Michelle Hirschman, LCSW
Founder and Coach
Michelle is a clinical professional with extensive experience in adult mental health and addiction. Her career spans diverse settings, from treatment centers in California to Ho, a town in Ghana, West Africa, where she provided case management services in a psychiatric unit treating individuals with addiction and alcoholism. In Ghana, she also pioneered an Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meeting, educating local staff about the disease of addiction and sharing AA literature they had never seen before. Michelle’s international work continued in Vietnam, where she helped launch an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) for those struggling with drug addiction.
Michelle’s journey into therapy began with a counseling internship as an undergraduate at the University of California, Santa Barbara. During this time, she gained valuable experience in hospice work, psychiatric social work, and counseling at a transitional living home serving clients with co-occurring disorders. She earned her Master’s in Social Work (MSW) from Washington University in 1999.
Michelle’s career has followed a diverse and purpose-driven path—and that’s part of what makes her work so dynamic. She began on Capitol Hill, supporting Senators and nonprofits in legislative efforts focused on women’s issues, before transitioning to direct service work with individuals experiencing homelessness and chronic mental illness. From there, she moved into clinical roles in California treatment centers, supporting clients across all levels of care. Michelle also launched a nutritional consulting business, where she educated athletes, newly sober individuals, and those with eating disorders on the role of nutrition in recovery. Her contributions to the Suicide Prevention Center and her international work in Ghana and Vietnam—where she helped launch recovery programs and pioneered community-based addiction support—have further shaped her integrative, human-centered approach. These varied experiences reinforce her belief that healing is never one-size-fits-all, and that creativity, connection, and compassion are essential to lasting change.
Michelle also created the “My Sober Coach” concept, which is now part of the services offered by Hirschman Clinical. This coaching model was designed to bridge the gap between treatment and independent living, focusing on life skills development. The coach’s role is to empower clients, inspire them, and provide resources that help them find passion and purpose in their lives.
HCS also offers Creative Healing Assessments, designed to guide clients toward treatment plans that are both effective and aligned with their personal needs. These assessments combine traditional strategies with holistic modalities, connecting clients to reputable healers, programs, and resources that support wellness on every level—mind, body, and spirit.
Michelle launched the Creative Healing Podcast (on Spotify/Apple) in 2025 so that mental health professionals and her clients could become educated on holistic healers of all modalities and to have a resource directory with reputable referrals for people that are interested.
Inspired by her own experience of healing through movement, Michelle also founded Soulful Strides in 2025,a walking-based wellness initiative that blends mindfulness, community, and ritual. What began as solitary walks to soothe her own grief and anxiety, evolved into a shared space for grounded connection and personal transformation. She is now hosting free walks in KS, MO and CA and hopes to expand and inspire others to launch nationally.
Whether supporting someone fresh out of residential treatment or guiding a client toward creative healing paths they never considered, Michelle brings warmth, integrity, and soul to her work. Her clients often say they feel deeply seen, gently challenged, and truly supported—and that’s exactly the intention.
When she's not working, Michelle can be found walking in nature, hosting mindful events, spending time with her three teenage sons, or watching cooking shows with her husband.
Chris Jones, M.B.A.
Director of Operations & CA Coach
Chris graduated with his MBA in 2019 and has worked in the addiction industry in various capacities since 2012. Currently, Chris has been working independently as a group facilitator focusing on providing life skills, business, relapse prevention, process and spirituality classes across Los Angeles.
Outside of working in the treatment industry Chris is an accomplished musician having several albums on the itunes, amazon and billboard music charts. He has completed national tours, licensed music for tv and film and more. Chris is also an avid surfer and advocate for an active and healthy lifestyle.
Darcy Meehan, M.A.
Director of Outreach & CA Coach & Death Doula
Darcy Meehan is a therapist, educator, recovery specialist, end of life planning guide and death doula. With over 15 years of experience supporting healing, recovery, mindfulness and meaningful life design, her work blends practical guidance with compassionate, creative care to help people navigate transformation, wellbeing and life’s most tender thresholds.
