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World Health Day and an Abstinent Passover Brisket Recipe

Hello,

I can’t believe it is April already and that Spring has arrived. I am currently in Florida enjoying the beautiful sunshine and warmth so it actually feels like summer.

March was a very busy month for ACORN. We had a 3-Day program, a 5-Day Intensive and a week of process groups in between. Once again I was privy to witnessing amazing healing, recovery, surrender and abstinence. What a true gift I have been given to do this as my career.

Some of the comments we received regarding these recent events are:

  • “Thank you from the depth of my heart for giving me this beautiful experience with so much hope and for being a part of saving my life.”
  • “I feel so blessed to have found ACORN and to have the support I needed to do my work.” 
  • “The intensives and Three Days have moved me further along in my recovery journey at a deeper level than I could have done in 12-Step meetings.  I am most grateful.”

It was truly an amazing couple of weeks! Phil flew off to New York the next day to hold a 3-Day event. It went extremely well, so well that those folks have asked us to hold a 5-Day Intensive in New York April 26 – May 1. They experienced some deep recovery and want to keep it going. So for all of those that ask us if we ever do events in New York, here’s your chance. Call us to find out the details 941-378-2122.

While Phil has been in New York, Mary, Raynea  and I have been gearing up for our next events in Florida. We have two events scheduled for May in Bradenton, Florida. A 3-Day with Phil & Amanda May 5th-7th and a 5-Day Intensive May 26th-31st.  Click here to register or call us if you have any questions 941-378-2122.

The Spring months also bring a few other dates to celebrate. One of them is right around the corner on April 7th. It’s World Health Day. This year’s focus is depression. The World Health Organization chooses a specific health topic to focus on every year that is a concern for people all over the world.  Depression affects people of all ages, from all walks of life and from all countries. It causes mental anguish and impacts on people’s ability to carry out even the simplest everyday tasks, with sometimes devastating consequences.

Depression and addiction feed into each other and one condition can often make the other worse. I personally can relate to this. As a food addict whose life was spiraling out of control I often battled depression. Who knows what came first, the depression so then I reached for food to numb me out and give me that “high” feeling, or the food addiction which was so debilitating and, therefore, caused the deep depressions I would often experience.  When my depression and addiction were at their worst I could barely get out of bed. I couldn’t work. I couldn’t sleep. I had many thoughts of suicide and truly didn’t want to be alive. I remember thinking, “If this is what life is, then I don’t want to be part of it.”  Today I am incredibly grateful that I do want to be part of life and that I have found recovery. Yes, there are still many ups and downs in my life, after all that is the reality of life. However, now when I feel the depression coming on I have tools, resources and a support system to help me through it. As an addict I couldn’t deal with the depression until I had first dealt with my addiction. I could not get healthy mentally and spiritually until I got clean and, for me, that meant becoming abstinent from all the foods my body had become addicted to. So yes, when we have addiction and depression it can be incredibly hard. But there is a way out. I am living proof!

So, in recognition of World Health Day, let’s talk openly about depression and addiction as it is a vital component of recovery. The stigma surrounding all mental illness is a major barrier to people seeking help, and talking about it helps break down this stigma and ultimately leads to more people getting the help they need.  Click here for more information on World Health Day.

This year in April many people are also celebrating Passover and Easter.  These holidays are often full of family, friends and FOOD!! The food part can be a struggle with those of us affected by food addiction. In recovery I choose to focus on the people I am with rather than the food being the focus, and I always contribute an abstinent dish to the occasion. Click here for a link to an abstinent Passover recipe contributed by an ACORN alumnae, Taube from Boston.

Drop me a line and let me know how you celebrate Passover and Easter or any other Spring holidays that are important in your life.

Happy Spring, World Health Day, Passover, Easter and anything else you are celebrating.

With love & abstinence,
Amanda

Meet the Team

Amanda Leith – Operations Director & Counselor/Facilitator

Amanda Leith launched SHiFT – Recovery by Acorn in Spring of 2019, opening an exciting new chapter in the 30-year legacy of Acorn Food Dependency Recovery Services. A member of the Acorn team since 2015, Amanda is an addictions counselor and a recovering food addict.

Amanda’s passion for recovery from food addiction helps to produce life-changing results with her clients. Her sharp sense for what needs to be addressed first in an individual’s life in order to overcome food addiction guides her practice. The message that she brings to those struggling is one of hope.

Amanda is an addiction counselor, a certified food addiction counselor, FAI/ACORN certified food addiction professional and CENAPS-trained Advanced Relapse Prevention Specialist (ARPS), with a background in drug and alcohol addiction counseling and group facilitation.

Click here to read Amanda’s story of recovery from food addiction.

Karen Gormley – Accountability Coach

Karen Gormley is a grateful recovering food addict who, after her early retirement from her job as a finance manager at a Fortune 1000 company, pursued her dream of working with Food Addiction recovery.

In addition to 15 of experience in peer support groups, she has completed both the SHiFT Professional Training Program and the INFACT Food Addiction Counseling program and is certified by the European Certification Board as a food addiction counselor. Karen has been part of the SHiFT team since 2019.

