Tami VerHelst is passionate about addiction recovery and helping those who are struggling with addiction and their loved ones find qualified services to help them heal.

She is pleased to be part of the amazing and expert team with Seeking Integrity and Sex and Relationship Healing, with a focus on connecting struggling individuals with the recovery resources they need. As Chief Relationship Officer, she works with those calling for treatment inquiries, and organizes and participates in the webinar and drop-in group resources on www.sexandrelationshiphealing.com. She also organizes workgroup offerings to support recovery online via www.seekingintegrity.com as well as assisting professionals with support and resources for their clients.

Her previous experience as Vice President of the International Institute for Trauma and Addiction Professionals (IITAP) for more than ten years created connections with professionals worldwide. During her tenure, she helped the organization gain international presence and reputation by creating a community environment for professionals and upholding a standard of excellence for the organization’s trainings and conferences. Additionally, she serves as an Outside Director for the 12-step group Sexual Compulsives Anonymous (SCA).

After leaving IITAP in 2017 she has been working to develop organizational and programmatic resources for addiction treatment providers looking to expand the scope market and the depth of their service.  Her personal commitment to professional development led her into an extensive mentorship with Leadem Counseling & Consulting Services which has culminated in her  recent endorsement as a Certified Relapse Prevention Navigator.  She hopes to serve the educational needs of clients being treated by CSATs and other addiction treatment providers through her comprehensive understanding of relapse prevention.

She believes that the ravages of addiction and relapse have far reaching costs for the addict and his or her family and that  intervening on the relapse cycle is key. She believes that “ … relapse should not be an accepted part of recovery-it does not need to be.  Too many people do not make it back to recovery.” Tami is committed to helping those wanting to get off the relapse merry-go-round have the necessary tools to change.

Tami lives in Arizona but works via Zoom anywhere in the world.

Testimonial

I have been in recovery for quite a few 24 hours. Though I have not personally relapsed, I have seen the ravages of relapse including a number of people I have known who died when they “went back out”. I do not believe relapse needs to be part of recovery. My experience in going through this course is that even after many years in 12 step meetings, time in both individual and group therapy, I learned so much about myself and how I can be more my true self. At one point, I was sharing with Shawn Leadem about something that came up in the course. I identified it as a useful coping mechanism. He indicated that “there is a price to pay, you just haven’t received the bill yet”. This stopped me in my tracks and made me really look at the behavior and if it was a good choice for me. Ultimately it wasn’t. I’ve been given tools to use to not rely on that (now I see destructive) behavior. I wish everyone would value themselves and their recovery to not return to their addictive behavior(s)-it is truly so freeing!