Joanne Brennan

I've spent 14 years working specifically with addiction — and what I've learned is that people don't get stuck because they lack willpower. They get stuck because something painful drove them to use in the first place, and no one ever helped them address it directly.

I'm an LCADC in New Jersey, which means I hold specialized clinical training in alcohol and drug counseling beyond standard licensure. I work with adults navigating substance use, trauma, PTSD, anxiety, depression, grief, and the particular challenges facing women in recovery.

My approach is built on one fundamental belief: you are in charge of your recovery, and you already hold the answers. My job is to help you find them.

I believe clients have the answers to their own problems. My role is to guide and ask the right questions — not to tell you what to do, but to help you discover what you already know and what you actually want.

For trauma and PTSD, I use Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) — a structured, evidence-based approach that helps you process the experiences that may have driven your substance use in the first place. When trauma goes unaddressed, recovery is harder. When it's worked through, everything else becomes more possible.

Sessions are collaborative, honest, and focused on where you want to go — not just on stopping what you've been doing.

The first session focuses on understanding your history — what you've been using, for how long, and what was happening in your life that led you there. I'll explore whether there are traumas or painful experiences that you may have been using substances to avoid.

Then we'll talk honestly about how that worked for you — and what you want to do now. That's always the most important question.