In this episode, we are talking with Lance Woodly. Lance is the Hanley Center Clinical Chaplain. He is also a clinical social worker and spends his life helping people. 

Lance shares about his background and the path that brought him to seminary and becoming a chaplain. He shares his winding journey to find the ultimate meaning for his life and how even now he is a work in progress.   

• [00:38] We are excited to welcome Lance Woodly. Lance is a healthcare chaplain and clinical social worker.
• [02:46] The greatest challenge he finds with being a clinician and academic is that when a question is answered, a thousand more arise. 
• [03:56] It is always okay to be in process. We are all evolving, growing, learning, and in process. If we are, we are stagnant and that is worse than anything. 
• [04:22] Do not put pressure on yourself to know everything or to figure life out.  Take life as it comes. 
• [06:51] If we make meaning of each step, each step in any direction will begin to make sense. We don’t see what is in front of us but we just run committed to the step in front of us. 
• [07:48] As a chaplain they help carry the load of their brothers and sisters that struggle with any problem that may lie ahead.  To be a chaplain is to be a burden bearer. 
• [09:55] For the religious and the nonreligious, the idea of making meaning and interpreting their reality becomes essential. 
• [11:51] His faith was put on trial.  He went from trying to defend the existence of God to see what the benefits are of believing in God. 
• [13:08] When people are hurting and broken, that's the common ground.
• [15:46] Lance shares how his journey of music got him to this point. 
• [17:13] If you want something, you have to work hard for it. 
• [19:11] In college, he took and flunked his first Bible course but then something just changed. 
• [20:10] He realized that he approached life naturally as a philosopher. Once he surrendered to that he began to operate in that gift. 
• [22:43] Lance shares about his guardian angel. 
• [25:19] His guardian angel took care of him and told him the drug life was not for him and he would take care of him. 
• [27:52] He became very curious about who he was as a person.  
• [29:39] Meaning comes up again and again in Lance’s story. 
• [31:16] What is this teaching me? What has this person’s meaning been in my life?

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In this episode, we are talking with Vanessa Brenner. Vanessa is the Clinical Program Director at the Hanley Center at Origins.  

Vanessa shares about her journey from the finance industry to being a family counselor and recently returning to the women’s unit as the Program Director. She shares the impact kind words and encouragement have on her own life and how life-giving it can be to offer the same to others. She also shares about being genuine and honest with others even when it can be tough. 

• [00:39] We are excited to welcome Vanessa Brenner. Vanessa is the Clinical Program Director at the Hanley Center at Origins. 
• [01:20] She is a licensed mental health counselor in the state of Florida. She has been living in Florida since 2008 and prior to coming to Florida, she worked in the finance industry. 
• [02:54] When she changed industries and went back to school, she knew from the very beginning that she wanted to work with addicts and alcoholics.
• [04:37] When she came to Hanley, she started working with families. She is a family counselor, mother, fiance, and exerciser. 
• [06:30] She is returning as the Program Director of the women’s unit.   
• [08:38] We are all human. There are times when we feel very frustrated, stuck, and that we are not getting anywhere.  
• [10:13] It is okay to be stuck. There is hope. We are not going to be stuck forever. Kind words or encouragement can often help someone get out of their rut.
• [11:21] Think about where you can be that encouragement for others.  
• [12:58] You have no idea the impact you can make when reaching out to someone. Vanessa keeps a special email folder with notes of encouragement she has received.  
• [14:47] It isn’t about the big things. It is about the little things we can do to support and encourage others.  
• [15:58] Her own alcoholism and experimenting with drug use brought her to a place where she knew she wanted to help people.  
• [17:02] She felt like she wanted to share her human experience with others.  
• [19:25] Drinking was a very big part of the culture she was immersed in, but not her home culture.
• [20:26] She suffered serious consequences from her drinking and that sealed the deal that she didn’t want to go on like that. She did some treatment, got a sponsor, and worked the Twelve Steps. 
• [21:34] You can live with this and have a happy life sober. It is not easy sometimes, but it is a lot easier than the other way.  
• [23:32] Being genuine is telling people the truth. The truth isn’t always easy, but it is necessary.  
• [24:51] Everyone of us is going to encounter people and that means that we have multiple opportunities for an act of kindness and something that can build people up. Look for the moments to build someone up today.    
• [26:39] We have opportunities to build someone up and help them get out of the rut that we all struggle with. 

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In this episode, we are talking with Bart Ross. Bart is the Recovery & Alumni Services Coordinator on the Florida campuses. 

