Meet Beth Baldwin | Nationally Certified Addictions Counselor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Beth Baldwin and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Beth, putting aside the decision to work for yourself, what other decisions were critical to your success?
The single most important decision was to leave the full time position that supported our living expenses and risk contributing our attention full time to our addictions practice. We realized that it was necessary to leave our jobs to truly help others with my spiritual gift of service as well as enjoy our chosen career and independence. With making this decision, we are now able to service our clients individual needs and issues and assist them with finding viable solutions without giving ourselves and our own lives away to our full time job restraints. Frankly we can now commit because we no longer feel as though we are captives to our full time jobs. With this, we plan to hold on to the habits and values learned at our positions in order to provide services to a wider spectrum of clients.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Beth is a Certified Addictions Counselor, CAC III, NCAC II who has been working with youth in juvenile justice for more than 15 years. Her experience spans many systems, from Division of Youth Corrections to Senate Bill 94 to Human Services and beyond. She is currently the owner and service provider for Colorado Addictions Consulting, INC, where she is a specialist in assessing substance use and treatment needs. Here’s a chronological look at Beth’s career over time:

 Served six years in the U.S. Army and is proud to be a veteran.

 Graduated from Metropolitan State University of Denver in 1999 with a degree in Human Services and an emphasis in High-Risk Youth Studies and Addictions Counseling.
 Worked several years as a staff member at Lookout Mountain Youth Services Center as a YSC I, Youth Services Counselor from 1997 to 2001

 Career Break from 2001 to 2003, worked as a Human Resources Manager for Home Depot from 2001-2004

 Became a case manager and then a supervisor with Colorado Youth Detention Continuum, formally 18th JD Senate Bill 94 from 2004- August 2006

 Was employed as a case worker for Arapahoe Co. DHS as a crisis intake caseworker from late 2006 to 2008 before returning to SB94.

 Opened her own evaluations and consulting company for addictions in 2008 while continuing to work for SB94

 As owner / operator of Colorado Addictions Consulting, LLC, became an independent contractor for the Division of Youth Corrections, 18th JD Probation and 18th CYDC, formally JD Senate Bill 94

 Took a newly created position, financed with marijuana tax revenue monies, as a Substance Abuse-Specific Supervisor with 18th JD SB94’s Restore Program from 2015 to 2022
 Retired from the position with CYDC in June of 2022 to work full time with the CAC Practice.

Getting to where I am today was not easy. Dealing with adolescent behaviors took patience and understanding. While Beth’s background is adolescent driven, she has also had a desire to work with adults in this period of her career.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
We would most likely take them to some of the mountain towns to see the beauty of why we have been in Colorado for so long. We would take them to some of the “mom and pop” eateries that are so wonderful and also take them to some of the Colorado museums to show them the history of Colorado. Despite Colorado being such a big city, we actually started out as a cow town with horse drawn wagons. We would show them that part of Colorado.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
It is important to recognize the strong women who raised us; our mothers. Without their strength, guidance and spiritual counsel, we would not be where we are now. Second, all of the collogues within this counseling field within the past 25 years who have selflessly contributed insurmountable training, skills and experience to developing the path we now travel and why we see clients the way we see them. We learned from some of the best service providers in the field and continue to reach out for guidance when needed. We did not get here without asking for help along the way. We find it very important to pay it forward to young entrepreneurs who follow in our footsteps.

Website: www.cacevals.com