FAQ's

Who is Erica Spiegelman?

Erica is a recovered addict who discovered a unique approach to leaving addiction behind that works for all kinds of people at all stages of their addiction journeys. During her addiction, her recovery, and beyond, she refined her approaches and used them to create the ability to build her own life without addiction holding her back. She is an Addiction Freedom Coach, Addiction and Wellness Specialist, and a Motivational Speaker and Author.

What is Addiction Freedom?

Often, people focus so hard on fighting addiction. They struggle everyday to suppress urges, they go to rehab over and over again, or they rely on AA and all kinds of programs and things to keep them from drinking. Even if they’ve stopped drinking or using, their life stills revolves around thinking about, focusing on, and spending time and money on fighting addiction. They are still handcuffed by addition.

Addiction Freedom is different, it is not any of those things. It’s not rehab, or AA, or sobriety, or sheer willpower. Addiction Freedom goes one step beyond all of that.

To find out more about what Addiction Freedom is and what it can do for you, sign up for my free video from my home page.

What is an Addiction Freedom coach?

Erica is an Addiction Freedom coach, because she provides strategies, tools, insights, encouragement, support, and teamwork to people who are looking to achieve Addiction Freedom for themselves or a loved one.

How did Erica create this unique approach?

Erica has combined what she’s learned from her clients, her own journey, her studies, and personal trial and error to create a new approach to addiction: the Addiction Freedom Approach.

Did Erica struggle with Addiction?

Erica knows well the path from fighting addiction to building addiction freedom, because it is a path that she has travelled herself. As an alcoholic, Erica has known the darkest depths of addiction. Through her journey from rock bottom to addiction freedom, she has come up with her own unique approach to moving beyond addiction.

Erica has a very different approach than AA and rehab. Did she ever try either Rehab or AA?

Both! And she also worked at well-known, 12-step rehab centers. She attended the Betty Ford Rehab Center and also AA, and after leaving rehab and AA with questions about how to do more than just fight urges and how to deal with the real world outside rehab and AA, she went back to school to learn more. Later she worked as a counselor at Passages in Malibu and other 12-step rehab and outpatient centers. All the while, she was developing her own strategies to gain addiction freedom that were different from any of the other options and resources she had tried and from any of the rehab centers she worked at.

Where did Erica get the statistics she refers to about AA and Rehab failure rates?

Erica chose to use a Harvard study performed by professor Lance Dodes, because it is considered the most precise and well-regarded study on AA and 12-step programs.* There are many studies out there, and while none can be 100% accurate, she chose to include and refer to one of the most well-regarded and precise. Her reference to rehab in relation to these statistics refers to the use of 12-step programs within a traditional rehab setting.

The stats we describe are based on the numbers referred to by Dodes -- Erica (and he) cannot claim that a 6% success rate for AA and/or rehab is guaranteed; Erica (and he) cannot guarantee a 94% failure rate for AA and/or rehab.

Lastly Erica is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or in any way officially connected with Lance Dodes.

*Lance Dodes, M.D.; Zachary Dodes (2014). The Sober Truth: Debunking the Bad Science Behind 12-Step Programs and the Rehab Industry. ISBN 978-0807033159.

Does Erica have any degrees or certifications?

Erica holds a Bachelor degree in Literature from the University of Arizona and a degree as a California State Certified Drug and Alcohol Counselor, CADAC- I from University of California, Los Angeles.

What makes Erica an expert on Addiction Freedom?

Erica’s academic background, coupled with her range of experiences from counseling individuals, families and group therapy to consulting for sober livings, transitional living facilities and businesses gives her the unique ability to relate to people from all walks of life. She is a sober coach and is a contributor to online health outlets and blogs. She hosts "Rewired Radio" and her ideas on addiction transformation have been featured by Dr. Drew, Maria Shriver, Fox News, Sirius Radio, and more. In April 2015, Erica’s book, Rewired: A Bold New Approach to Addiction & Recovery, debuted as Amazon’s number one new release among drug and alcohol addiction books. Most importantly, her expertise comes from her own personal experience of being an alcoholic who took off her addiction handcuffs and developed new, unique ways to leave addiction behind in her own life… for good.

Who uses these approaches?

Erica has come up with unique perspectives on how to leave addiction behind that she uses to help families and individuals at all stages of their addiction journey. People use these approach when they are unsure if they have a problem with substances, when they want to prevent a problem, if they’re worried about a family member, or even if they are fed up with people telling them that they have a problem. Others use this approach when they know they may have a problem -- it may be a big problem or a small issue. It may be a problem that’s just started, or a problem that they’ve had for years. People who fall into any of these these categories -- or anywhere on the spectrum in between -- have used these approaches to create Addiction Freedom.

p.s. Not only does she use these tools to help others, Erica herself still uses them daily in her own life!

Where can I find out more about her?

To read about Erica, please visit: http://energagainstaddiction.com/about-erica.html

To learn more about Erica in the media, please visit: http://energagainstaddiction.com/erica-in-the-media.html