Substance Use Counseling in New Jersey
Colleen Makowsky, LPC offers substance use counseling for adults across New Jersey — by secure video, for early recovery, mild use, and step-down support.
Substance use counseling at Colleen Makowsky LPC works with adults whose relationship with alcohol or substances has been on their mind — people in early recovery, people who are sober-curious, and people stepping down from a higher level of care. Online statewide across New Jersey. Adults only.
When substance use counseling is the right call
Scope: I work with adults in early recovery, those concerned about their relationship with alcohol or substances, and people stepping down from higher levels of care. I’m not a treatment center — for active detox, inpatient stays, or intensive outpatient programs, I’ll refer you to a colleague who specializes in that work.
There’s a wide gap between “I drink too much sometimes” and “I need a treatment center.” Most people in early recovery, or quietly sober-curious, or stepping down from higher care, sit inside that gap. This page is about that work — adult-to-adult, practical, online.
Early recovery support
Thirty days, ninety days, a year in — recovery isn’t a graduation, it’s a long string of ordinary days that need a place to talk about what’s actually coming up. CBT for the thoughts, Motivational Interviewing for the ambivalent moments, SFBT for the next-week plan.
Sober-curious — concerned about your relationship with alcohol or substances
You’re not in crisis. You’re not in a program. You’re just noticing the relationship is louder than it used to be — more weekend drinking, more “I’ll stop next month,” more morning regret. This is where Motivational Interviewing shines: not pushing you toward a label, just helping you see the pattern clearly.
Step-down from a higher level of care
You completed an intensive outpatient program or a partial hospitalization program. You’re back in your normal life. The protocol world is over and the regular-life world is starting. Step-down counseling is the bridge — same recovery, lower intensity.
A family member’s substance use
Your spouse, your adult sibling, your parent — their substance use has shaped years of your life. Adult co-recovery work isn’t about fixing them. It’s about you. (No family-as-unit sessions — Colleen Makowsky works with adults individually.)
Problem drinking
Drinking is functional until it isn’t. The line between “I drink to unwind” and “I need to stop” is rarely a single moment — it’s a slow accumulation of mornings, missed promises, and quiet shame. This is what we work through, without forcing a label that doesn’t fit yet.
Cannabis use disorder, mild
Daily or near-daily use, growing tolerance, anxiety when you stop, the slow drift from “social weekend” to “I don’t really feel like myself without it.” Most of the cannabis work I do is mild-to-moderate — for higher-intensity dependence, I refer to a colleague.
Shame and isolation around use
The hardest part isn’t the use itself — it’s the secrecy, the morning-after shame, the way conversations get smaller because there’s a topic nobody can name. We make room for the conversation to happen with less defensiveness.
When you want adult-to-adult conversations, not a program
You don’t want a treatment center. You don’t want a 12-step room. You want one-on-one conversations with someone who’ll be honest if a higher level of care is the right call — and won’t push you into a label that doesn’t fit. That’s the work here.
Evidence-based substance use counseling in New Jersey
Substance use counseling at this practice is grounded in three evidence-based approaches — Motivational Interviewing (MI) as primary, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for the thought-and-impulse chain, and Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) for the next-step focus. The work is practical: you leave each session with something to try, not just an insight to take home and forget.
Motivational Interviewing (MI)
MI is the gold-standard evidence base for substance use work. It’s not confrontational. It’s not “you have to admit.” It’s collaborative — we explore your ambivalence directly, so you can see your own reasons for change without me imposing them. Colleen Makowsky holds the CAIMHP credential (Certified Addictions-Informed Mental Health Professional).
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT for substance work targets the thoughts that come before use — “I deserve this,” “one won’t hurt,” “I’ll deal with it tomorrow” — and gives you tools to interrupt the chain before it becomes action. Practical, structured, week-by-week.
Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT)
SFBT keeps the work future-oriented. Instead of relitigating every drinking day, we look at what’s working, what could work next week, and what the next concrete step looks like. Useful when sessions feel stuck in past-shame loops.
