Teri Homan is an award-winning filmmaker and solo piano composer who received her bachelor of arts in social work in 1991 and holds a master’s degree in IT Management. She identifies as a lesbian, is twice divorced, and has two children. Teri is known for her compassion and sense of humor and considers herself a life-warrior who manages three different, but intertwined recovery journeys - childhood and adolescent trauma, mental illness, and gambling. 

Teri’s battle with mental illness is a tumultuous experience. At a young age, Teri’s mother had her committed to a psychiatric hospital. In her 30’s she was diagnosed with severe clinical depression, and about four years ago, Teri hit rock bottom when she spent all of her rent money at a casino. 

As a result, Teri entered treatment for gambling and started therapy and EMDR. Today, Teri works regularly with a shaman to promote physical and spiritual health.

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Kristin Arden is the lead clinician at Mindbloom, a mental health and wellbeing company on a mission to help people expand their human potential. Mindbloom offers science-backed treatments for anxiety and depression through guided ketamine therapy. Kristin is a proponent for alternative forms of treatment such as psychedelic medicine. 

She is a board-certified Psychiatric NP with over 15 years of experience working in mental health. She spent nearly a decade in the California state hospital system working with some of our nation’s most vulnerable. In addition to her clinical practice, she is a guest lecturer at NYU-School of Nursing on topics such as psychedelic therapy and substance use disorders.

Kristin graduated from NYU’s Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner program and specialty track in substance use and addictions where she received the distinguished student award. She is currently pursuing her DNP (Doctor of Nursing Practice) at Rush University.

Learn More About Mindbloom

• Mindbloom | www.mindbloom.com

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Charlie Gray is a mid-30’s, white, gay man living in Midwest America. For years he suffered as a high-functioning alcoholic experiencing chronic relapse. On July 8, 2020, Charlie entered sobriety and began penning his memoir as part of his healing process - At Least I'm Not The Frog: A Zany Memoir of Alcoholism & Recovery.

His book begins shortly after he graduated from Drury University at the age of twenty-two, bright-eyed, hopeful, and eager to become an Academy-Award winning actor. At the time, he was ravenous for experience, which he found, albeit not quite as he anticipated. Wandering from corporate banking to global travel, always with a bottle of vodka in tow, Charlie became privy to the glittering underbelly of an addictive lifestyle. Fearing this was his ultimate fate, he fled to a series of no less than 54 rehabs, detoxes, and psychiatric wards - all of which is recollected in his book. 

At Least I'm Not The Frog is currently trending on Amazon’s Hot New Releases in the substance abuse category. 

Charlie resides in his quaint hometown in Missouri, with his family, friends, and cat, Klaus. These days, he can usually be found searching for epic, inspiring moments or updating his blog on maintaining sobriety and clarity, aptly titled At Least I’m Not The Frog II.

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Vanessa Hurr is an award-winning editorial portrait Photographer and resident Corporate Development guru for Lionrock Recovery.

Her journey from entrepreneur to Lionrock teammate began in March of 2020 when a world-wide pandemic put a quick halt to her life as a photographer in the live events industry. Within weeks of coming onboard the Lionrock team to assist with an unprecedented influx of Americans seeking substance treatment, she lost her big brother, Matt, to an overdose in April of 2020. Even with an age difference of 5 years, Vanessa and her brother had an especially close relationship that was built on a foundation of friendship and a shared love for music. The grief and sense of loss surrounding his death was compounded with extreme isolation due to Covid. The result was a calling to action and a dedication to the task of supporting people who are seeking treatment and freedom from substance abuse.

Vanessa divides her time between Madison and Chicago with her husband and 2 little boys. Her life as a Photographer, in addition to being a dedicated part of the Lionrock team, is evolving as she adds the title of Cookbook Author. Vanessa will be traveling the US throughout 2021-2022 with a private chef to support and document a person's journey through recovery via food! Vanessa’s goal is to provide insight into basic cooking skills and also share individualized nutritional information to people who might not otherwise have access to essential dietary knowledge that supports their recovery. She wants to set people up for success, no matter what stage of recovery they're in, so that they can feel empowered when preparing meals for themself and/or their loved ones.

Episode Resources

• The Beacon Website | https://thebeaconhelps.org/

Connect with Vanessa Hurr

• Instagram | @vanessahurr

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As the drummer for the Canadian rock band Bonds of Mara and the cult cartoon and band, Sons of Butcher, Daryl Ralph is a musician. 

