Classes are surprisingly affordable and the team there feels more like family than a business transaction. They made a terribly situation (my DUI) turn into a positive learning experience.

The quote goes, “It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.” - Epictetus. That in mind, no, I did not end up here [in a program like this] because I wanted to. But in a process that had thus far felt like hoops lit on fire to jump through, at Acadia I found my first calm after the storm. I found a place that didn’t give me homework or classes just to do so, but because those classes, those assignments taught me; showed me that through classes, discussions, self-reflection, new coping skills, owning situations but also not sinking in them, can be a blessing in disguise. From difficult experiences come lifelong lessons of great benefit. Acadia was an opportunity to look at pieces of my world, but also society, laws, biology, the mind — all of it —  and figure out my place in it all, and how I can go forward and not repeat grave errors. To learn from the missteps, not get trapped by them.

Acadia NW and their team has quite literally changed my life. I hit "rock bottom" when I got a DUI. It was so embarrassing. I felt I'd let down my family and friends, not to mention the extreme expenses associated with dealing with a DUI. I walked into their office with my head down in shame. Their team couldn't have been more friendly, non-judgmental, and inclusive. I felt no shame while working with them. A++

What a great organization. I was enrolled in their blended support group for my court-ordered DUI counseling. The counselors were excellent listeners. I never felt judged or shamed. They "take you as you are" and only look into the present and future; never your past. I felt love and encouragement!

Acadia and its staff also removed the shame and replaced it with responsibility and acceptance. The staff were not there to administer more guilt or fault, but to address why I was there, what to do with my life now that I am, and how to not return to the same error. I know I personally always benefit from empathy, personal insight and experience, and I found that there in every class and every group discussion with the counselors. At the end of my experience, I find myself grateful for Acadia. Appreciative for the opportunity to stumble and have help getting back up, and to see what I need to do going forward to not fall again. Again, no, we don’t necessary seek out this experience, but life is very little about what we seek, and more about what happens when life happens. And when it does, and it did for me, I was grateful to find Acadia to guide me through. I will genuinely miss each person that helped me along my way.