I completed the 18-credit Certified Alcohol & Drug Counseling Certificate Program at Montclair State University. I’m not a CADC — I’m a Licensed Professional Counselor with addictions-focused training. For higher levels of care that require a CADC or LCADC, I refer.
How substance use counseling actually works
People often arrive expecting a confrontation — someone to insist they admit something. That’s not what happens. What happens is slower and more useful: we look at the pattern from your side first, name what you actually want, and build the next step from there.
MI is the most-studied evidence base for substance work
Decades of clinical trial data show Motivational Interviewing reduces problem drinking, increases engagement in care, and works well at every stage from sober-curious to long-recovery. The CAIMHP credential confirms specific training in addictions-informed mental health practice.
Motivational Interviewing doesn’t push. It helps you see your own reasons clearly. That’s why it works where confrontation doesn’t.
The CADC certificate program — precision matters
Colleen Makowsky completed the 18-credit Certified Alcohol & Drug Counseling Certificate Program at Montclair State University. She’s not a CADC — she’s a Licensed Professional Counselor with addictions-focused training. For higher levels of care that require a CADC or LCADC, I refer.
Completed the program. Not credentialed CADC. That precision matters — and it’s the reason the refer-out is honest, not aspirational.
CBT and SFBT alongside MI
MI sets the relational tone — non-confrontational, client-directed, collaborative. CBT gives you actual tools for the thought-and-impulse chain. SFBT keeps the next session forward-pointing. The three work together: the relational frame, the cognitive toolkit, the next-step focus.
Good therapy is practical. You should leave each session with something you can use — not just insight that stays in the room.
How we start — your first three steps
Reach out
Send a quick note through the contact form or call (551) 305-3742. The form is two fields — name and best way to reach you. Don’t include health details; we’ll talk through what’s going on verbally.
15-minute call (free)
We get on the phone for fifteen minutes. You tell me what’s bringing you in. I tell you whether substance use counseling at a non-program level is the right fit — or whether you’d be better served by a higher level of care. No charge. No pressure either way.
First session, then ongoing work
Sessions run 38 to 53 minutes, by secure video, weekly. Most clients work runs three to twelve months — it varies. You’ll know inside three or four sessions whether the fit is right.
WHAT A SESSION LOOKS LIKE
What a substance use counseling session looks like
Practical sessions, by secure video. Here’s what we cover — and what you leave with.
What’s underneath the use
Substance use rarely sits alone. Underneath there’s usually trauma, anxiety, depression, or a family-of-origin pattern that’s shaped how the use settled in. We hold both layers — the substance work and what’s underneath — at the pace you can manage.
Trauma underneath substance use
For a lot of adults, the substance was a coping tool for something older — childhood trauma, attachment trauma, an unprocessed loss. The CCTP credential (Certified Clinical Trauma Professional) means trauma-informed care is built into how I work. We don’t drop the substance work to address the trauma — we hold both, at the pace you can handle.
Anxiety and substance use, the loop
Drink to quiet the anxiety, wake up with worse anxiety the next day, drink again to quiet it. The loop is exhausting. CBT plus MI is the strongest evidence-based combination — anxiety tools work alongside use-pattern work.
Depression and low motivation
Some adults use to feel something. Others use to feel less. Behavioral-activation framing (inside CBT and ACT) plus MI helps separate “I’m depressed because I use” from “I use because I’m depressed” — usually it’s both, in a loop.
Family-of-origin patterns
Grew up with a parent’s substance use. Now you’re noticing patterns of your own. Adult co-recovery work isn’t blame work — it’s pattern work. We look at what got modeled, what you carry, and what you want to do differently.
When to reach out for substance use counseling
Most people wait too long. The signs you’re past the “I can work this out myself” line — even if you don’t want to say it out loud — usually look like this.
