Driven by a deep-felt passion to help families in their time of need, honesty and integrity are at the core of everything I do.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
My early career in behavioral health began in 2001 when I worked under two psychiatrists and many clinicians for a total of nine years. With direct oversight and daily guidance, I worked under a fantastic psychiatrist who taught me the methods and processes of Crisis Intervention work, Motivational Interviewing, and how to have the best outcomes from direct client care.
From there, I became a behavioral health counselor working with clients who were being treated for substance use disorder and/or mental health diagnoses. In addition, I worked with the court system as a mental health court advocate for clients incarcerated due to untreated mental health disorders. At that time, I also ran a halfway house in Phoenix for men recently released from prison. It was my job to help them find a better life, free from substances.
Later in my career, I worked with Child Protective Services, utilizing my acquired counseling skills to intervene on parents who were in desperate need of treatment. I worked within the family system to determine appropriate placement of children until they could be reunited with their parents once they completed treatment.
In 2015, I started Bridge to Shore Interventions to help families in crisis. Since then, I have trained with some of the most recognized interventionists in the country. My passion for recovery inspires me to always be learning the tools and intervention modalities I need to be of best use to the families I assist.
My diverse experience in the field and years working one-on-one with families has granted me the compassion, instinct, and education I need to be the support families need at such a critical and emotional crossroad. It is always an honor when a family asks me to be a part of this difficult journey and I have been given endless grace in my life that has placed me exactly where I need to be today, helping those in need of guidance and support as they encounter some of life’s most trying challenges.
personal experience
Working as an interventionist is more than a career choice for me. You see, my life dramatically changed with my older brother’s suicide in 2001, a year after he was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. I was inspired to enter the behavioral healthcare field because I knew in my heart that this tragic event had been precipitated by a constant changing of medications to find the right combination for him. He had been a chiropractor with a two year old son he adored, so I was in complete disbelief when we lost him. None of it made sense.
I wanted to help families avoid the same tragic loss we had experienced, so I embarked on a mission to better understand what was at play with mental health and how I could help other families avoid the same tragic loss we had experienced when we lost Mark.
My career since then has taken me around the country and internationally, helping families navigate the the substance use and mental health disorders actively hijacking family systems. The miracles I have witnessed have been a true testament to the power of active recovery.
And life has not been without its reminders of the importance of this work. In December of 2018, I also lost my younger brother Zach to a heroin overdose.
You’ll notice some of my original art throughout this website. These are mixed media pieces I created in my brothers’ memory entitled “Angels Among Us”, as well as a collection of pieces inspired by my travels. I carry their memory with me in the work I am so privileged to do with families.
I treat each family as if they were my own, because I know what is at stake.
It is my fiduciary to the family to provide the best level of care and guidance so they do not have to do it by themselves, and I embrace that role with the integrity it deserves. Because if I can accomplish one thing in working with others, it is that no one will ever have to suffer alone.
With over 30 years of personal and professional experience in the world of recovery, my background in substance abuse and mental health has shaped me into the person I am today.
Jay Schneider, Interventionist