Christine Hayes

I'm Christine Hayes, a Licensed Clinical Addiction Specialist and LCSW-A based near Asheville, NC. I'm also a single parent and a person in long-term recovery - which means I've lived a version of what many of my clients are navigating. That's not something I wear as a badge; it just means I understand what it actually takes to rebuild. I work with adults who are questioning their relationship with substances, navigating life after getting sober, or trying to hold everything together as a single parent without losing themselves in the process. My sessions are direct and warm. I don't do shame, and I don't pretend things are fine when they're not. I bring 3+ years of clinical experience - including intensive work in partial hospitalization - alongside real-world understanding of what recovery and reinvention actually look like.

I draw from Motivational Interviewing, Trauma-Focused CBT, ACT, and DBT depending on what actually fits your situation - I'm not attached to one method. Sessions feel more like a real conversation than a clinical appointment. I'll ask good questions, reflect things back honestly, and help you build a clearer picture of your patterns, your strengths, and what's keeping you stuck. I work especially well with people who've been told something is a problem but haven't quite gotten there themselves yet — that ambivalence is something I'm trained to work with, not push through. Recovery doesn't look the same for everyone, and neither does healing.

Expect me to listen more than I talk. I'll ask about your history, what brought you here, and what you're hoping to get out of working together. There's no pressure to have everything figured out - most people come in knowing something isn't working but not knowing exactly what. We'll spend the first session getting oriented so I understand where you're coming from. After that, we'll decide on a frequency and focus that makes sense for your actual life. I offer evening and weekday appointments, see clients in person near Asheville and Arden, and also work virtually across North Carolina. For teens, both parent and young person get separate time in the first session - there's no assumption you're on the same page before we've talked.