Born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario. Daryl had early aspirations of being a rockstar. At the age of 19, he moved out west, settling in White Rock, Kelowna and Vancouver, BC. The intent was for Daryl to embed his roots in his music career, but instead became heavily rooted in addiction. Unable to support himself and his addiction, Daryl returned to Ontario where this hardened lifestyle continued for over a decade and a half. 

Alcohol and intravenous drug use completely dominated his life, overshadowing any possibility of music success. This consumed all hopes of healthy lasting relationships and robbed him of all quality of life. At the age of 35, Daryl finally realized he needed help. Following several failed attempts at sobriety, Daryl finally found his way along a path towards health and recovery. 

Today, in addition to Bonds of Mara and Sons of Butcher, Daryl also plays guitar alongside his wife Jenny, in an acoustic duo playing the local circuit. You can hear Bonds of Mara, Sons of Butcher, and Jenny Howes Duo on all streaming platforms.

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Dr. Nicole Labor is an addiction specialist who attended and graduated medical school in Erie Pennsylvania at the Lake Erie College of osteopathic medicine. Following graduation and residency she completed a fellowship in addiction medicine through Geisinger in northeastern Pennsylvania.

She currently serves as the medical director at OneEighty, a treatment center that offers inpatient and outpatient chemical dependency and behavioral health services in Wooster, OH. She’s also the director of the Addiction Medicine Fellowship for Summa, the Medical Director for Interval Brotherhood Home, and the Medical Director of Esper Treatment Center in Erie, PA. 

Dr. Labor spends time educating healthcare professionals, churches, schools and community members on the disease of addiction and works to remove the stigma surrounding addiction. 

In 2019, she published a best-selling book titled The Addictoholic Deconstructed: An irreverently quick and dirty education by a doctor who says f*ck a lot. 

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Archie Messersmith-Bunting is known as 'The Feelings Guy.’ He is a mental wellness professional speaker who helps people discover how leading with their feelings can improve their quality of life and save the lives of those they come in contact with.

Archie’s passion stems from his personal life experience. He was adopted at a young age and grew up in a religious setting where ‘pray the gay away’ was the cultural norm. In fact, he spent much of his high school and college careers trying to de-gay himself. Eventually addiction and clinical depression led him to a place where he believed suicide was his only answer.

After battling back from the jaws of addiction and embracing his gay, Archie now uses his voice to remind others that we are all more than "just” the wreckage of our past. He teaches that individual moments and decisions in our life do not define us, but they can help design us.

Episode Resources

• The Atlantic | The Pandemic Did Not Affect Mental Health the Way You Think

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Joshua Shea is a pornography addiction expert, certified betrayal trauma coach, and the author of three books about pornography addiction, including He’s a Porn Addict…Now What? An Expert and Former Addict Answer Your Questions.

Since 2018, Joshua has given more interviews about pornography addiction and betrayal trauma than anybody in the world. During his interviews he does not portray an anti-porn message but rather promotes the ideas that porn addiction spans all demographics and those with a problem should seek help before it’s too late. After speaking openly about pornography addiction, he began receiving messages from wives, girlfriends, and mothers of addicts. As a result, he now speaks about the issue of working through betrayal trauma, especially with the partners of addicts and those who are facing infidelity.

Today, Josh is not only recovering from a 24-year pornography addiction; he’s also been sober since 2014. When he’s not speaking, coaching, or helping others, you’ll find Joshua in Central Maine with his wife and two children.

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Rachel Quast is a Master's level counselor, author, national speaker, and counseling group leader. Surviving anorexia, bulimia, binge eating, and spiritual and family trauma paved the path for her career in counseling. Rachel specializes in eating disorders, emotional eating, relationship struggles, issues with faith and spirituality, and depression and anxiety. 

Because of her life experience, she has a heart to help others through their healing journey. She is the founder of SHED (Self-Healing through EDucation) where she offers individual counseling, health coaching, and group counseling.

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The Episode Short is back for our brief mid-summer break! In this bite sized episode format, you’ll hear audio clips from one of our favorite episodes.

This week you'll hear short clips from Mike McAllister's story which was originally shared in Season 2 Episode 39. You'll hear Mike discuss feeling like his skin was too tight as a child. He'll share a crazy story of how is dad got him out of a place for troubled youth, and you'll hear how Mike finally reached a place where he could be honest with himself and honest with others at the beginning of his recovery journey. 

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