I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker living in Madison, Wisconsin. I have worked as a counselor in various capacities over the last 30 years. In the first half of my career I worked with adolescents young men dealing with issues that resulted in struggles with the juvenile justice system and placement outside their homes. After about 10 years working with adolescents I took a break to pursue follow my passion for landscaping and working outdoors. During that time I also had to come to terms with the realization that I was also an alcoholic/addict. Fortunately I was able to enter recovery and learn from others and a very seasoned counselor what a life in recovery requires and provides. At that time I shifted into a second phase in my career that focused on working with those struggling with use/addiction issues and all the factors that lead to them. I am currently working in a program that provides services to those that not only need, but want help. In this work, as well as my earlier work in my career I have worked with clients with a wide, wide range of issues that reflect just how hard it can sometimes be to live this human life. As such, I have come to a place where I have realized how valuable and necessary it is to have a space to be able to talk about and process our efforts toward becoming happier, more peaceful and accepting in our lives. I believe that we are all capable of living lives that have meaning for us and to come to a place of self-acceptance and compassion. I focus on getting to know clients and their goals and experience and finding ways to use the skills, strength and insight to work toward the lives they want. I truly believe that self-acceptance is a key to creating the life that we want/deserve. That being said, I know from my own experience in recovery that self-acceptance and compassion are necessary, but difficult goals to achieve. However, they are necessary precursors to making progress toward our best lives. The harder they are to imagine the more we need them.