11/20/2025
🌟 Meet the Team! 🌟
We’re excited to kick off a new series where we introduce the incredible staff who make our work possible.
We’re starting with the heart of our support services — our Addictions Counselors. These dedicated professionals walk alongside our clients every day, offering guidance, compassion, and expertise on the journey toward healing and recovery.
Stay tuned as we spotlight each counselor, Therapist, residential staff and administrative staff, share a bit about who they are, and highlight the passion they bring to our community. đź’ś
For our first highlight meet Gretchen.
••How long have you worked for Wells House?••
5 years
••What inspired you to become an addictions counselor?••
Due to my own struggles with addiction, I entered treatment myself in 2019 through a women and children’s program with my son, who was three years old at the time. It was my first experience in treatment, and the environment encouraged a level of openness and vulnerability that I had never experienced before. As I began to heal, I recognized that my lived experience could provide hope and support to others navigating similar challenges. My counselor at the time, shared that peer feedback can be deeply impactful, and when I began sharing my story with others, I realized not only was it meaningful, but it was also something I did well. For the first time, I felt a sense of purpose and understood that my calling was to help people the same way others had helped me. I began sponsoring other women in Alcoholics Anonymous, then became a Direct Care Provider at Gale House in 2020 and immediately felt connected to the work. I later transitioned to the Hagerstown men’s program, where I became the first female Lead Direct Care Provider. Although I loved my role, I felt myself wanting to grow further and ultimately returned to school to pursue counseling. After completing my associate degree at HCC, I transferred to Salisbury University, where I will graduate with my Bachelor of Social Work in May.
••What do you find most meaningful about your work?••
Working as an addictions counselor is the most fulfilling role I have ever held. It is incredibly rewarding to witness individuals heal, develop self-awareness, and step into the person they were always capable of becoming. My favorite moments are when a patient’s “light” begins to return, when they realize that recovery is possible, that they are not alone, and that there is a solution. Watching that transformation is a privilege.
••What is one thing you wish the public understood about addiction?••
I want the public to understand that addiction does not discriminate. It is a chronic, brain-based disease that can affect anyone. Many people begin experimenting with substances during adolescence, long before their brains have fully developed, without realizing the long-term consequences. Substance use alters the brain’s reward system, making it incredibly difficult to stop without proper support. Addiction is not a moral failing, nor is it determined by socioeconomic status, upbringing, or cultural background.
••What do you love most about working for the Wells House?••
What I value most about working for Wells House is the strong sense of community. This organization is more than just a workplace, it feels like a family. My colleagues are not simply co-workers; we are a unified team committed to supporting one another and serving our patients with empathy, compassion and purpose.
