Addiction Counseling
As a counselor in recovery, I am honored to help others walk their own unique path to healing. You can expect evidence based, trauma informed, and client focused care. I take a many-paths approach, which means I will support you through your chosen approach including abstinence, harm reduction, sober curious, California sober, etc. Not all clients who struggle with substances require the same intervention. To me, each client is a unique human with unique needs. I strive to truly see you, to be the one that understands, the one who will walk with you instead of telling you what direction to go. Together, we can help you create a life you don’t need to escape from.
Charlie Shockley, LCSW
“The lotus is a flower that grows in the mud. The deeper the mud, the more beautiful the flower.”
It is through the darkness that we find the light. And so, we shall honor both.
Treating others with the utmost respect and kindness is an integral part of my practice. I have developed a shame-free approach to addiction care that creates a safe space where you are free to be fully transparent.
I understand that substance use is often a symptom developed in reaction to a primary problem. While other rehab facilities focus solely on the problem of addiction, my individual counseling specializes in treating the whole person. Many rehab centers are focused purely on the outcome of a substance use disorder. This can lead to an unhealthy mindset of pass or fail in the person struggling with addiction. My approach is not rooted in systems where the outcome results in potential shame. In fact, when clients tell me they’ve used; my first reaction is always, “I’m sorry that you’re suffering.
I believe you are the expert of your own experience. There is no one who knows you like you do. My job is to help you discover your own authentic path to recovery. Recovery is not a switch that we turn on and off, but a path that holds many different emotions and actions on the way to wholeness.
I understand that many substance use disorders and mental health disorders are rooted in traumatic experiences, typically during childhood. Exploring your life experiences is key to understanding how you developed a vulnerability to substance misuse. Healing from those experiences must be a part of your journey in order to achieve lasting results.
In order to address the whole person, I treat co-occurring mental health and trauma disorders including PTSD, complex trauma (C-PTSD), depression, anxiety and more.
Addiction treatment often fails to achieve lasting results because clients and providers only target ending substance use rather than healing pain and cultivating joy. We will identify and address all the biological, psychological, and environmental factors that contribute to your substance use and guide you on a holistic journey to come home to yourself.
A Psychedelic Approach to Addiction Recovery?
A psychedelic-informed approach to addiction recovery is rooted in a worldview that contrasts sharply with the dynamics that drive substance use. Whereas addictive behaviors often revolve around “checking out”—numbing, escaping, or avoiding overwhelming internal states—a psychedelic-informed framework emphasizes “tuning in.” It invites individuals to move toward their experiences rather than away from them, embracing a philosophy of in and through instead of avoidance. Central themes such as ego dissolution, acceptance, surrender, shadow work, and deepened connection all reflect this shift: loosening rigid defenses, softening the grip of the protective ego, and making room for honest engagement with one’s inner world. This perspective holds that by facing what has been exiled, allowing what has been resisted, and reconnecting with what has been fragmented, healing becomes possible. Ultimately, a psychedelic-informed approach is not about the medicine itself but about adopting a way of relating to oneself—one that values awareness, courage, integration, and connection as antidotes to the disconnection and avoidance that sustain addictive cycles.