Bart shares about his journey and how he got to where he is now. He shares his story of surrendering to God out of desperation and how everything changed. He also shares about how he works on his relationship and relies on God daily for strength, especially in uncomfortable or anxious situations. 

• [00:41] We are excited to welcome Bart Ross. Bart is the Recovery & Alumni Care Services Coordinator on the Florida campuses.
• [01:56] Bart was born in Queens, New York.  He has a passion and love for helping people.  
• [03:10] His father taught him a good work ethic at his business.  He struggled to fit in with people and discovered alcohol.  
• [04:51] He shares his experience in the 12 Step process and surrendering to God.
• [06:50] He found God and everything changed.  He was willing to believe out of desperation.   
• [08:12] He works on his relationship with God every day.  
• [09:38] He needed a God so big that he couldn’t figure it out and didn’t know all the answers.  
• [10:48] He relies on God to give him the strength to do things outside of his comfort zone instead of running.  He was actually robbing himself of those experiences. 
• [11:59] When we are healthy, we are still struggling.    
• [12:21] He needs to speak to God about the alcoholic before I speak to the alcoholic about God. 
• [13:58] One morning he woke up in desperation and his friend told him where to find a 12 Step meeting. They convinced him to keep coming to the meetings. 
• [16:10] He started his journey very oppositionally.  
• [17:32] God was always in his life.  He just didn’t acknowledge it.
• [18:32] Bart’s sponsor told him to go to meetings until he liked them and now he loves them. 
• [20:20] We can miss the beauty of the forest because of the ugliness of some of the trees.  We often give God a bad rap because of some of the representatives. 
• [22:48] If someone is struggling and they don’t see hope, they probably don’t even know what is wrong with them. 
• [23:08] You can’t fix something if you don’t know what is broken. 
• [24:32] If at some point you say you shouldn’t be doing this anymore, and you’re doing it anyway, it has now become a problem.  It is the loss of will and ability to choose.
• [26:15] Every day he asks God to direct his thinking and plan his day. He doesn’t need the power to keep himself sober because God has got it. 
• [27:57] If Bart had to make the choice each day, he would be nervous.  Based on his track record he would make the wrong choice. 
• [30:18] The greatest gift in the world is to be able to show somebody a path to being recovered. 
• [31:46] If you’re struggling with finding help and finding recovery, you are not alone. You don’t have to have it all figured out. 
• [33:52] He can’t deny that his life changed when he turned it over to the care of a higher power.  He doesn’t know how it happened, but he can’t deny it.  
• [35:01] Recovery and spiritual wholeness and wellness aren’t about your problems all going away.  It is about being able to struggle successfully.  

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In this episode, we are talking with Dr. Michael Hernandez. Michael is the medical director and psychiatrist at our South Padre Island location in Texas. He works in several different psychiatric specialties at this location.  

Michael shares about his day to day work experience and why he enjoys his work so much. He also shares about his journey as a dad, physician, and psychiatrist. We wrap up our discussion talking about the importance of finding little ways to feed your spirit.  

• [00:43] We are excited to welcome Dr. Michael Hernandez. 
• [01:55] During the daytime he is a psychiatrist and he works in every aspect of the field from acute care to dealing with the chronically mentally ill. Now he has had further exposure to substance abuse disorders.   
• [03:35] He enjoys working in all these different aspects of psychiatry because his workday looks different each day.  
• [05:26] In school he had plans to go to college and become a doctor. In high school, he went to a magnet school and studied health careers. Then he changed courses to engineering but ended up going back and attending medical school. 
• [06:58] Psychiatry felt the most like home for Dr. Hernandez.  
• [09:04] You don’t really know if a career path is a perfect fit for you until you are in it. You really don’t know until you try.  
• [09:34] You might find that you want something, but when you are in it actually isn’t the right fit for you. That is part of the journey.  
• [10:54] Health would be thriving in the different aspects of mind, body, and spirit.  
• [13:01] A healthy body is important, but it is also important to incorporate the mental aspect of it.  
• [13:41] If we want to continue to grow, we have to do the hard stuff.  
• [14:10] We have to take the time to figure out what we need individually to thrive.  It is usually different for each of us. 
• [15:13] Often exploration is turning the eye inward and figuring out yourself and what works for you. 
• [18:11] Many people are struggling because of the current health crisis and there are also a lot of people under a sense of political stress. It is time to get them from the fear they are feeling and get them grounded in the realities in their environment. 
• [19:38] Sometimes we need to go through our level of needs checklist and assess if our needs are being met and ask what areas could change be made to make you feel more comfortable.  
• [20:39] What are my basic needs and are they being met? If basic needs aren’t being met, how can I make that happen? What are the things I want that bring me comfort and how can I make them a little bit better?
• [21:19] Cara shares about the self-care plan she made for herself.  
• [22:55] Your body does need food, shelter, and clothing but your mind and spirit also need curiosity, learning, and peace. It is hard to feel good if you are not at least on that journey in that direction. 
• [23:42] What is one thing that you will do today that will help you stay grounded and make things a little better? Exercise, meditation, and music are all great examples of small things that can keep us grounded.   
• [25:26] Find these little things that can feed your spirit.   

