Shame-Free Trauma and Addiction Therapy in Athens, GA

Telehealth Available in GA, FL, & SC

Hi, I'm Charlie Shockley, LCSW. Kind Recovery is my private therapy practice serving adults throughout Georgia in person and via telehealth. For a decade, I've helped people heal from trauma, addiction, anxiety, depression and the stuck patterns that keep them from living fully. While the mental health and addiction treatment industries can sometimes be slow to evolve, my approach combines evidence-based therapies with modern, compassionate care that honors each person's unique path.

I specialize in working with individuals whose trauma has manifested through addictive behaviors, unhealthy relationships, perfectionism, chronic self-criticism, emotional avoidance, or rigid patterns of self-management. Many of my clients live with Complex PTSD (CPTSD), attachment wounds, substance use disorders, or a persistent feeling that they are surviving rather than truly living. My work is grounded in the belief that symptoms are often adaptations—not defects—and that healing happens when we approach these patterns with curiosity rather than shame.

I embrace a harm reduction philosophy and believe there are many paths to recovery. Whether your goal is abstinence, moderation, safer use, or simply understanding yourself more deeply, I will meet you where you are. Drawing from EMDR, Internal Family Systems (IFS), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Motivational Interviewing (MI), and Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP), I tailor treatment to your needs rather than forcing you into a one-size-fits-all model.

Areas of Focus

You Might Be a Good Fit If...

  • You've tried therapy before but still feel stuck.

  • You understand why you do something but can't seem to change it.

  • Trauma continues to affect your relationships, self-worth, or daily life.

  • You've developed coping strategies that no longer serve you.

  • You're curious about EMDR, IFS, ketamine therapy, or psychedelic integration.

  • You want a therapist who values honesty, nuance, and compassion over rigid rules and labels.

You don't need to be fixed. You need a safe space to understand your story, develop new ways of relating to yourself, and move toward a life that feels more connected, meaningful, and authentic.

Schedule Free Concultation

Kindness + Competence

The mental health and addiction treatment fields have historically relied on approaches rooted in compliance, confrontation, and symptom management. While these methods were often developed with good intentions, many were created decades ago when our understanding of trauma, addiction, and the nervous system was far more limited.

Today, research paints a different picture. We now know that shame, confrontation, and pressure often undermine recovery, while safety, connection, and internal motivation create lasting change. Modern addiction treatment recognizes that ambivalence is a normal part of the recovery process—not a sign of failure, resistance, or denial. Effective treatment helps people strengthen their own reasons for change rather than imposing change from the outside.

The same evolution is occurring in trauma therapy. Traditional talk therapy and cognitive approaches can be helpful, but many people find themselves understanding their trauma intellectually while continuing to experience anxiety, emotional overwhelm, relationship difficulties, or addictive behaviors. That's because trauma is not simply stored as a memory—it is carried within the nervous system. Lasting healing often requires approaches that engage both the mind and body.

At Kind Recovery, I specialize in helping individuals whose trauma has manifested through substance use, compulsive behaviors, unhealthy relationship patterns, perfectionism, chronic self-criticism, or other rigid forms of self-management. My approach is trauma-informed, harm reduction oriented, and grounded in the latest research on healing and behavior change.

I integrate evidence-based therapies including:

  • EMDR Therapy

  • Internal Family Systems (IFS)

  • Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP)

  • Motivational Interviewing (MI)

  • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

  • Somatic and nervous system-informed interventions

  • Harm Reduction and Multiple Pathways Recovery

Whether you are struggling with addiction, Complex PTSD (CPTSD), anxiety, depression, relationship challenges, or recurring patterns that leave you feeling stuck, treatment should never require shame, coercion, or power struggles. Healing happens when people feel safe enough to explore their experiences at a pace their nervous system can tolerate.

The name Kind Recovery reflects this belief. As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, I am committed to providing modern, evidence-based therapy that honors each person's unique path toward healing. My goal is simple: to help people move beyond survival, develop a healthier relationship with themselves, and create meaningful, lasting change.

“Real, lasting change grows in spaces where people can speak honestly without punishment, be seen without being labeled, and struggle without being abandoned. You do not need to be fixed. You need to be witnessed, supported, and met with care.” - Charlie

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Schedule Free Consultation

I offer a combination of individual therapy and group therapy to help clients maintain their unique path of recovery. Level 1 outpatient treatment means 2-3 hours of individual and group therapy per week. Many paths of recovery are welcome including MAT / harm reduction, California sober, Portland sober, and abstinence,

Level 1 Outpatient Treatment for Addiction

  • I provide weekly or bi-weekly individual counseling to help clients develop a unique strategy for recovery. Ultimately, my focus is on helping clients achieve so much more than changing their substance use. I help them learn to feel safe in their bodies, regulate their nervous system, and build a life they don’t need to escape from.