Darcy earned her Master of Counseling Psychology from John F. Kennedy University and trained as a Marriage & Family Therapist. Throughout her career, she has worked in behavioral health, life design, transformative art, recovery support and wellness education. Her approach integrates approaches such as mindfulness, movement, creative practices, practical planning and family systems work into the healing process.
She is a certified death doula and yoga instructor, group guide, Creative Depth Coach™, JourneyCircles™ and SoulCollage® facilitator. Darcy believes that somatic and creative modalities add peace and meaning to everyday life, especially during times of change.
Darcy’s work is rooted in the belief that healing and reinvention are possible at every stage of life. As a modern death doula, she also helps individuals and families approach end-of-life planning and difficult conversations with greater clarity, presence and peace. Supporting people in living more fully by tending to what matters most inspires Darcy year after year.
She is grateful to be part of the HCS Team in Los Angeles since 2016.
Douglas Cohen, MFT
CA Coach
I have a drive to work with people and help them enhance their lives. Special focus and training on the topics of addiction and mental health was sparked by my early professional experiences in places such as California Youth Authority Research Division and Planned Parenthood of Sacramento. It was here that I noticed growing populations with true needs and limited resources. I felt compelled to make a difference, so I needed to learn more about tools and resources so that I could best support them in creating new choices for themselves and implement social change. I decided to pursue a career in adolescent and adult psychology. In the years since, I have expanded my practice and worked with a wide range of disorders and diagnoses. I continue to take pride in and enjoy the opportunity to help people overcome the symptoms and behaviors they have struggled with all of their lives to find new meaning, stability and wellbeing. My strengths of empathy and compassion, as well as the ability to create real and lasting relationships with those I serve, has fueled my professional life from early on and continues to everyday.
Pam Alexis Cox, B.A., RADT
CA Coach
Pam Alexis Cox is a Substance Use Disorder counselor and sober coach who brings curiosity, presence, and a deep respect for the healing process into her work. With a culturally informed, mindfulness-based approach, she supports individuals navigating behavioral health concerns, recovery, and meaningful life transitions—meeting people where they are and honoring each person’s unique path.
Pam’s work is grounded in both clinical training and lived experience. She has facilitated groups across residential, outpatient, and community-based settings, integrating mindfulness, emotional regulation, spirituality, and sound healing as nervous-system–supportive practices. As a sound bath facilitator, she incorporates sound-based mindfulness as a grounding, restorative modality that complements traditional therapeutic approaches and supports regulation, self-awareness, and connection.
Pam completed her counseling certification through Tarzana Treatment Center College, where she was honored with the 2024 Albert Senella Award for leadership, advocacy, and dedication to the Substance Use Disorder community. She is an alumna of the University of Southern California and has pursued continued leadership development through programs such as the Catalyst: Empowered Leader Program with the Women’s Impact Alliance. Before entering the behavioral health field, Pam spent over a decade working in health, wellness, and community-centered organizations, including Whole Foods Market, experiences that shaped her values-driven, relational approach to care.
Pam believes recovery is not simply about stopping harmful behaviors, but about reconnecting—to self, to others, and to what matters most. She is passionate about raising belonging by creating nonjudgmental spaces where people feel seen, included, and supported in building lives that feel grounded, meaningful, and alive. Outside of work, she enjoys live music, sporting events, time near the ocean in Los Angeles, and cheering on her 10-year-old son as a goalkeeper. She shares life with her partner and their Pomeranian, Butter, and values practices that support a grounded and intentional life.
Michelle Waters-Butler, PsyD
CA Coach
Michelle Waters-Butler, PsyD, has over two decades of experience working with adolescents and adults facing complex psychological, behavioral, and interpersonal challenges. As a therapist and coach, she has provided direct care to individuals at every stage of their recovery journey across the full continuum of care.
Throughout her career, Michelle has served as an individual therapist in dual-diagnosis residential settings and in private practice; facilitated group therapy in residential and intensive outpatient programs; and provided individual and parent coaching through Hirschman Clinical Services across the Los Angeles area.
