Gracer Medical Group Staff Bios
Steven M. Peterson LCSW, CADCIII
Steven Peterson is the director of the Gracer Behavioral Health Services program that is focused on helping people with mental health conditions and drug addiction and dependency problems.
A philosophy of compassion and support
Research, has shown that substance abuse disorders are biopsychosocial illnesses that affect our body, mind, and relationships and that often occur along with mental health conditions.
Mr. Peterson believes that compassion for his clients is core to the treatment for these disorders, which involves harnessing his clients' motivation for change while they are learning new recovery skills. He emphasizes family involvement in most therapeutic interventions to build support for change for both the individual and the family system.
When appropriate, Mr. Peterson integrates his supportive therapy methods with medications prescribed by medical doctors to help manage both drug cravings and mental health symptoms.
Experience
He has worked at both inpatient and outpatient substance abuse treatment agencies and has been in private practice since 1990.
From 1995 to 2005, Mr. Peterson served as an ad oc professor at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee where he taught undergraduate and graduate students in the application of wocial work methods with substance abusers and their families. He is a frequent presenter at Social Work and Substance Abuse Counselor conferences on evidence-based intervention methods. He served as a trainer for the Minority Counselor Training Project.
In 1999 Mr. Peterson started his research career with the Center for Addiction and Behavioral Research. He was trained in Combined Behavioral Intervention and served as the Lead Research Therapist for Project Combine at the Milwaukee site. He has also been a research therapist for the Arrive Project, the Nalmefene Study, the Medisorb Study, and the Aripiprazole Study.
Education
Steven Peterson is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) and a certified alcohol and other drug abuse counselor (CADCIII). He is a 1986 graduate of the University of Wisconsin at Madison where he received his Masters degree in Social Work.
Certifications
He is certified in several evidence-based therapy methods including Combined Behavioral Intervention, BRENDA therapy, and EMA therapy.
Mr. Peterson is married with two sons and lives in San Ramon, California. He enjoys many outdoor activities including; downhill skiing, biking, hiking and football.
