Feet First Boardmember: Steven M. Peterson

Steven is a highly experienced clinical social worker, with a career spanning since 1986. His expertise lies in providing treatment to family members of addicts and alcoholics, focusing on their unique needs and challenges. Additionally, he specializes in working with clients who have co-existing mental health and substance abuse disorders. Another area of Steven's specialization is helping individuals navigate through separation and divorce, offering support during these difficult life transitions. Currently, Steven shares his knowledge and experience by teaching various courses in Addiction Studies at Diablo Valley College. He covers topics such as Relapse Prevention, Dual Disorders, Group Facilitation, Motivational Interviewing, and Ethics. Prior to this, he served as an Ad Hoc professor at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee for a decade. During his time there, he also held the position of lead research therapist at the Center for Addiction and Behavioral Health Research in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Steven firmly believes in evidence-based practices for treating co-occurring disorders and actively participates in significant research projects. His involvement in these projects focuses on combining medications for alcohol craving with psycho-social therapies, aiming to improve treatment outcomes. Through his empathetic and solutions-oriented approach, Steven has successfully helped numerous clients along their therapeutic journeys. In terms of therapeutic orientation, Steven draws from various modalities including Motivational Interviewing, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Solutions Focused Therapy, and the Family Systems approach. He firmly believes that effective treatment for craving management plays a vital role in the success of substance abuse clients, as well as advocating for early intervention strategies.Steven has been a board member since 2018