Michelle’s clinical and coaching work focuses on trauma and attachment-related disorders, substance use disorder recovery, codependency, and crisis management for high-risk populations. For more than ten years, she served as Chief Operating Officer of Polaris Teen Center, where she developed the clinical vision and designed a highly regarded residential treatment program serving high-risk adolescents and their families. Her work integrated didactic and family therapy–based modalities with innovative approaches such as Brainspotting, Somatic Experiencing, and creative arts therapies.
As a coach and outpatient clinician, Michelle has supported post-treatment programming for thousands of clients by facilitating weekly relapse prevention groups, coordinating ongoing care, and developing outcome-tracking systems to strengthen long-term recovery. Across her various roles, she consistently combines hands-on clinical expertise with strategic leadership to advance safe, innovative, and effective treatment.
A lifelong Los Angeleno, Michelle is an active member of her community and is involved with several nonprofits focused on empowering at-risk youth in Los Angeles. She enjoys hiking and traveling with her husband and two teenage daughters, hanging out with their energetic dogs, and playing either tennis or pickleball.
KC Keppler, M.A., APCC, RYT-200
CA Coach & Somatic Wellness Practitioner
KC Keppler is a coach and certified yoga teacher who helps people build grounded self-trust, emotional stability, and practical clarity. Her work connects the mind and body, giving clients concrete tools to handle intense stress, relational friction, and the overwhelming seasons of life when old habits no longer work.
KC earned her Master of Arts in Clinical Counseling from Northwestern University, bringing deep clinical insight to her coaching practice. In clinical settings, she has worked with mood disorders like depression, personality disorders, anxiety, and complex life transitions, alongside facilitating community-based intentional living groups.
Real change requires more than just talking or analyzing problems from the neck up. Through DBT skills, somatic awareness, breathwork, yoga work, chanting and Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT/tapping), KC helps clients understand the physical ways their nervous systems respond to stress. Sessions focus on working with your body's signals instead of fighting them, so you can quiet reactivity and regain control.
Clients work with KC to break down what feels stuck, set clear boundaries, and practice tangible skills that hold up in daily life. Her style is direct, collaborative, and warm, centered on helping people feel capable and at ease in their own skin.
Paul Joshu, M.A. & CADC I
CA Coach
A United States Marine Corps veteran in recovery, Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor I (CADC I), and third-year doctoral student in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in Depth Psychology, Paul brings a unique combination of professional training, lived experience, and a deep understanding of personal growth and transformation.
His coaching work supports adults navigating recovery, identity, relationships, trauma, major life transitions, and the challenges that can come with finding a new sense of direction and purpose. As a veteran, he understands firsthand that life transitions can challenge the way we see ourselves, our relationships, and what comes next.
Paul also specializes in supporting individuals with executive functioning challenges, helping clients strengthen skills related to organization, planning, time management, follow-through, and creating practical systems that support everyday success. He has experience working with autistic individuals and takes a strengths-based, neurodiversity-affirming approach that honors each person’s unique way of thinking, learning, and engaging with the world.
His coaching style is relational, direct, and insight-oriented. He helps clients slow down, recognize patterns, reconnect with their values, and gain clarity around the life they want to create. Rather than focusing solely on what may be holding someone back, he creates space to explore what is possible and who they are becoming.
Drawing from his background in psychology, recovery, military experience, and depth-oriented work, he partners with clients to look honestly at where they have been, understand what may be influencing their present, and move forward with greater awareness, purpose, and intention.
Kristy Estelle, M.A.
Integrative Wellness Coach
Kristy Estelle is an Integrative Wellness Coach who blends astrology, meditation, spiritual wisdom, and intuitive guidance to support individuals on their journey toward greater self-awareness, clarity, and personal growth. With more than 30 years of experience studying astrology, Kristy brings a unique perspective to helping others better understand themselves, their relationships, and the seasons of life they are moving through.
As an astrologer, meditation teacher, spiritual life coach, mystic, and author, Kristy combines practical tools with mystical insight to create meaningful opportunities for reflection and transformation. Her approach invites individuals to explore their own inner wisdom, reconnect with their authentic selves, and navigate life's transitions with greater intention and ease.
Kristy believes that each person carries an innate wisdom within them. Through her work, she creates space for curiosity, connection, and deeper understanding—helping others embrace their unique path and step more fully into a life of purpose, joy, and possibility.
