My Why: Michele Hastings

Michele Kuhn Hastings is a Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor (LCDC) with more than two decades of experience in the field of addiction recovery and behavioral health. Based in Bandera, Texas, She has built her career on providing compassionate, trauma-informed care to individuals navigating substance use disorders, with a particular focus on veterans, first responders, and justice-involved populations. Her work has spanned diverse settings—from outpatient clinics and residential treatment centers to correctional facilities and community-based programs. Her expertise includes program development, staff supervision, compliance management, treatment planning, and crisis intervention. She is known for her ability to engage individuals with empathy and skill, fostering trust while guiding them toward lasting change. Michele completed her training in Chemical Dependency Counseling at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, where she earned a perfect GPA in her program. She has been licensed as a Chemical Dependency Counselor by the state of Texas since 2000, with her license currently valid through 2026. With a career dedicated to empowering individuals to reclaim their lives from addiction and trauma, she continues to advocate for evidence-based treatment and integrated approaches that honor the unique challenges of those she serves.  dogs.

My Why:

My why is rooted in compassion, service, and a deep respect for the resilience of people who have lived through addiction and trauma. For more than twenty years, I have dedicated my career to walking alongside individuals as they navigate substance use disorders—especially veterans, first responders, and justice-involved individuals whose struggles are often compounded by trauma, loss, and systemic barriers to care. 

I believe healing begins with dignity, trust, and understanding. My work is grounded in trauma-informed, evidence-based practices that honor each person’s lived experience while empowering them to reclaim their lives. Whether in outpatient clinics, residential programs, correctional facilities, or community settings, my goal has always been the same: to meet people where they are, engage them with empathy, and help them build sustainable paths toward recovery. 

I am driven not only by clinical expertise, but by a commitment to advocacy—ensuring that treatment programs are ethical, compliant, and truly responsive to the complex needs of those they serve. Program development, staff mentorship, and crisis intervention are extensions of this purpose, allowing me to strengthen systems of care while maintaining a human-centered approach. 

My why is simple but powerful: people are more than their diagnoses, their mistakes, or their pasts. I do this work because I believe lasting change is possible when individuals are supported, respected, and given the tools to heal—mind, body, and spirit.