  • Group counseling has always been the foundation of recovery work, as it should be. “The opposite of addiction isn’t abstinence, it’s connection.” It is almost universally true that clients who struggle with substance use carry significant attachment trauma. This trauma created some difficulty with relationships and substances acted as a stand in for connection, safety, and love. In a group environment, clients can make significant strides in healing interpersonal or attachment trauma, thus moving them toward wholeness and reducing relapse. Group is held on Tuesday night from 5:30-7PM virtually.

  • Clients in the process of recovery often need medical assistance to address underlying conditions that have been ignored, damage from substance use, and prescriptions to support ongoing recovery. I collaborate with kind local MD’s to assure clients have the medical support they need.

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Charlie Shockley, LCSW, Certified Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Practitioner (IPI)

New Frontiers in Trauma and Addiction Treatment

We are living through one of the most exciting periods in the history of mental health treatment. After decades of limited innovation, emerging research on ketamine and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy is transforming our understanding of how people heal from trauma, addiction, depression, and other persistent mental health challenges.

For much of the last century, treatment focused primarily on managing symptoms through talk therapy, medication, behavioral interventions, and peer support. While these approaches continue to help many people, they often fall short for individuals living with Complex PTSD (CPTSD), treatment-resistant depression, chronic substance use disorders, and deeply ingrained patterns that seem resistant to change. Today, advances in neuroscience are helping us understand why.

Researchers are discovering that healing occurs not only through insight and behavior change, but also through experiences that promote neuroplasticity, emotional processing, self-compassion, and greater flexibility within the nervous system. Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) and other psychedelic-assisted therapies are opening new pathways for healing by creating opportunities to access emotions, memories, and perspectives that may be difficult to reach through traditional therapy alone.

As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and trauma therapist, I have dedicated my career to serving individuals struggling with trauma and addiction—two populations that have historically been underserved and often misunderstood. Too many people have been told they are resistant, broken, or beyond help when, in reality, they simply have not received the right kind of care.

That belief is what led me to pursue advanced training through the Integrative Psychiatry Institute (IPI), one of the nation's leading programs in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. Through this intensive training, I have received specialized education in psychedelic-assisted therapy, including ketamine-assisted treatment, trauma-informed care, preparation and integration, ethics, safety, and emerging research in the field.

I consider myself a progressive-minded social worker who is committed to lifelong learning and evidence-based innovation. When promising new approaches emerge, I believe it is my responsibility to study them, understand them deeply, and thoughtfully incorporate them into my practice when they have the potential to help people heal.

My interest in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy is not driven by trends or hype. It is driven by a desire to improve outcomes for people who have often been overlooked by traditional systems of care. Whether someone is struggling with trauma, addiction, depression, anxiety, or a lifelong sense of disconnection, they deserve access to the most effective and compassionate treatment options available.

While ketamine is currently the only legal psychedelic medicine I can work with directly in a therapeutic setting, I also provide psychedelic preparation, integration, education, and harm reduction support for individuals exploring other psychedelic experiences. My goal is to help clients approach these experiences safely, intentionally, and in a way that translates insight into lasting change.

The future of mental health treatment is not about replacing traditional therapy. It is about expanding our understanding of healing and creating more pathways toward recovery. I am honored to be part of that movement and committed to bringing the most current, effective, and compassionate care possible to the people I serve.

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Services

Outpatient Treatment

I offer customizable packages of individual and group counseling to suite your unique recovery needs. This is not a one-size-fits-all approach.

Individual Counseling

I am a fully-licensed clinician who specializes in substance use disorders and co-occurring trauma and mental health disorders.

Group Counseling

Group counseling helps reduce shame and increase feelings of connection and healthy interdependence.

Alcohol Abuse Counseling

I specialize in assisting clients who struggle with their alcohol use and provide evidence-based treatments to promote recovery.

Relapse Care and Prevention

I hope you’ll turn to us if you’re experiencing relapse or feel vulnerable to relapse. I will custom design a program of care to help you regain your serenity and keep it.

Opioid Dependence Counseling

I work with local prescribers to get you the medications you need to recover safely and provide supportive psychotherapy.

Telehealth Counseling

I offer secure online counseling throughout Georgia that works with your schedule. Many find the convenience of clicking instead of commuting is invaluable.

Trauma Therapy

Trauma is often the root cause of addiction. I offer treatment modalities like EMDR and IFS to help you heal from traumatic experiences.

Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy

We work with prescribers using IV & oral ketamine to provide the research-supported combination of medication and psychotherapy.