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In this episode, we are talking with Scott Vandenberg. Scott is the Executive Director of Origins Recovery Center, Hananh’s House and the PHP/IOP programs on South Padre Island, TX. Scott has been a dedicated member of the Origins team since 2014. Scott holds a Bachelor of Science degree in sociology from Boise State University and a Master of Arts degree in addiction studies from Hazelden Betty Ford Graduate School of Addiction Studies. He is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor, and Certified Anger Resolution Therapist. Scott’s approach to co-occurring disorders treatment integrates clinical science and 12-Step recovery methodologies to provide services and interventions that address the physical, mental, and spiritual elements of substance use and mental health disorders.

Scott shares his journey to recovery and becoming the program director. He shares his story, what he learned along the way, and how the 12-Step recovery methods finally helped start his recovery.  

• [00:42] We are excited to welcome Scott Vandenberg. 
• [02:34] Scott is the senior program director at Origins South Padre Island.  He takes the safety of the patients and the integrity of the program very seriously.  
• [03:40] They are a twelve-step program, but also offer other services that are in place to support the process of the patients through the twelve steps.  
• [05:47] In order to be able to navigate this world and maintain our own sanity and mental health, we need to be able to rely on some humor and see the light side in everything.  
• [07:56] Humor is such a beautiful thing and so necessary in all healthcare.  
• [08:41] Like most of the people working in this field he is not motivated by fortune and glory, but instead genuine concern for others.  He is also in recovery since 2012.
• [10:12] His drug and alcohol use started in college and escalated over a number of years. 
• [10:54] Scott was stuck in this place in which he was motivated by nothing except changing the way he felt.  
• [11:32] At the end of the day he never liked himself and always had this emptiness inside of him. 
• [13:01] He knew he was going to die if he kept drinking. Fear of dying kept him abstinent for ten days. He didn’t understand why he was drinking when he didn’t want to. 
• [15:30] He knew he had a problem with drugs and alcohol. He was unwilling to refer to himself as an alcoholic or drug addict. He started to experience some medical and physical consequences.  
• [17:57] During his first rehab experience he had an epiphany that he may be able to help people in rehab professionally. He really connected with that world. 
• [18:38] He had great intentions when he got out of rehab the first time and he lasted for two weeks because he didn’t follow any of the aftercare recommendations. 
• [20:21] Scott shares his story of being arrested, going to jail, and detoxing in jail. 
• [21:24] Over the course of four years, in and out of multiple rehabs he had nothing left. Every time he went to rehab he would have a great experience and when he got out he would typically be drunk again within hours. 
• [22:47] As a last effort his mom put him on a plane in May of 2012 and he came to Origins. In the past, he had never got well and recovered from his illness or got the tools he needed. 
• [23:56] He didn’t know how to navigate the recovery world outside of treatment. 
• [25:24] The past rehabs suggested that he had the power to keep himself sober if he just made better decisions and it almost killed him. He wasn’t in control of himself or his own actions.
• [27:45] He had periods of detoxing, but for some reason, he would always go back, and then once he went back he couldn’t control how much he drank or used and he couldn’t stop without help.  
• [29:51] He came to this new understanding that he was different, it was not a matter of choice, and he didn’t have the power to stop.
• [31:19] He kicked and screamed his way through steps two and three. He had to come to terms with the fact that his way wasn’t working at all and that he needed help. 
• [33:20] He finally understood that surrendering was not a sign of weakness.  Vulnerability is a sign of strength.  
• [35:19] There is hope.  

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In this episode, we are talking with Dr. Anna Lisa De Lima. Dr. De Lima is a psychotherapist, clinical supervisor, and program director. She is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in the state of Florida as well as a National Certified Counselor (NCC). In her work as a clinician, Dr. De Lima utilizes a variety of evidence-based protocols in the treatment of mental health disorders, SUDs, and trauma. Dr. De Lima has worked with first responders from a variety of backgrounds and specialties in her work as a clinician. 

We talk about Dr. Anna Lisa’s journey from equestrian to her career as a psychotherapist. She shares how an accident led her to a job at a firefighters union and a passion for first responders.   

