Intervention counselor to deliver keynote at Nicolet College addiction workshop Friday, Aug. 16

Jeff VanVonderen has been featured on A&E show

FOR THE TOMAHAWK LEADER

RHINELANDER - Best known for his work on A&E Network’s Emmy-winning show Intervention, author and professional counselor Jeff VanVonderen will be the keynote speaker at the Overcoming Addiction Together workshop Friday, Aug. 16, at Nicolet College, 5351 College Drive, Rhinelander.

The event will run from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the college’s Lakeside Center. Cost is $20 and free to students, recovery coaches and peer specialists. Professionals working in addiction fields as well as members of the general public are invited to attend.

“Quite often people try, with the best of intentions, to help themselves or their loved ones through a problem or crisis, only to discover that the help is not helpful, or even harmful,” VanVonderen said. “They find themselves supporting and helping to prolong on the outside, the very thing they do not support on the inside.”

VanVonderen goes on to say that “individuals and families become dysfunctional by accident. But they get well on purpose and this is what I’m about, helping them do that.”

From 10:05 a.m. to noon, participants will select three out of five breakout sessions centered around the theme of self-care for providers and concerned loved ones. Session options include Aromatherapy, Yoga, Art Therapy and Pet Therapy, Mindfulness Meditation, and the Taking Care of You Workshop.

Along with working on the TV show Intervention, VanVonderen is the author of seven books on addiction and co-founded and is the former director of Passages Counseling Center, a licensed out-patient mental health clinic in Minneapolis, Minn. He has served on the advisory boards of the National Association for Christian Recovery and Urban Ventures Foundation, and has memberships in the National Association of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Counselors, the American Association of Christian Counselors, and the Association of Intervention Specialists. He is a Certified Case Manager Interventionist – Masters Level (CCMI-M).

For more information about the workshop, and to register, visit northcentralwiahec.org/overcoming-addiction-together. This workshop is the last in the three-part series. The webpage also includes recordings of the first two workshops.

The event is presented by Wisconsin Area Health Education Center Program in partnership with Nicolet College, Ascension, Northcentral Technical College, Oneida County Health Department, Marshfield Clinic Health Systems, Americorps, UW-Madison Extension, Marathon County Health Department, North Central Health Care and Options Counseling Services.