Substance Abuse Counseling
What if your recovery wasn't just about staying sober?
Private addiction recovery support for adults in the Greenacres area and all of Florida. Flexible afternoon, evening, and weekend sessions.
When You Need Extra Help in Recovery
Maybe you’re worried about relapse. Maybe you just need a higher level of support than you’re getting from your sober friends and sponsorship family. Or maybe you just want to thrive.
If these thoughts sound familiar, you might benefit from private therapy tailored for those in recovery and managing co-occurring disorders:
“I’m in recovery, but I still feel emotionally overwhelmed.”
"Now that I’m sober, I want to understand why I do the things I do."
“I’ve been abstinent for a while, and now I want to focus on how to be happy.”
“I want to repair the relationships that I damaged while I was drinking.”
“My self-esteem took a real hit in active addiction, and I want to start liking myself again.”
“I’m taking life without alcohol or drugs one day at a time, but some days are harder than others, and I need better coping skills for dealing with triggers.”
“I’d like to work through the mental health issues that led me to start using in the first place.”
"I'm doing my best to stay sober, but I need more support than I get at a meeting."
Who I Work With
Adults in early recovery who need guidance and support.
Adults who are returning to recovery after a recurrence of use.
Adults in recovery who feel like something is missing in their recovery.
Adults whose loved ones are struggling with addiction.
I'm Michelle Robin Gould, Licensed Mental Health Counselor.
I’m a therapist who knows about both addiction and recovery.
I provide specialized addiction recovery support for adults throughout Florida, with a home base in Greenacres. Whether you are in Palm Beach County or connecting with me virtually from across the state, I’m dedicated to providing you with the strategies and support you need—as a therapist who truly understands both the clinical side of addiction and the personal reality of recovery.
My connection to the South Florida recovery community runs deep; my own journey began with my first meetings in Boca Raton back in 2008. This personal history reinforces my commitment to the community that profoundly shaped my path and my professional expertise.
My Unique Approach to Recovery
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I offer a concierge approach to therapy, which means I provide truly exceptional, personalized service. You're always treated as an individual with your own unique needs. I prioritize direct communication and accessibility, making sure you feel seen, heard, and genuinely valued. Read more about my approach.
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If you’ve ever been in therapy before, you know how important the between-session work can be. I give you a personalized, private e-library of therapy content to work on that helps you transfer the realizations you acquire in therapy to concrete skills and real-life situations. You can read more about the e-library in my FAQs.
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In my therapy sessions, we focus on solutions. I help you identify and build upon your inherent strengths, empowering you to move forward with dignity and purpose. A core belief guiding my work is empowering you, my client, to exercise greater control over your life. I strive to foster your resilience, self-awareness, and self-efficacy, giving you the tools to steer your own path.
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I incorporate a variety of research-supported approaches specifically tailored for addiction recovery. These include Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Solution-Focused Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Positive Psychology, and Mindfulness. Additionally, when clients are open to it, I utilize 12-Step Facilitation (TSF) which helps clients explore 12-step programs with the added benefit of my lived experience and insights.
Addiction Affects All Areas of Your Life
If you found yourself in the grip of habits you desperately wished you could shake, you likely realized that addiction impacted every facet of your life. In your active addiction, you probably faced guilt and shame, exhaustion, or numbness. You may have struggled with out-of-control reactions or impulsive behaviors you gave in to without understanding why. You may have found your way to my website because you’re ready to get off of the constant emotional rollercoaster that follows you from active addiction into early recovery.
My concierge service for addiction recovery in Greenacres and online throughout Florida is designed specifically for adults like you, whether you’re just out of rehab, have some time in recovery but feel stuck, or are simply ready to stop pretending that everything is okay.
My concierge approach ensures you receive exceptional, personalized attention, with all sessions conducted online for ultimate convenience, privacy, and accessibility across Florida. This means you can get the help you need without having to quit your job, leave your home, or put your life on hold. Research shows that online treatment for both substance use disorders and behavioral addictions is just as effective as in-person treatment, and therapy is an important tool for relapse prevention.
You're looking for stability, confidence, and peace of mind. We'll work on facing challenges like managing cravings and urges, untangling racing thoughts, coping with anxiety, and building emotional steadiness. It's time to reclaim your life and begin your journey to a happier, healthier future in recovery.
Statistics show that nearly 21 million Americans have at least one addiction, yet only 10% of them receive sobriety help and treatment. You don’t have to be among the 90% of people who never get substance abuse help, and you don’t have to keep returning to use to get relief.
I can help you by providing nonjudgmental addiction support, coping strategies, recovery tools, skills training, and encouragement.
Comprehensive Addiction Support in Your Community
Therapy Helps All Forms of Addiction
I work with individuals who’ve struggled with both substance addictions like alcohol, illegal drugs, and prescription medications, and behavioral addictions, such as codependency, compulsive shopping, and excessive internet use. They have the same symptoms in common, and the same potential consequences. The same solutions work for both, and help is readily available through my practice.
We will tap into your time in active addiction for information about how you got here, but we will not use it as a source of blame or shame. There’s a huge difference between taking responsibility and living with a mindset of blame and shame. We will acknowledge the things you don’t like about your feelings and actions, and we will take steps to help you accept the past, forgive yourself, and move forward.
We will focus on solutions by identifying your strengths and building on them. If you’re in a head space where you do not feel as though you have many strengths, I promise you right now that you do, and I will help you recognize and expand on them.
