I took a job at Gateway Rehabilitation five years into graduate school and the counseling field was polar opposite to the retail management career I left behind behind. This change allowed me to turn the page to a new chapter in my life with a very clean slate, from which I could build accordingly. My background in criminology was a distant memory and the opportunity to work as a consultant in a hospital setting was very exciting and very real. My first week on the job was chaotic, a real trial by fire, but something really intrigued me and kept me coming back for more. The rule of thumb was to spend the first six months learning the residential part of hospital broadcasting, which consisted of hands-on interaction with the population. During this time I attended every conference, group therapy session, alumni speaker, hospital and institution engagement (AA, CA, NA meetings), and/or anything else I could immerse myself in. I learned so much about human nature in such a short amount of time, and it was at this point that I discovered I had found what I was looking for. Over the next two years, I never lost that intrigue, continued to observe and learn, and tried to effectively apply the counseling techniques I had acquired along the way. Through trial and error I've built myself a nice foundation to build on and I'm very happy that the cards turned out the way they did. I don't think I would have ever been able to reach my full potential if I hadn't laid the foundation of this work before enrolling in school again. In the process of becoming a consultant to help other people, it became very clear that I was also working a lot on myself. It's funny how we initially get involved in certain situations and our goal remains...... middle of paper ......d talks about the concepts of collecting stamps. “People prefer to collect their racket feelings, such as guilt, anger, inadequacy or depression, which will strengthen their script. They represent the kind of emotional reaction that marks the end of the game. When enough stamps are collected, they can be turned into psychological rewards. Some are minor, such as hitting, screaming, crying, and laughing; some are much larger such as murder, suicide, divorce, and job loss” (James & Gilliland, 2003, 143). I think the progression of gaming, racketeering and stamp collecting coincides with the way drug addicts think. People in recovery say drugs were more and more now, and instant gratification is the name of the game. People give up drugs and alcohol and remain with their addictive qualities. This is why NA and AA promote a program of abstinence and change.