Brian Granneman

Hi, I’m Brian. I’m a licensed psychotherapist, and certified addictions and clinical trauma professional. I work with adults, teens, couples, and families dealing with trauma, addiction recovery, anxiety, depression, grief, relationship distress, and patterns that keep repeating.

Before becoming a therapist, I spent 12 years in law enforcement and later worked in child protective investigations. I am also in long-term addiction recovery. That background shapes the way I work: practical, direct, trauma-informed, and grounded in real-life change.

I earned my Master’s Degree in Addiction Counseling from the Hazelden Betty Ford Graduate School, graduating with a 4.0 GPA and receiving the Chief Academic Officer’s Award of Excellence.

I also host Doing the Work, a podcast about addiction recovery, trauma, relationships, and the uncomfortable parts of actually changing your life.

Many people already know more about their situation than they give themselves credit for. The challenge is that stress, fear, trauma, addiction, relationship conflict, and old survival strategies can make it difficult to see clearly or act on what they already know. My role is to help clients slow things down, make sense of what is happening, and identify practical steps forward.

Therapy with me tends to be interactive and conversational. I ask questions, offer observations, challenge assumptions when necessary, and help clients examine patterns that may have made sense at one point in their lives but are no longer serving them. Some sessions focus on processing difficult experiences. Others focus on building skills, improving communication, strengthening recovery, or making decisions with greater confidence and clarity.

I draw from a variety of approaches, including EMDR, DBT, Internal Family Systems, Motivational Interviewing, addiction recovery principles, and Gottman Method Couples Therapy. Rather than forcing clients into a particular model, I adapt the work to fit the person sitting in front of me.

Whether someone is working through trauma, navigating a relationship crisis, recovering from addiction, managing anxiety, or trying to break a long-standing pattern, the goal is the same: greater awareness, greater freedom of choice, and meaningful change that extends beyond the therapy office.

The first session is an opportunity for us to understand what is bringing you to therapy and what you hope will be different as a result of our work together. We will discuss current concerns, relevant history, important relationships, strengths, challenges, and any goals you may already have in mind.

I tend to ask a lot of questions during the initial session. Some people arrive with a very clear idea of what they want to work on, while others simply know that something is not working. Both are completely fine. Part of the process is helping organize the information, identify themes, and determine where our efforts will be most useful.

The first session is also a chance to determine whether we are a good fit. Therapy works best when there is trust, honesty, and a shared understanding of where we are headed. By the end of the appointment, my goal is for you to have a clearer understanding of the issues we will be addressing and a general roadmap for moving forward.