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
