Conquering Addiction

Better Decisions Start with Better Decisions

By Bob Cox

Janina and Alex grew up on the wrong side of the tracks during the wild and crazy 1970's, with an unhealthy supply of drugs, alcohol and never ending parties. Janina’s parents were both alcoholics while two of her three siblings struggled with drug addiction. The one rule in Janina’s house was there were no rules. So, she did what many teenagers do when they are left to their own devices; she ran around with troubled kids like Alex.

Alex came from a broken family (divorce) and he spiraled downward into a lifestyle of trouble. He grew up in a neighborhood that was infested with gangs, crime and drugs. The gang leaders were the only role models in his neighborhood and Alex, like most of the kids he grew up with, looked up to them. He admired their power, their wealth and the respect they commanded. It took several years in prison for Alex to receive a much needed wake up call, which he fortunately answered. That’s when he chose to make better decisions and completely turned his life around.

Janina also struggled as a young adult to find peace and happiness. One day, while she was going through her second divorce, she decided to make better decisions as well, which completely transformed her life. She decided to go into a field that she loved and wanted to be more involved in. She was determined to open up an alcohol and drug counseling facility immediately after she retired.

More than three decades passed since the two friends had seen one another when their paths would cross once again. This time, the friendship would blossom in a healthy and toxic-free environment. Janina found out from a friend that Alex had embraced a positive based lifestyle and had gone on to become a respected drug and alcohol counselor. She was excited to hear the good news, especially after all the self destructive years they once shared. Today, they embrace the same passion for helping others conquer addiction. When she asked Alex if he would be interested in working with her, he said “Yes, absolutely!”

I had the privilege to sit down with Janina Guarino and Alex Noriega the other day to learn more about the company that Janina has started here in Rancho Cordova called Better Decisions Counseling Services. I walked away completely uplifted by their resilience to overcome so many obstacles and inspired by their passion to help others that have suffered from similar upbringings. Here’s how our conversation went.

Q: What is Better Decisions Counseling Services?

A: (Janina) Better Decisions is a new alcohol and substance rehabilitation services agency. We offer a wide variety of quality counseling services that go beyond drug and alcohol addiction, such as anger management, co-parenting education, self esteem classes and more. With our unique experiences of being brought up around drug and alcohol addiction, we have genuine empathy and understand the despair our clients feel when they hit rock bottom. Alex and I have been there, so we know what it feels like to lose hope. Fortunately, we both decided to make better decisions and completely turned our lives around. We chose to replace our unhealthy addictions with healthy addictions that have added more joy in our lives and the lives of the people we love. We’ve taken those real life experiences as well as the formal education to assemble a variety of tools to help empower people, so they can be free from unhealthy addictions and progress in life.

Q: How exactly does Better Decisions assist people with negative addictions?

A: (Janina) Once a person has gone through a successful detox program, they need a comprehensive support system and that’s where we come in. We provide people with the education they need to integrate into society and achieve personal and professional success. We don’t have a cookie cutter program, because each person is unique. If someone has certain issues in their life, we address those issues specifically. We teach life skills and social skills to help our clients gain employment. (Alex) We teach our clients the basics, like writing a professional resume, doing mock interviews and offering tips on how to dress for the occasion. (Janina) We’re also assisting people who are going through divorce by providing anger management and parenting courses, which are sometimes required by a court of law when dealing with child custody issues. We even have family and marriage therapy, life coaching and sober companionship.

Q: Are there any other services that Better Decisions provides that are not currently available in the greater Sacramento area?

A: (Janina) Yes, we’re now offering drug testing after 5pm. We’re available from 10am to 8:30pm. The majority of drug testing centers in the area close by 5pm. We also provide Saturday counseling by appointment. (Alex) By staying open after 5pm, we’re trying to accommodate the working class people that need the service but can only come after work.

Q: What’s been your impact on helping families who have someone suffering from an unhealthy addiction?

A: (Janina) It’s been amazing! We’re bringing families together by offering formal counseling for every member of the family. Many family services located throughout Sacramento only treat the individual and exclude the family. We understand that the whole family is greatly impacted when a member has an unhealthy addiction. I was raised in a family with alcoholism and drug addiction, so I know what that’s like. Every member of our family suffered. Had those services been available to me back then, I may have made the decision to seek help a lot sooner.

Q: You mentioned something earlier about adding healthy addictions. What’s that all about?

(Alex) When most people think of addiction, they associate it with all the negative ones. But there are also positive addictions that you can use to fill the hole that’s left when a person removes a negative addiction. (Janina) We try to find out what healthy hobbies our clients once enjoyed and then build on that. Let’s say you used to play in a band and then you got into drugs and had to stop everything because your lifestyle became self destructive. We want to help you remember your first love (music) before the drugs were introduced. We encourage our clients to remember those things that brought them joy so that that they can bring that back into their life, minus the unhealthy addictions.

Q: Can you tell us about your popular women’s support group?

(Alex) Yes, Janina offers a support group for women, which helps build self esteem and is very motivational. (Janina) We have found that women don’t have a lot of support systems available here in the Sacramento area and women need to support each other. We want them to feel comfortable with this masculine disease of addiction. When a woman is in an addictive mindset, she is more apt to solicit the company of a male figure and fall into an unhealthy relationship. By having a women’s support group, we’re finding that it’s okay not to have what I call a better than nothing around, which is a male figure that’s not good for you. Women can now come to the support system and talk it out. You may need other people to talk to about certain things or a place where you can vent and hear somebody else’s perspective. You don’t have to be in a romantic relationship to feel loved and understood. A plutonic relationship is often more healthy.

Q: What are the future goals of Better Decisions?

A: (Janina) Today, we’re an intensive outpatient program, but we plan to have a residential facility in the near future. We’re incorporating the mental health services with substance abuse for the better of the community. (Alex) We’re looking to open a Sober Living Environment (SLE), which offers even more intensive outpatient assistance. We just want to touch the whole community in a positive way. We won’t turn anybody down, everybody is welcome. You have to show up to make a better decision.

Editor’s notes: Janina Guarino is the founder of Better Decisions Counseling Services in Rancho Cordova. She is a Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor (C.A.D.C. II). Alex Noriega is the general manager for Better Decisions Counseling Services. He is also a Certified Addiction Specialist (C.A.S. I). For more information about Better Decisions Counseling Services, call (916) 368-0700, visit their website www.betterdecisionsinc.org or stop by their office at 10366 Rockingham Drive in Rancho Cordova. Donations are always welcome.