Wonderful to meet you! I’m Lorraine Bockman.

It might sound strange to hear me say it’s wonderful to meet you. After all, you’re visiting my website right now because something feels seriously wrong in your life. So chances are that when you think of words to describe our meeting here in cyberspace, “wonderful” is nowhere near the top of your list.

That’s OK. Let me explain. It’s wonderful to meet you because, in deciding to browse my website, you’re moving a step closer towards healing whatever brought you here.

I totally understand that choosing an Addictions Counselor is a big decision. You want to make absolutely sure you find the right person. (As I say in my Therapist’s Manifesto: “finding a therapist is like finding a good pair of shoes: you need a good fit for it to be comfortable.”)

This page exists to help you get a sense of who I am, and whether we’d have that “comfortable fit” if we worked together. If you have any questions about anything you read here, please just contact me.

Or, if you’d prefer to simply check out my education and credentials, you can do that too.

I’ve dedicated most of my adult life to helping people heal

It started over 25 years ago, when I did my undergraduate degree in Psychology. As soon as I graduated, I wanted to get out into the world and start using my shiny new degree to help people.

My first job was in a psychiatric hospital, where I very quickly found myself working in the adolescent addictions recovery unit. Discovering that I could help these young people start to heal from the pain and scars of everything they’d been through was a revelation. And… I’d experienced the effects of alcohol abuse in my own past too, so I felt as though I knew where they were coming from.

Suddenly I knew what I wanted to do with my life.

I rapidly realized that I’d need more qualifications to do the kind of work I wanted to do. So a Masters degree in Social Work followed the Bachelors. Then came the arduous and challenging time of work, supervision, and testing to get licensed as both a Clinical Social Worker and an Addictions Counselor.

And while I haven’t always worked directly in the field of Addictions Recovery, the times that I do are the most fulfilling of my professional life.

Here’s what I’ve learned in over two decades as a Licensed Addictions Counselor

• My clients are some of the most courageous people I’ve had the privilege to meet (I know this because I know how much courage it takes to ask for help!)
• Not every therapist is a good fit for every client
• Sometimes the biggest gift I can give my clients is to listen to them: fully and completely (I know THIS because my clients keep telling me how much they appreciate it!)
• My job is not to tell you what to do, argue with you, or cure you: it’s to guide you along the path to finding your own healing
• Being part of someone else’s journey to healing from addiction is more rewarding than I could have imagined

So that’s who I am. How about you?

You may not be quite ready to work with me yet. If so, feel free to keep looking around my website. Explore the services I offer. See if the healing I can help you find would make enough difference in your life to be worth the risk of reaching out.

But if you know it’s time, and you’re ready to connect NOW? I’d love to hear from you.

Contact me today for a free, no-obligation consultation, and let’s figure out how I can best help you!