I Was A Drug Counselor Getting High On Fentanyl Between Sessions

From the outside, Laura Bonczek was the picture of success — a well-known family in her Connecticut town, a teacher mother, a father in long-term recovery, good grades, sports, and eventually a master's in social work. She built a career as a therapist and rose to clinical director of a substance abuse treatment facility. And the entire time, she was secretly living the exact disease she was being paid to treat. Laura's addiction started young — alcohol and weed at 12, ecstasy and opioids in high school, hydrocodone giving way to the "thirties" she'd chase for years. She was, in her own words, high-functioning: seven years of college straight through while using, always getting just enough done to convince herself she wasn't really an addict because she wasn't "living under a bridge." She managed it through a cocktail of prescribed Adderall, Xanax, opioids, and alcohol — until she couldn't. She's brutally honest in this episode about the parts that are hardest to admit: being a therapist counseling people on their addictions while hiding her own, discovering kratom through her own clients, getting Suboxone delivered to her mailbox, being pulled over by the DEA on a work errand, and the day her own coworkers — many in recovery themselves — sat her down and refused to let her lie her way out one more time. One of them, a mother who'd nearly lost her own kids, told Laura she was going to lose her daughter. That was the moment the fog broke. Now four years sober, Laura is a licensed clinical social worker and clinical director doing the work honestly — using everything she survived to help others find the way out. This is a powerful story about the high-functioning addict nobody suspects, and the moment of clarity that changes everything. Sponsored by Caron Treatment Centers My recovery journey began at Caron Treatment Centers, and the care I received there changed the course of my life. That's why I'm proud to partner with Caron. If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction, Caron has been helping individuals and families find hope and lasting recovery for nearly 70 years. They are in-network with all major insurance providers, and same-day admission is available. ➡️ Learn more: https://www.caron.org/lp/rise-above 📞 Call Caron today: 855-352-0103 Recovery starts with taking the first step. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices