Meet The Team

Forrest found his way to helping others through his own recovery journey, which began in 2012. He entered the behavioral health field as a recovery residence counselor where he was first exposed to helping families and their loved ones. While he assisted in daily operations, Forrest primarily counseled and supervised residents in early recovery, further fueling his life-long passion for helping others.

As Forrest continued his journey, he garnered more skill and exposure to addiction recovery through various duties including clinical outreach, treatment placement, intensive outpatient counseling and counseling operation oversight—all bolstered by professional supervision, training and education. Such education and training include completion of all requirements for the Georgia Certified Addiction Counselor designation, motivational interviewing, recovery residence management, and Break Free Intervention Training.

Having worked with so many families and those struggling with addiction, he identified a strength and strong passion for helping families and addicts begin their journey into recovery.

He took these skills and opened the doors to Empowered Recovery Center. He believes the most important task is to empower each individual to step into their wellness journey with the confidence, support, and tools they need to embrace the life-saving change that comes from within.

Originally from South Africa, Candice enjoyed the opportunity to live in Arizona, New York, Germany and South Korea before finding her home in Atlanta. In 2014, she received her Bachelor’s degree in Health and Human Services Management. While working on her degree, she became a personal trainer and worked with Military soldiers and their families. It was through this experience that she found her passion for helping people, especially those struggling with mental health. Shortly thereafter, she started working at a prominent recovery residence and became a Senior Counselor for the company in 2018. During that time she obtained her Addiction Counselor Certification through the Georgia Addiction Counselors Association. After becoming a program director at another recovery residence, she became the secretary and administrative assistant at the Georgia Association of Recovery Residences. While at GARR she loved meeting other recovery residence operators all over the state of Georgia and providing them with support. In her free time you will find her hiking with her dog.

In helping individuals and their families heal from the effect of drug and alcohol use, my approach is to meet a person where they are at while encouraging change, “be firm in what you do and kind in how you do it.” I truly believe the opposite of addiction is connection and that success in life and in recovery is achieved through increasing the quality of your life rather than quantifying your success. “I believe in taking a non-shaming approach to empower a person which allows clients to become their best selves.”

Prior to joining Empowered Recovery Center Jennifer served as the clinical director for multiple facilities that treated primary substance use disorders, mental health disorders, and eating disorders. Jennifer has experience with curriculum building, supervision, and program development in the field of substance abuse, mental health, eating disorders, and trauma. Prior to her work in Georgia, Jennifer worked at Wayside House located in Delray Beach, FL where she was a primary therapist in both residential, IOP, and Outpatient Programs. During her time at Wayside House, she worked with mothers in recovery and is passionate about helping parents who struggle with addiction resolve the shame and guilt in the parenting role while achieving long-term recovery. Prior to working in substance treatment Jennifer worked in the field of domestic violence at Women in Distress of Broward County. Jennifer is also a trained facilitator for the Intervention Project for Nurses (IPN), is certified in Rapid Resolution Therapy (RRT), Psychodrama, and trained in Military Sexual Trauma (MST). Jennifer’s background in trauma fueled her passion in the development and implementation of the equine therapy program at Wayside House and she continues to utilize equine therapy in group and individual settings. Jennifer received a master’s and bachelor’s in social work from Florida Atlantic University and a bachelor’s in psychology from the University of Central Florida.

“A Ship in Harbor is Safe, But That’s Not What Ships Are Built For.”

– John A. Shedd
Rebuild.Reconnect.Recover

Dr. Joshua Yager is an Atlanta native, board-certified physician who is dedicated to the health and wellbeing of his community. He graduated from medical school from Saba University and completed his residency at Virginia Tech Carilion. He proudly holds memberships in the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians, and the American Society of Addiction Medicine. Dr. Yager entered private practice in Atlanta in 2018, and sees patients regularly in his private practice as well as treatment facilities.  He is proud of his work in addiction medicine, promoting greater knowledge of the disease and advocating for de-stigmatization of mental illness. He takes pride in tailoring care plans specifically designed for each individual patient. 

Much like the transformation of a butterfly, change is hard at first, messy in the middle, and gorgeous at the end. Christie is passionate about guiding individuals toward finding the beauty in life by unfolding that which keeps them trapped in addiction. She has worked with individuals pursuing recovery for more than 13 years and became a Certified Addiction Counselor in 2014. She later obtained her level two certification and Bachelor of Science in Business Communication from Walden University. Christie utilizes not just her extensive clinical training but her own journey from addiction to recovery to connect with individuals on their personal path to wellness.

Christie has worked all levels of care in hospitalized institutions, detox, residential, outpatient services, sober living, and alumni programs.

Christie is a level two Nationally Certified Addiction Counselor (NCAC-II) credentialed through Georgia Addiction Counseling Association (GACA) and the National Association for Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors (NAADAC). She is a Certified Risk Reduction Instructor, and works with the Georgia Board of Nursing as a Certified Nurse Facilitator.

Born and raised in Michigan, Amanda earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Western Michigan University in 2017, with an emphasis on behavioral psychology and holistic health and wellness. After moving to Atlanta later that year, she followed her lifelong passion of helping others to pursue a career in mental health counseling. Her dream became a reality when she completed her Master of Arts in Professional Counseling from Liberty University in 2021.

Amanda has worked with a variety of individuals ranging from children to seniors and found her niche working in addiction recovery. She believes that growth, healing, and recovery thrive in connection, and is passionate about cultivating connection through both one-on-one counseling, and group therapy.  It is Amanda’s goal to create a safe space for individuals to explore themselves and find the joys of sobriety.

“Healing takes courage, and we all have courage, even if we have to dig a little to find it”. Let’s dig together.