The Director Who Was Once the Intake: What Justice-Involved Clients Taught Me From Both Sides of the Desk

• By: Jeffrey T. Crick, MA-HSC, MMHC-BC, CpastC, CCLC ReDefined Mission
• October 12th, 2026
• addiction recovery, Fall 2026 Issue, justice-involved clients, moral injury, peer support, reentry, residential treatment, shame and treatment engagement, substance use disorders
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I have occupied three chairs in the behavioral health system's relationship with justice-involved people: the client in the residential program with a record behind him, the counselor across the desk, and the director deciding who gets the bed. Most practitioners spend a career in one of those...