energy and access to problem-solving - but at a lower cost.

10. Do you coach outside the River Source? We can do aftercare (treatment) phone coaching for people all over the world. Skype calls over the Internet are free and effective. So wherever you life, if you want to work with the River Source we are only a quick call away from you.