Substance Abuse & Addiction Counseling in Fort Collins, CO

Confidential Addiction Therapy for Individuals and Couples in Fort Collins and Online Across Colorado

Understanding Your Relationship With Alcohol and Drugs

Woman standing outdoors in front of mountains, reflecting during outpatient addiction counseling in Fort Collins, Colorado

At Empowering Hope, we offer outpatient drug and alcohol counseling built around you, not a diagnosis. We know that drinking and drug use are rarely the whole story. They often grow out of stress, past hurt, difficult relationships, and the ways we learn to get through hard days. Rather than defining you by your substance use, we take the time to understand the whole person: your story, your strengths, and what you actually want out of life.

Working with an addiction counselor gives you a steady, judgment-free space to look honestly at your relationship with alcohol and drugs, understand yourself a little better, and build healthier ways of coping that hold up over time. We often draw on motivational interviewing, a client-centered approach to change. A Cochrane review of 93 studies found that motivational interviewing may help reduce substance use (Schwenker et al., 2023). Together we work toward goals that fit your values, not someone else's idea of what recovery should look like.

Recovery isn't one-size-fits-all. As an outpatient substance abuse counseling practice, we do not provide detox, inpatient or residential treatment, and we don't operate as part of an Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) program, but we respect every path people take to get and stay well. Whether you want to cut back, quit, or simply understand what's going on, our focus is on helping you make changes that last and feel like your own.

Meet Our Addictions Therapist

We're proud to have therapist, Jessica Mehring, LPCC, on our team working toward their Licensed Addiction Counselor (LAC) certification with a specialization in substance abuse and recovery.

Jessica works with both individuals and couples affected by drug and alcohol use, helping you navigate communication, trust, boundaries, recovery, and healing in your relationships.

Outpatient Alcohol Counseling & Alcohol Use Disorder Support

Person reaching toward a glass surface, representing the reach for connection during alcohol use disorder counseling at Empowering Hope

At Empowering Hope, we provide outpatient alcohol counseling and substance use therapy through a compassionate, person-centered approach that recognizes that everyone's goals around drinking and recovery look different. We primarily focus on alcohol use, and we can also support marijuana and other substance use recovery journeys.

Our role is to provide a supportive, nonjudgmental space where you can explore your relationship with alcohol, alcohol's role in society, and how to restructure your life and find meaning outside of addiction. For some people, drinking and low mood become tangled together, making it harder to know where to start. If depression is also part of what you're experiencing, our depression counseling services can offer additional support.

We recognize that recovery looks different for everyone. As SAMHSA describes, recovery is highly personal and happens through many different pathways (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2012). While we do not provide detox, inpatient treatment services or operate within Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) programs, we respect that individuals may choose a variety of recovery paths and support systems. Our focus is on helping you create sustainable changes that support your long-term well-being and quality of life.

Relationships & Addiction

Two people holding hands outdoors in a park, working on connection during relationship and addiction counseling in Fort Collins

Struggles with substance use can be a journey not only for yourself, but for your relationships with others. Addiction can affect your communication, your connection, and how you see relationships, to the point that you and your loved ones may not know what to do next.

We support you in growing, learning, and improving your communication, trust, and ability to hold space for each other again through a trauma-informed, relational approach. If substance use has also affected your relationship with a partner, our couples therapy services offer space to work through communication challenges, rebuild trust, and better understand the patterns between you.

Please note that in most cases, we recommend couples or friendship repair happens after any inpatient or IOP programs, not during. We also require that clients be sober during any individual or family sessions.

Looking for addiction counseling in Fort Collins or online across Colorado? Our team can help you connect with a an addiction specialist who understands what you're going through and supports the changes you want to make.

Addiction Counseling FAQ

  • Outpatient addiction counseling is one-on-one or couples therapy focused on your relationship with alcohol or drugs, without checking into a facility. You keep living your life, working, and staying with your family while you meet with a counselor to understand your use, build healthier coping, and work toward goals that are your own. At Empowering Hope, this happens in person in Fort Collins or online across Colorado.

  • Rehab, detox, and inpatient programs provide 24-hour or medically supervised care in a facility, usually for more acute situations. We are an outpatient counseling practice, which means we do not provide detox, medication, residential, or inpatient treatment. Many people come to us to understand their use, to make lasting changes on their own terms, or as ongoing support after finishing a higher level of care like an inpatient or IOP program.

  • No. You do not have to have it all figured out to begin. Whether you want to cut back, quit, or simply understand what is going on, we meet you where you are. We do ask that clients be sober during individual and family sessions so the work can be effective.

  • Yes. We offer substance use counseling in person in Fort Collins and virtually to clients across Colorado, so you can get support in whatever setting works best for your life.

  • Yes. Addiction affects communication, trust, and connection, and we work with both individuals and couples to rebuild those things through a trauma-informed, relational approach. In most cases we recommend that couples or friendship repair happens after any inpatient or IOP program rather than during, and we require sobriety during any individual or family session.

  • We primarily focus on alcohol use, and we can also support marijuana and other substance use recovery journeys. Our approach stays person-centered no matter the substance, focused on understanding the whole picture and helping you build a life that feels meaningful beyond addiction.

  • The first few sessions are about getting to know you, understanding your relationship with alcohol or drugs, and talking about what you'd like to feel different. You don't have to come in with a diagnosis or a plan to quit. You and your therapist will explore the patterns, stressors, and experiences that may be contributing to your substance use, along with what has or hasn't worked for you in the past. From there, you'll work together to identify goals, build healthier ways of coping, and find an approach that feels manageable for you. Counseling is collaborative, and your goals can change as you go.