Tosca Lindberg – Accountability Coach

Tosca is a gratefully recovering food addict who has been led to help others suffering from food addiction. As a certified teacher, she served as an educator in the public school systems in Rochester, NY and Guam for the past 30 years. Most of those years were spent working with at-risk students who struggled with learning difficulties and adverse childhood experiences. She has a deep passion to provide support for hurting people and a keen eye for identifying needs. Her awareness of the importance of mental health and her personal experience with addiction and recovery have inspired her to make this change in her career path. She is certified as a Food Addiction Professional through the International School for Food Addiction and Treatment (INFACT). She is fun-loving and adventurous and enjoys being active in the beautiful Rocky Mountains.

Gina Miller – Counselor/Facilitator

Gina is the newest member of the counselling team at SHiFT Recovery. She works individually with Shift clients to support their abstinence and to uncover and heal beliefs and behaviors that surface throughout recovery.

For the last twenty years Gina has worked in the helping field in a variety of environments with diverse populations. She has guided clients using Art Therapy as a way to process emotions with people living with HIV and AIDS at The Dr. Peter Centre, and with adults with developmental disabilities for Ridge Meadows Association for Community Living.

Gina spent years as a Coach, counselling people with negative body image and food addiction at Vital Body Weight Loss Clinic. This latter work and her lived experience with addiction, led Gina to work as a Group Facilitator and provide individual counselling in Addiction Treatment in private practice. Some of that work included facilitating intensive non-residential treatment programs for women suffering from drug misuse disorder, for Sage Counselling and Addiction Services.

It is the combination of Gina’s lived experience, humor and wisdom that make her sessions collaborative, healing and joyful. She believes that everyone has the possibility for hope, resilience and liberation whether they are suffering from addiction, grief and loss, negative body and self esteem issues, co-dependency and the myriad of pain that is part of a life.

Gina has a BFA from ECUAD, Certified in Compassionate Inquiry with Gabor Mate, Addictions Counsellor, Certified Mindfulness Based Relapse Prevention-UCSD, Certified Mindfulness Instructor.

Barney Reason – Counselor/Facilitator

Barney Reason is an experienced therapist, coach and facilitator with a solid foundation of personal and professional experiences. Having started his recovery journey in 1987. Barney has faced and overcome many challenges, which have equipped him with wide resources to help clients from diverse backgrounds and issues.

With a globally recognized food addiction treatment professional qualification, Barney has worked in the addiction field in both residential facilities and one-to-one settings, specializing in providing therapeutic solutions to addicts and their families dealing with trauma.

He played a crucial role in establishing Mankind Project in the UK in the early 1990s, where he remains a Trustee. Barney was also the first non-US man certified as a leader in the Mankind Project’s The New Warrior Training, where he acquired skills that he still uses today.

Throughout his journey, Barney has held significant responsibilities, such as managing a multi-campus facility in the US for individuals, from all over the world, seeking personal and spiritual transformation. Besides the addiction field, Barney has created numerous organizations, primarily in financial markets, media, and property, where he earned a reputation for development and coaching.

Barney is an enthusiastic and passionate individual dedicated to inspiring people to improve their lives, along with their families and communities.

Tina Selinsky – Group Leader/House Manager

Tina Selinsky, M.Ed., is a graduate of the ACORN Professional Training and the INFACT Food Addiction Counseling program and is certified by the European Certification Board as a food addiction counselor. She served as secretary and treasurer of the Food Addiction Institute for over 5 years. Tina has facilitated ACORN groups in the past and currently hosts many of the SHiFT Strong Support meetings. For many years, Tina operated the Sugar Free Place, a recovery home dedicated to supporting people’s abstinence. Tina has been active in a Twelve Step community for 30 years and is committed to putting abstinence first, absolutely!

Raynea McCumber – Operations Administrator

Raynea has managed the SHiFT office since 2011, coordinating SHiFT – Recovery by Acorn food addiction treatment programs and overseeing registration. She assists clients with any logistical needs to ensure that their treatment experience runs smoothly.

Often the first point of contact for SHiFT Recovery by Acorn clients, Raynea brings warmth and ease to an otherwise daunting process. Her commitment to supporting others helps those struggling with food addiction to feel at home in their treatment program.

Raynea holds an AAS degree in Computer Information Technology and Networking. Her background is in executive support, previously serving as registrar and admissions director for public and private schools.

Kurtis O’Brien – Marketing Lead

Kurtis is a Digital Marketing Strategist with a background in video production and a passion for storytelling. He joined the SHiFT team in November 2020 as a Marketing Lead, and has helped transform our digital presence as well as being the driving force on our marketing team.

While working remotely, Kurtis leads an active lifestyle in his picturesque ski town of Whistler, BC. On any given weekend, you can find him mountain biking, hiking, camping, skiing and fly fishing. His energy, stories and photos from recent adventures are a hot topic on team meetings and we always look forward to hearing them.