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Therapy Could Change Your Life

You deserve to live the best life possible.

Contact me by email or by phone to see if working with me in therapy is your next best step.You can reach me at:  408.348.1776 by phone or  michelle@michellepiro.com  by email.


Michelle Piro is a counselor and therapist who works with partners and loved ones of those addicted to drugs or alcohol. She provides counseling to people who reside in the following areas: San Jose, Campbell, Cupertino, Sunnyvale, Los Gatos and Saratoga.


Is Loving an Addict Turning Your Life Upside Down?

Find out how an addiction counselor can help you overcome the stress and pain of living with an addict.
Michelle Piro Counseling Services
But that is not the worst part….
You feel like you are always walking on eggshells.
But the addiction continues…and your pain and agony along with it.
Does any one of this sound painfully familiar?
The good news is, there is a way out of your pain…
But... you can change yourself or your way of dealing with the addiction.

Through addictions counseling you can expect to:

  • Gain clarity on whether to stay or leave the relationship.
  • Learn strategies to manage your spouse or partner.
  • Discover how to stop worrying and take charge of your own life.
  • Learn how to set boundaries and detach from hoping your partner will change.
  • Discover any of your own habits or behaviors that may be reinforcing the addict's behavior.
  • Learn a new way of living that will ease stress and make life more manageable whether or not your loved one decides to stop the addictive behavior.

The bottom line is you need to get your life together - regardless of what happens with your partner.
I absolutely know that in spite of what the addict does, you can find ways to live a better life.  
You’re always anxious. You're constantly worried about what disaster your addict partner will cause next. 

Will your spouse lose his or her job?  Get in trouble with the law?  Kill someone while driving drunk?  Which family member or friend will be lost next? 

You feel isolated.  You may avoid social functions or going out for dinner in fear of what your partner will say or do. You might wonder if he or she will even show up. 
You’re never sure what kind of mood your partner will be in. Whether there will be an explosion of emotions or some other unpleasant surprise that awaits you when you come home.

You Have Done Everything To Try to Get Your Partner To Stop Abusing Substances

You've begged and pleaded.  You've spent countless hours trying to convince your spouse to stop drinking or using drugs.  There may have been times where the drug or alcohol abuse stopped…for a while.

And each time your partner stops you believe and hope that somehow this time it will be different.


Perhaps you have tried getting your spouse into alcohol or drug counseling to no avail.  You keep hoping and praying that one day it will happen.

Like many addicts, perhaps your partner blames you for the addiction-- and almost everything else. You have been blamed so often that you have actually started to believe that it’s your fault. If only you were more patient, if only you didn’t get angry…

You are hurting and you can’t take it any more. You likely feel so overwhelmed that you don't know whom to turn to. 

You feel really stuck.
If you've read this far, I'll take that as a yes.
How Addictions Counseling
-- Not for Your Partner -- For You
Can Help…

As you likely know by now, you can't change your partner.

You can’t force him or her to enter treatment or drug and alcohol counseling. You can’t make addicts stop abusing substances --even though it's in their best interest!
You don't need to go through this alone.  When you work with me as your addiction counselor, together we'll figure out the best options for what to do next.
I’m here to tell you there is hope.  Through counseling and therapy you can be happy and peaceful.  You can have stability back in your life.  You can feel excited about your future-- with or without your addicted partner.

Therapy can help you learn how to enjoy life again in spite of what your partner does.
Why Choose Me as Your Addictions’ Therapist?

I know what you're going through.  I have personal experience dealing with addiction in my own family.  For the past 25 years through focusing on my own self-care and following my own goals and dreams I have grown to feel good about myself. I have confidence and peace.  I'm excited about my future and am happy. 

I've been helping people for my entire working life. For 16 years I have counseled both addicts and their loved ones. I have worked in a drug and alcohol center, a home for recovering addicts, a counseling program for children of addicts, and in a shelter for teens.  Today, my private practice work is focused on addicts and their partners.

I have supported numerous people in finding their path, making better decisions, and living their lives in a healthier way. 

There are thousands of therapists in California alone.  A small fraction of those are addiction counselors.  Wouldn’t you rather work with a counselor who specializes in addictions and has walked this path both personally and professionally?

If you're the spouse or partner of an addict you might feel as if you're running non-stop on a hamster wheel. You can’t seem to keep up with the chaos caused by your partner’s addiction to drugs, alcohol or gambling.

You are stuck taking care of the kids, managing your home, making sure the bills and mortgage are paid, going to work - and the list goes on and on.   You're always managing and picking up the pieces.