Dear Brian,

Our family was so impressed and amazingly exhausted by the whole family therapy weekend.  What a deep process for everyone!  Thanks so much to you and Rick and Naz for putting it all together.  I know it was helpful to all of us, and it really seemed to change attitudes in many of the family members there.  We are particularly lucky to have some family time in the mountains this week, just to have fun being together without an agenda.  I think the weekend made it possible for us to leave the therapy behind and really enjoy each other's company this week.

Nancy

Hi Brian,

Many thanks for all your hard work regarding last week's family workshop. I came away feeling very secure in our choice for Michael at this time. It is obvious that your staff treats Michael with respect, which has not been the case in past placements. Both Naz and Rick were very kind and tender in the way they dealt/spoke with him. As a parent and living 3000 miles away, it was a relief for me to see him happy with his Sober College family. I've come to the realization that I must step back and let him make some decisions on his own and then deal with the consequences of those actions. I was happy to see that all the staff have interactions with all of the residents, not only their individual therapist, house staff. Lisa and Katie were reassuring tha they could be reached 24/7 if we felt necessary. I really wasn't sure what to expect for last weekend. It was a wonderful experience in dealing with other parents/families with regard to their sons, daughters, siblings.
We (the families) felt very relaxed and supported to be able to open up. A lot of emotions were shared. A lot of crying, and laughing. It was obvious to the group that not only were the parents suffering, but in this way, the siblings were able to get things off their chests - feelings of guilt was paramount by siblings. This was a rather big eye opening experience and realizations for me. Michael struggles, but he feels supported by All those he comes in contact with. He loves his sponsor and NA and AA groups. He suffers with his bi-polar disease and is aware that he must stay clean and take his prescribed meds in order to have a chance at a successful life. The fact that he expresses his desire to remain in California upon leaving Sober College is reassuring to me that he feels very supported and positive in his addiction recovery. My family and I are very grateful to all of you for your continued support and respect of our Michael.

Sincerely,
Laurie

Brian,

Just wanted to express our heartfelt thanks and sincere appreciation to the entire staff for a wonderful Family Therapy Weekend. It was George and my first experience and there were so many emotions, but it was a healing time.

Having the honor and privilege to meet so many incredible families and being able to share and connect helped us in so many ways. Heartfelt thanks to Rick, amazing vocals, and the energy, love and true compassion he showed for Blake made me feel very lucky that my son was involved in Sober College.

I also want to thank Brian Dunham for having the ability to connect with Blake, being supportive and his caring demeanor shows every time you talk with him. Thanks Brian!

Naz, I am inspired and amazed---your comforting spirit and connection you make with every resident is a gift. Thanks a million.

I am thankful to God that Blake has the opportunity to be involved with such an incredible staff. Thanks for all the effort and for the hard work of the staff for having the starbucks and all the goodies available without fail every morning.

Brian thank you for always responding to my emails and caring for Blake. I can't express what that means to us.

We are grateful to the entire Sober College staff.

George & Kim