Date: Tuesday, January 31st, 2023, 1:45 pm-2:30pm EST

Speaker: Sally Anderson, Licensed Professional Counselor, Jewish Family & Career Services Atlanta

In this presentation, we will explore how individuals who do not experience secure bonding as children have an increased likelihood to self-medicate. Often substance use becomes an attempt to compensate for the lack of safe attachment to others. Additionally, we will explore how attachment can be used to help in the treatment of substance use.

About Sally:

Sally Anderson is a licensed professional counselor who has worked in the field of substance use disorders and treatment for 10 years. She completed her Master’s in Professional Counseling from Georgia State University and has worked in both in-patient and outpatient settings providing counseling to individuals and families in their journeys to heal from substance use. Sally worked at Northview Counseling and Recovery where she served as the program director for an intensive outpatient program for two years. She has also provided therapy services to clients who were part of the state drug court project and also provided crisis stabilization to individuals who were receiving detox services. Most recently, she has worked at Jewish Family and Career services, as part of the HAMSA team, where she provides assessments, evaluations, group, and individual counseling to those who have been navigating their paths to recovery. Currently she has been using attachment models and Internal Family Systems to assist clients who have significant trauma histories in conjunction with substance use issues. She values helping clients understand the role early childhood experiences and relationships have played a role in the development of their drug and alcohol use. Additionally, she believes that recovery happens in the context of healthy connections to other people. Thus, she uses the therapeutic relationship to help clients develop secure attachments so that they may heal the deeper wounds that have contributed to their using.