Austin O'Malley, LPC

(Licensed Professional Counselor)

My counseling style is to lay out the available models of substance abuse treatment while remaining flexible and open-minded. My mission is to build self-esteem and the confidence that change is possible, through creative insights and a blending of personalized approaches.

As a substance abuse counselor, I provide the tools of sobriety and encourage and support their use. My greatest strength is that I care about and respect the addicted individual. It was through my own journey in recovery, that I learned the joy of helping others. This enables me to keep it real, and have a deeper understanding of what the client is going through. I know the destruction substance abuse can cause to a family.

The counselor-client relationship is the most important aspect of counseling. A cooperative relationship based on professional ethics and confidentiality, builds trust. Working at Life Guidance Center allows me to create a safe and respectful environment where people can share without feeling threatened or judged. My services include an assessment of the client's situation towards co-creating treatment needs and goals.

Substance abuse treatment is a three legged stool; emotional, spiritual and physical. The challenge is to achieve a balance of all three. We look at what social-environmental factors maintain the addiction, and how to intervene in this pattern of behavior. I use Carefrontation not confrontation, to point out discrepancies between what clients "say" and what they actually "do". My training in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy helps me to identify and challenge negative core beliefs.

I also work with family members of addicts, couples counseling, grief counseling, depression, anxiety disorders, adjustment disorders, men's issues, gay men and women issues and struggles with Spirituality.