Martina Pezzino, CNC
Holistic Health Coach
Martina Pezzino is a Certified Nutrition Consultant, Holistic Health Coach, and Tarot Reader who uses functional nutrition and a root-cause approach to support the body’s natural ability to heal—helping busy people get their energy back, feel amazing in their bodies, and create healthier habits without turning wellness into another full-time job.
Her approach blends practical nutrition, blood sugar and hormone support, nervous system regulation, gut health, and realistic lifestyle practices that actually work in real life. Rather than chasing symptoms or handing clients another long list of things they “should” be doing, she helps them understand what their bodies need and make simple, sustainable changes that support better energy, steadier moods, improved wellbeing, and a healthier relationship with food and their bodies.
At the heart of her work is the belief that feeling good shouldn’t require perfection. Health can be supportive, flexible, and even enjoyable. Martina creates a warm, judgment-free space where clients can reconnect with their bodies, rebuild trust in themselves, and find ways to heal their bodies with intuition and love.
Jeff Eamer, M.A.
Strategic Life and Performance Coach
Jeff Eamer is a multi-disciplinary creative executive, strategist, and coach who has spent over four decades driving high-impact projects across advertising, entertainment, and psychology. His career spans roles as a Creative Director, Marketing Director, Film Director, Producer, Board Game Inventor (Rumors) and Psychotherapist. He has developed campaigns and storytelling for major global brands and institutions, including Coca-Cola, Disney, Sony, Reebok, McDonald’s, and the Los Angeles Mayor’s Office. His creative work has earned top industry honors at Cannes, the Clios, London International, and The One Show. In Hollywood, he served as a producer and script doctor, helping bring the hit film Coyote Ugly to the big screen.
Driven by a lifelong interest in human behavior, he also served as a Suicide Prevention Counselor with Didi Hirsch and a Psychological First Aid Responder alongside the LAPD, later returning to graduate school in 2016 to earn his Master’s in Clinical Psychology.
As a high-performance coach, Jeff synthesizes deep industry experience with foundational framework principles from Stephen Covey (7 Habits), Rick Rubin (A Creative Way of Being), and James Clear (Atomic Habits). He works side-by-side with clients to transform ambiguity into actionable success through clarity, discipline, and strategic routine.
Today, Jeff operates his coaching sessions via Zoom from his high desert ranch near Joshua Tree, California, where he lives alongside his dog, Ruby, his horse, Rose, his goats, and an uncountably large flock of chickens.
Callista Poiter, M.S., MHP
St. Louis, MO Coach
Callista brings a holistic approach to healing, which draws from her experience as a scientific researcher, mental health practitioner and assistant instructor. She has worked with clients from all walks of life and emphasizes the value of bi-directional learning between client and clinician. Her coaching style encourages open communication and fosters an atmosphere of comfort and safety for vulnerability.
Callista received her Bachelor of Arts with a dual major in Health Sciences and Psychology from Hendrix College. She is a current masters-level student at Washington University in Saint Louis (WashU) School of Medicine in the Applied Health Behavior Research program, where she also serves as the Graduate Student Assistant.
Callista is driven to support her clients through guiding with action-oriented skills, facilitating growth and empowering progress, whatever that may look like for each unique individual.
Courteney Parry, LMSW
Integrated Operations Specialist
Courteney Parry is the founder of On the Horizon Services, a consulting practice dedicated to helping mission-driven organizations operate more efficiently, sustainably, and humanely. With a background spanning operations, program development, nonprofit management, and human-centered systems, Courteney specializes in building the behind-the-scenes structures that allow organizations to grow without losing sight of their values.
Her work sits at the intersection of strategy and execution—supporting organizations with operational systems, internal processes, program infrastructure, and cross-functional coordination. Courteney is especially passionate about supporting nonprofits, social impact organizations, and small businesses navigating growth, transition, or capacity challenges.
Known for her collaborative approach, Courteney partners closely with leaders and teams to design practical, scalable solutions that reduce burnout, improve clarity, and strengthen long-term impact. She helps organizations move from reactive operations to intentional, future-focused systems—so they can spend less time putting out fires and more time doing the work that matters most.