• [00:41] We are excited to welcome Dr. Anna Lisa De Lima. 
• [01:34] Dr. Anna Lisa has dedicated much of her career to helping first responders. 
• [02:58] She is from Trinidad and spends most of her time outside of work with her dog and horses. Her previous career was as an equestrian and she used to compete for her country all around the world.  
• [05:19] Since she is an introvert she needs the downtime with her animals to recharge and be able to give back again.     
• [05:51] Extroverts recharge by being around people, but introverts recharge by being alone.  
• [07:14] Tests like Myers-Briggs can offer a lot of information and insight to help people understand themselves better.  
• [08:01] Dr. Anna Lisa shares her journey from equestrian to where she is now. 
• [09:01] In surgery she lost 70% of her colon and had to have a colostomy bag.  At that moment, she really struggled with the shock and it was a difficult road. 
• [09:47] She was told they didn’t think she would ride again and that was extremely hard because all she knew about herself was that she was a rider. 
• [11:15] After all this she was at a crossroads, and then after months of struggling she decided to go back and get her master’s degree in counseling psychology.   
• [12:24] Transition, healing, and figuring things out takes time. 
• [14:20] Every day she fought to be able to ride horses again and she ended up doing that.     
• [15:33] She ended up getting a job at a firefighters union and that started her journey and passion towards firefighters and first responders.  
• [18:08] It ended up being right where she needed to be at the right time and she found a passion for what first responders were doing and the trauma they experience.  
• [20:13] Fire responders are human beings just like us. Their job is to compartmentalize and keep people safe, but at some point, those compartments get really full and they need their own support.  
• [22:27] Therapists need to know that it is different working with someone in combat duty. They have to be able to compartmentalize.  
• [23:57] Often fire responders learn to compartmentalize so well that even in their family environment they are not able to communicate the things they need to.  
• [24:44] They often don’t have down time between calls to transition. We often need a few minutes to decompress.  
• [26:23] Families don’t always understand what their first responder is going through. 
• [29:23] There are a lot of fire responders and their families who deserve and need our love, support, and gratitude. Thank you for serving our community.
• [32:19] Asking for help is the bravest thing that you can do and it is critical. It is okay to ask for help, support each other, and show emotion.  

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In this episode, we are talking with Adam Jablin. Adam Jablin is a #1 best selling author with a demonstrated history of working in the health, wellness, and fitness industry. He is the author of the book, Lotsaholic: From a Sick to Sober Superman. He is also a coach and speaker. Adam’s mission is to help other people crack through their fears, their denials, and connect to their enthusiasm. 

In this episode, Adam shares about his journey of getting clean and sober at Hanley Center at Origins. We talk about the difference between happiness and peace. We also talk about how most people are chasing happiness when they really should be pursuing peace.  

• [00:42] We are excited to welcome Adam Jablin. 
• [01:09] Adam is a #1 best selling author. He is the author of Lotsaholic: From a Sick to Sober Superman. He is also a coach and a speaker.
• [03:40] He was given the title “Lotsaholic” at Hanley during the family program.  
• [05:05] His extreme behavior mirrored his alcoholism addiction.    
• [05:58] Adam feels very grateful to have been sent to Hanley where he was taught all these valuable lessons that changed his life.  
• [08:14] He is a very natural bodybuilder. 
• [09:35] Addiction defies all logic.  
• [10:48] His first nine days felt like torture because something was going on inside of him. An awakening was going on and something inside of him was dying. 
• [12:26] Research tells us that what happens after an event a lot of times has the most significant weight of how well we remember or how we experience it.  
• [15:06] Adam is not a sober coach. He does take components of the spiritually and inserts them into his coaching.  
• [18:50] It is easy for him to spot when people are struggling with a spiritual issue.  
• [21:45] Many things can make you happy, but many times we actually want peace. When you are at peace nothing is going to shake you.      
• [22:45] People are usually chasing happiness, but peace is usually what they want and need.
• [23:46] Honestly, hope, surrender and service are for everybody.  
• [25:02] Adam learned that his life was wired to go from A to Z as fast as possible without seeing what was going on around him. He never stopped and smelled the roses. It is not always the best thing to rush through life. 
• [27:16] Whatever you think will make you happy, will for a minute, but then we start searching for the next thing and keep chasing our tails. 
• [29:32] Enjoy the moment and be here now because this too shall pass. Learning how to live in pursuit of peace and being spiritually connected all the time gives us the opportunity to not be a yo-yo in life.  
• [30:56] Adam shares about the toy statue of Superman that he gave to John when he got his one-year medallion.

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