If active detox, inpatient stays, or intensive outpatient is what you actually need, the free 15-minute call is where we figure out the right referral.
Colleen Makowsky offers substance use counseling across New Jersey
Colleen Makowsky
MA · LPC · NCC · CCTP · CAIMHP
Licensed counselor in Fort Lee, NJ. Adults across all of New Jersey by secure video.
MA in Community Counseling, Montclair State University. Completed the 18-credit CADC Certificate Program at Montclair State — addictions-informed counseling, not CADC-credentialed.
Trauma-informed (CCTP) · Motivational Interviewing · CBT · SFBT · CAIMHP-credentialed.
OUR LOCATION
Online substance use counseling across New Jersey
I’m a service-area provider — I work with adults statewide by secure video. My base is Fort Lee, NJ (Bergen County), but you can see me from anywhere in New Jersey.
Hours
Mon–Fri by appointment
Sat & Sun: Closed
Phone
(551) 305-3742
EXPLORE OTHER SERVICES
Other counseling Colleen Makowsky offers in New Jersey
Disordered-Eating Support · Anxiety Therapy · Depression Therapy · Self-Esteem & Life Transitions · Individual Therapy
Common questions about substance use counseling in New Jersey
Do you treat addiction?
“Addiction treatment” usually means detox, inpatient, or intensive outpatient — those levels of care need a treatment center, not a solo counselor. What I do is work with adults whose relationship with alcohol or substances is on their mind, who are in early recovery, or who’ve completed a higher level of care and want ongoing support. If you’re not sure where you fit, the free 15-minute call is for figuring that out.
What’s the difference between counseling with you and a treatment program?
A treatment program — IOP, PHP, inpatient, detox — is structured care with multiple clinicians, group work, medical oversight where relevant, and a defined protocol. What I offer is one-on-one outpatient counseling with a single counselor (me), 38 to 53 minutes per session, typically weekly. It works well as ongoing support after a program, or for adults whose use doesn’t require a higher level of care to begin with.
Do you do drug testing or coordinate with treatment programs?
No drug testing — that’s medical and program territory, not solo-counselor work. I don’t coordinate with treatment programs in a formal case-management sense. If you’re working with a program team and want me as an outpatient counselor alongside, we’d talk through the fit on the 15-minute call. For active coordination, I’d refer you to a counselor who specializes in that work.
What credentials do you hold for substance use work?
I’m a Licensed Professional Counselor in New Jersey (NJ LPC #37PC00901900) with the CAIMHP credential (Certified Addictions-Informed Mental Health Professional). I completed the 18-credit Certified Alcohol & Drug Counseling Certificate Program at Montclair State University — I’m not credentialed CADC, just trained through that program. The work I do is addictions-informed counseling, not certified-CADC clinical work.
What does insurance cover?
I accept Aetna, Cigna/Evernorth, Optum/UnitedHealthcare/Oxford, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, Oscar, and Medicare. Medicaid is not accepted. Out-of-network billing is available — I can provide a superbill on request. For details, see insurance and cost.
How long are sessions?
38 to 53 minutes, online by secure video. Sessions are scheduled weekly to start, then we adjust based on what the work needs.
How long does counseling take?
Most clients work with me 3 to 12 months — varies by client. Substance use work in particular often involves an initial focused phase (weekly, 3-6 months) followed by a longer maintenance phase at reduced frequency.
What happens on the free 15-minute call?
You tell me what’s bringing you in. I ask a few questions about the pattern. I tell you whether substance use counseling is a fit, whether one of the other services would suit better, or whether I’d refer you elsewhere. No charge. No pressure either direction.
RELATED SPECIALTIES
Disordered-Eating Support in NJ · Anxiety Therapy in NJ · Self-Esteem in NJ
READY TO START?
Schedule your free 15-minute consultation
No symptom checkboxes. No diagnosis required. Just a 15-minute call to figure out whether what I offer is the right fit — or whether you need a higher level of care.