Addiction and Mental Health (Dual Diagnosis)
As a specialist in dual diagnosis, I provide therapy for addiction recovery alongside any co-occurring mental health disorders that frequently appear with drug and alcohol addiction. This can include anxiety, depression, PTSD, ADHD, borderline personality disorder, and bipolar disorder, which often intertwine with addiction.
Most people who develop an addiction have a history of trauma. You may have heard trauma referred to as “trauma with a big T” and “trauma with a little t.” Trauma is subjective. If an event had a lasting negative impact on you, it was a trauma. It’s not for someone else to tell you it wasn’t.
It is common for people to deal with trauma by using substances as a temporary coping skill - until their substance use becomes compulsive or leads to other problems. I say “or” because it’s possible to lack the compulsion to use or act out and still experience negative or even dire consequences from addiction.
Many people who develop addictions have what we call ACEs - adverse childhood experiences. Therapy can be a useful tool for dissecting the reasons behind your addiction, restoring manageability to your life, and moving forward toward your dreams and goals.
Common Challenges in Early Recovery
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You may feel your life is dominated by frustration, resentment, anger, irritability, and conflicts. Do you feel like your emotions control you? How would it feel to take back control?
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Do you feel like you're out of touch with the things that are important to you? If you overthink to the point of avoiding decisions, you may feel trapped or powerless. We can change that.
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Have your relationships suffered with friends, family, and colleagues? Is it hard to get honest with yourself? How’d you like to replace the shame and guilt with peace and self-esteem?
Taking Recovery to the Next Level
If you’ve already achieved some time in recovery but find yourself feeling stuck, I have the specific tools and insights to help you take your recovery to the next level. My approach is deeply informed by my experience as a substance use therapist and as a person in long-term recovery myself. I've specialized in this critical area since I earned my counseling degree in 2012. My addiction recovery clients tell me that they feel more comfortable trusting my work with them because of my lived experience in recovery. They know I can understand what they're feeling.
Recovery from addiction is not just about getting rid of the thoughts and behaviors that lead you to use substances or act out on your addiction. Recovery is about learning and practicing new thoughts and behaviors that help you build a life that feels worth living.
We are all too aware that life is full of negative situations that cause stress, sadness, frustration, and difficulty. Trying to make all that go away does not bring us a life worth living. Why? Because it’s not a realistic expectation to think that we can make all the negative events and feelings disappear. Learning the skills to deal with stressors in any situation is realistic, and these skills help us balance life’s challenges with life’s pleasures. When we cultivate a state of well-being, we can function and thrive no matter what is going on in our lives.
Addiction-Related Issues I Can Help You With
Emotional Stability
Untangling racing thoughts that won’t let you rest.
Stabilizing the seesaw between overwhelming anxiety or emotional numbness.
Relapse Prevention
Managing cravings, urges, and emotional triggers that could lead you to use or act out.
Having the skills to balance life’s challenges with life’s pleasures.
Self-Esteem
Strengthening confidence and internal steadiness—without needing a drink or a pill to get there.
Making decisions you’re proud of.
Interpersonal Skills
Repairing damaged relationships.
Developing patience for relationship repair — without feeling the need to micromanage other people.
Healthy Habits
Finding a healthy balance or routine in life
Learn distress tolerance coping skills that you feel comfortable using.
Peace of Mind
Building emotional steadiness when the outside world is anything but.
Finding happiness in recovery after active addiction.
Life in Recovery: What to Expect
What Changes in Recovery
Through your journey in recovery, you can anticipate significant positive transformations. As we work together in session and you apply that insight in real life, you'll learn to get comfortable with your feelings, manage your emotions effectively, and repair damaged relationships. Expect improvements in your memory and focus, as well as your physical health, all leading to greater stability, confidence, and profound peace of mind.
Your Journey Starts Here
It's time to step out from under that "black cloud" and truly start living a full life in recovery. I understand that addiction doesn't adhere to a schedule, which is why I schedule appointments seven days a week to accommodate your needs.
Tackle feeling powerless.
Fill your recovery toolbox.
Learn to love your own company.
Become proud of who you are.
Frequently Asked Questions About Addiction Recovery
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Yes.
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Depends on what you’re looking for. If that’s your jam, I do. If it’s not, we’ll go in a different direction. I will say that in my experience, 12-step programs work, but only if you’re actually doing the 12-step work. If all you’re doing is going to meetings and filling a chair, you’re missing out on most of the benefits. If you’re turned off by the religious overtones, I can help you compartmentalize that aspect of 12-step recovery so it works for you too.
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Sure.
For you:
In addition to working with adults who have problems with substance use, I also work with family members who need a recovery of their own - sometimes for psychoeducation, sometimes to deal with the toll their loved one’s addiction has taken on their lives. In that circumstance, you will be my client rather than the family member who has an addiction.
For them:
If you’re contacting me to work with your family member, they must be over 18 and located in Florida. You are welcome to ask questions about my services if you are looking at different therapists. If you decide to go with me, your family member will need to reach out to me themselves to start the intake process. They can do that on my contact page. If you are financially responsible for them and wish to pay for their therapy, they will need to complete an authorization for disclosure and release of information, and you will need to complete a third party payor agreement prior to scheduling the first session. The client can contact me for the the link to that form.
If you have more questions, please see my FAQ library.
Ready to start your sobriety journey?
If you're in Greenacres, Boca Raton, or anywhere else in Florida and feel ready to start your journey to recovery, it’s easy to start your personalized journey to lasting change.