Carole Bennett, MA

Carole Bennett was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and graduated from Emerson College in Boston, with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. Upon completion of her degree, she headed to Los Angeles to pursue a career in the entertainment industry, where she worked for Columbia Pictures Television as a business affairs negotiator. She then received a scholarship through Columbia Pictures to attend law school. After three years with the studio, Carole became a literary agent working for various agencies until she started her own company, The Bennett Agency. After 18 years of piloting her own firm, Carole made a personal and professional change and relocated to Santa Barbara. She re-entered the scholastic world and obtained her Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University. Carole completed her internship at the Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Center and focused her efforts on the field of substance abuse. Upon graduation, Carole accepted the post of head counselor, where she was employed for a number of years. Carole was then retained as a part-time evening treatment counselor for The Council of Alcoholism and Drug Addiction for Santa Barbara County for the next three years. Carole developed Family Recovery Solutions, a specialized counseling service that works with the family and friends of the alcoholic/addict. Guiding them toward establishing new skills in boundaries and communication is the backbone of her counseling platform. Carole works with clients in her home office, as well as long-distance phone counseling. In 2009, Carole began writing a weekly blog for the Huffington Posts’ Living Section on Addiction and Recovery. Carole’s blog is read nationwide. Carole’s book, entitled Reclaim your Life – You and the Alcoholic/Addict, published through Sea-Press Publishing, is now available through www.reclaimyourlifebook.com or her counseling Website www.familyrecoverysolutions.com.

Communicating with the Alcoholic/Addict – Concepts for Neutral Dialogue

Written By: Carole Bennett, MA Date: March 10th, 2011. Topic: Member Blogs.

Communication is an art all to itself. Whether it comes trippingly off the tongue, through expressive eyes, facial inflections, foot taping, moans, groans or whatever body language we are transmitting, it’s all some type of communication. In an instant we hear or see what that person is saying to us and react accordingly. Most of [...]

6 Signs Your Alcoholic Loved One May Be Relapsing

Written By: Carole Bennett, MA Date: February 7th, 2011. Topic: Family System.

For the budding alcoholic/addict in recovery, relapse is all too often a nanosecond away. Even for the well-seasoned soul who has practiced a clean and sober lifestyle for many years, relapse may be in a deep, dormant sleep but can be aroused with a touch of a feather. More than a year ago, I wrote [...]

It’s the Holidays – Are Your Boundaries with Your Alcoholic/Addict Wrapped up Tight?

Written By: Carole Bennett, MA Date: December 2nd, 2010. Topic: Family System.

Here we are again. No sooner have we unwrapped our last miniature Snickers from our Halloween candy stash, when we are bombarded with all things Christmas. Sometimes I think it would be nice if the holidays came around like the Olympics, every two or four years. Or if we could skip them altogether and just [...]